I live in oklahoma so wont b a lot of chances to ride during winter, my bike will b kept n garage but it's not climate controlled what should I do to insure good storage? Is there any maintainence I need to perform or things to do during winter months?
Winter storage
1 - 20 of 35 Posts
Joined
·
1,366 Posts
Coach
I live in Missouri so I am in the same boat as you. My Rocker is in the garage [also unheated] I put 2oz of Seafoam in the gas tank and filled it [but rode yesterday so it's not full now] but the idea was to have the tank completely full with the Seafoam in it and ridden just enough to ensure it was thru the system. Bike is all wiped down and next few days I will wipe it down with Pledge furniture spray. I have a battery maintainer hooked up to it. I plan to fire it up every couple weeks and toss an old sheet over it to keep some of the dust off. I did roll it up on some thin plywood to keep it off the concrete also.
Other than that..........just wait till time to get it out again.
Colt.45
I live in Missouri so I am in the same boat as you. My Rocker is in the garage [also unheated] I put 2oz of Seafoam in the gas tank and filled it [but rode yesterday so it's not full now] but the idea was to have the tank completely full with the Seafoam in it and ridden just enough to ensure it was thru the system. Bike is all wiped down and next few days I will wipe it down with Pledge furniture spray. I have a battery maintainer hooked up to it. I plan to fire it up every couple weeks and toss an old sheet over it to keep some of the dust off. I did roll it up on some thin plywood to keep it off the concrete also.
Other than that..........just wait till time to get it out again.
Colt.45
Joined
·
1,430 Posts
Here`s what I do:
Fill the tanks, drive it home.
Turn the engine off, and take the key out.
Fill the tanks, drive it home.
Turn the engine off, and take the key out.
Joined
·
6,724 Posts
I have lived all over mid-west states and I have went to extremes winterizin a bike, but now keep bike in attached garage and somewhat heated but not really and I do ride if a nice day breaks out in the middle of winter so I put in seafoam or something like it in tank.. fill it..battery tender and I also put a small light under it and put cover over it and sometimes a few nice soft covers over that.
The whole reason for the small light is one time a friend had his old harley in his newly made garage and condensation got on his chrome and he said it pitted his chrome?? so he started heating his garage and I think I read in some tip page about the small light helps aid in preventing build up of condensation?
Only once in the spring did on a humid day when I had garage door open have I noticed condensation on my chrome
The whole reason for the small light is one time a friend had his old harley in his newly made garage and condensation got on his chrome and he said it pitted his chrome?? so he started heating his garage and I think I read in some tip page about the small light helps aid in preventing build up of condensation?
Only once in the spring did on a humid day when I had garage door open have I noticed condensation on my chrome
Attachments
Joined
·
811 Posts
Joined
·
71 Posts
Only if it's a dino vent, syn is fine.!
Joined
·
632 Posts
Oh boy... opcorn
opcorn
Joined
·
7,340 Posts
If you can't ride it to get it up to operating temp and let it stay there for a few minutes, you are better off to just let it sit without starting it. As long as there is fuel stabilizer in the tank and the battery tender is plugged up, there is no point in starting it. It's not helping anything.
Joined
·
3,248 Posts
Not helping anything except your SOUL! Sometimes you just need the sound to remind you of how good life will be again.
Joined
·
4,478 Posts
:thumbsup
Joined
·
40,796 Posts
What it will do is warm up the air inside your motor enough that condensation will accumulate on the internals of the motor. Unless you are going to be running that motor for a good 30 minutes or so, that water wont have a chance to burn off. The air inside the motor is going to heat up faster than the metal of the motor.
Warm air + cold metal = condensation..... Just like a glass of iced tea during the summer.
I'd just leave it sit till the first ride of the spring.
When spring comes around:
Pull the plugs,
Pull the oil dipstick,
Look inside the oil tank,
You'll notice that it appears the oil level is low, but DO NOT add oil at this time.
Oil level appears to be low due to the check ball has let some oil seep into the crank case.
Softails are noted for this when they sit for extended periods due to the oil tank being higher than the crank case.
Crank the motor over without the spark plugs installed while watching in the oil tank rise to its proper level.
Re install spark plugs and go for your first spring ride.
Warm air + cold metal = condensation..... Just like a glass of iced tea during the summer.
I'd just leave it sit till the first ride of the spring.
When spring comes around:
Pull the plugs,
Pull the oil dipstick,
Look inside the oil tank,
You'll notice that it appears the oil level is low, but DO NOT add oil at this time.
Oil level appears to be low due to the check ball has let some oil seep into the crank case.
Softails are noted for this when they sit for extended periods due to the oil tank being higher than the crank case.
Crank the motor over without the spark plugs installed while watching in the oil tank rise to its proper level.
Re install spark plugs and go for your first spring ride.
Joined
·
7,340 Posts
+1
Ever notice the water dripping out of the exhaust on a cool day?
It's the same reason a car that only gets driven a mile or two at a time all the time will have the exhaust rusted out in a few years.
1 - 20 of 35 Posts
Join the discussion
Join now to ask and comment!