Tips for winterizing the bike

[fnDan]

My tip is a trickle charger.
I know of a few people that didn't put a trickle charger on their bikes last winter and had to buy a battery in the spring.

 

[Polarblu]

run it, fog it, stabilize it, and check your coolant strength. Pull your battery and stick in the house with the cleaning supplies.

 

[heavy d]

My tip is a trickle charger.
I know of a few people that didn't put a trickle charger on their bikes last winter and had to buy a battery in the spring.

I've had trickle chargers fry batteries. You are far better off using a "Battery Tender". They charge in pulses instead of a constant trickle, and possible over-charge.
Well worth the extra couple of bucks

 

[hayastusa]

Fog it??? Is this really necessary for the 4 months it sits in the garage. How about stabilizer, oil and filter, battery tender, get the tires off the ground, cover it and run it for 10 or 15 minutes once in a while? How can fogging oil in the fuel injection system be a good thing? I fogged my car once, but it was going into storage for years not months.

 

[overkill131313]

Im just going to check the coolent and put some fuel stabilizer in the gas. it is in the car port and once a month I will fire it up for 15 mins. I will do a oil change in the spring, and pull the chain and clean it!

if it cant sit a month..... it should not be driving at all!

 

[Big Jon]

Starting it occasionally for 15 minutes is one of the worst things you can do to it. Ride it in the fall with stabilizer till she's hot, if it's carbed shut the fuel off and run it dry (easier on some than draining the carbs), and dump the oil and swap the filter. If you start it after that, the acids and humidity that can and do build up, even with a 15minute run now sit in all your precious engine parts and corrode for the next 4 months. I've seen the etched insides of the just the cases from this and I still have nightmares (not really, it wasn't my bike). New clean, "dry" oil is your best bet.
Fuel stabilizer works, but I still siphon the old gas out in the spring and dump into the truck. The bike'll run on the old stuff, but it sure smells like burnt varsol.
There's no need to take a battery indoors over winter, a charged battery won't freeze, charging it in the unit or on the floor (beside the other 4 toy batteries) is just fine. Lifting the bike off the tires also isn't necessary, but there's nothing wrong with throwing some cardboard under each one if you feel like it. Fogging oil is fine for 2 strokes, but your better off to dribble a teaspoon of motor oil into each cylinder and rotate the crank with the plugs out to coat the cylinder walls, unless you like swapping plugs every spring, if so then have at 'er. And battery tenders are half the price or less than that of a new battery. Without one I've had a battery last 4 years, with one 9. I'm convinced.

 

[fnDan]

I've had trickle chargers fry batteries. You are far better off using a "Battery Tender". They charge in pulses instead of a constant trickle, and possible over-charge.
Well worth the extra couple of bucks

Yep, I meant a battery tender. I've cooked a battery, they're chewy.

 

[AbleSmith]

You should have good tires on your bike which is necessary to handle your bike in a winter condition. Importantly you should have right tools like new spark plugs, high quality oil, fuel stabilizer, and other necessary cleaning supplies which is used to clean motorcycles properly.
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Yamaha Motorcycles | Kawasaki Motorcycles | BMW Motorcycles

 

[Bill Daley]

I don't have the axcess to a garage as I live in a trailer park and rhere is nothing available here for a good distance.I see it is properly tarped but still has plenty of good ventilation to prevent damage due to dampness,makesure the battery is charged and being a carb.turn the fuel off.I also cover the windshield seperatly to prevent scratches before covering the entire bike and I haven't had any trouble yet.

 

[munhoez]

run it, fog it, stabilize it, and check your coolant strength. Pull your battery and stick in the house with the cleaning supplies.

fog it? on a four stroke? Im ptretty sure u mean fog a two stroke.

Carbed=Add stabilizer to fuel tank, run for 15 -20 minutes on stabilized gas, shut down, drain carbs, flush fuel sysytem, shut off gas, drain flush fluid out of fuel system. close carb drains. Add 2-3 fat drops of oil into each cylinder, crank over. disconnect neg wire from battery when charging, hook up battery tender to unhooked battery.

F/I= add stabilizer to tank, run for 15-20 minutes on stabilized gas, shut down, u can relieve the fuel pressure( if its accessible), add a couple drops to the cyl and crank over. too much oil will fawk with ur sensors, and cause chek engine lite on.

 

[speeder72]

Starting it occasionally for 15 minutes is one of the worst things you can do to it. Ride it in the fall with stabilizer till she's hot, if it's carbed shut the fuel off and run it dry (easier on some than draining the carbs), and dump the oil and swap the filter. If you start it after that, the acids and humidity that can and do build up, even with a 15minute run now sit in all your precious engine parts and corrode for the next 4 months. I've seen the etched insides of the just the cases from this and I still have nightmares (not really, it wasn't my bike). New clean, "dry" oil is your best bet.
Fuel stabilizer works, but I still siphon the old gas out in the spring and dump into the truck. The bike'll run on the old stuff, but it sure smells like burnt varsol.
There's no need to take a battery indoors over winter, a charged battery won't freeze, charging it in the unit or on the floor (beside the other 4 toy batteries) is just fine. Lifting the bike off the tires also isn't necessary, but there's nothing wrong with throwing some cardboard under each one if you feel like it. Fogging oil is fine for 2 strokes, but your better off to dribble a teaspoon of motor oil into each cylinder and rotate the crank with the plugs out to coat the cylinder walls, unless you like swapping plugs every spring, if so then have at 'er. And battery tenders are half the price or less than that of a new battery. Without one I've had a battery last 4 years, with one 9. I'm convinced.

Why is running it every so often for 15 minutes bad?