| Author | Message | ||
     Blasst |
With this being my 1st bike, I was wondering if you folks had any tips on winter storage and maintenance. I've googled search this question and came up with the following: 1) Wash the bike good then dry. 2) Add fuel stabilizer to fuel after filled up with gas. 3) Start the engine until hot. (I'm assuming it would be hot after the ride to the gas station) 4) shut petcock off and run it till it dies. 5) change the oil and filter and primary oil (trying to figure out the primary oil thing) 6) spray fogging oil on carb and engine cylinders. 7) cover carb, exhaust and engine with air tight bag 8) Cover spot where you plan on letting your baby stand while in winter. 9) cry because no more riding till march. Am I missing anything? I'm going to put my bike in a garage that will be subject to the winter temps but not the snow. Thanks for looking! Hopefully, things will be added before it's too late!!  | ||
| Swampy |
Blaast, About all I do is fill them up and and go all depressed till March. This year I am planning on riding at least once a month.....if I can make it out of the driveway. Make sure the battery is fully charged. What ever you do DO NOT start it and let it warm up once a month, that is probably the one worst thing you can do to any engine. The engine does no reach and maintain operating temperature long enough to remove naturally forming condensation from inside the engine. Cold to hot, watch what happens to a chilly bike when you open the garage door on a warm winter day(above 32 degrees) Its still a little early to put it away, I rode into Lansing this morning at 6am, I had a BIG 8 point buck stand at the side of the road looking at me just as I got to 55 mph. His next step would have been right into my lap. | ||
| Dwinecracker |
sorry guys... Savannah, GA.... Army.. gonna ride allllll winter... love my job!!! | ||
| Reuel |
I'm not familiar with the concept of winter storage. Do you actually let the Blast sit all winter? I don't think I could do that. I do try to avoid riding in the snow any more ... I'd go ahead and leave a little fuel in the carburetor. It's not going to be stored for years, just a few months, right? | ||
| Blasst |
So Swampy and Reuel, I know it's a bit early to be thinking about this but I figured get all the info now and not stress about it later. Both you guys ride a bit in the winter? I couldn't imagine being out on my bike at 20 degrees!!! Should I not bother with anything maintenance and just take it for a ride a few times when the roads are clear? | ||
| Reuel |
Got any rain gear? I'd put on sweats and rain gear. I have a good set of gloves and boots that do well down to the mid 20s at 70 MPH. Lower temps at lower speeds. A 20 minute ride once or twice a month is good, and it makes you feel good, too. You might find yourself wanting to do more than 20 minutes if you aren't freezing. | ||
| Swampy |
The Big Kid bought me a pair of Tourmaster pants with the zip out liner. I wear them alot and they work great. Also cheap rain gear keeps the wet and wind out. 80% Wool socks(I wear them all year round) Polypropylene tops and bottoms face mask Big gloves you should be good to go. Just remember, 50 degrees, is like freezing at 50 mph. The 50-50 rule | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
#'s 6 & 7 and unnecessary. A "battery Tender" would be a good idea. Most of the other steps are listed in this months "Hog Tales" on winter storage of your Harley Davidson. I'd be realistic on whether you will actually ride during the winter. A Beautiful January day will likely have ice under and possibly on bridges,or shady spots. I used to ride until the first snow. After that, the risk of ice greatly increased (not to mention gravel, rocksalt and potholes). It usually wound up being 3 weeks of downtime at a stretch. This was in NJ though, not Siberia (Michigan). | ||
| Indybuell |
I have a set of tourmaster intake 2 gear. It rocks. | ||
| Swampy |
My medical doctor rides all year long, just about every day. | ||
| Jd110033 |
im still kind of a noob so bear with me...seeing as i dont have a cage and its starting to get a lil chilly out, is there anything that i should do for the winter seeing as i will be riding everyday. | ||
| Blasst |
It's sounding like I'm going to be riding a little in the winter months and that I shouldn't bother with "winterizing" my bike. Would a 10-20 min ride be about the right time frame to get the bike warmed up to the correct operating temps? Is once a month enough seat time to keep the fluids from freezing? PS- I just added another horse to the stable! A Sportster 883R with stage 1 done and a 2-1 exhaust!!!  1st thing I'm doing is changing the handle bars!! I'll post pics if I can ever figure out how to do it | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
20 minutes isnt enough time if its cold enough. Once a month is minimum, a Battery Tender is a good idea. Nothing will freeze (if it does, its too cold to ride). Covering the bike/engine with a heavy blanket (like an old 'car blanket')immediately after shutting it down will help hold in the heat for easier starts (careful not to touch the exhaust-easy on a Buell!). Find out where the headlight plug is and if its accessible. Unplugging it when its very cold will ease the strain on the battery as sometimes you only get a couple shots at starting (some say pull the headlight fuse. Keep a few on hand as the newer fuses wont stand up to repeated removal). A 'block heater', if you can find a place to mount it, will help with warm-ups. An electric vest can do wonders. I've seen/heard guys go overboard with the electric vest, gloves, arms, chaps, handgrips, etc. Start with a vest and see how it works. No sense in overloading the electrical system with unneeded accessories. As stated earlier, rainsuits make excellent emergency cold weather riding gear. Buy one big enough to cover all your gear. I prefer a one piece. A little more trouble, but it will keep out the wind and rain better. A balaclava under a full face helmet can work well if it will fit (some are thin enough). I found a half shell helmet works better than a full face (unless you go down) for warmth. You can usually fit a knitted beanie under it and better neck and face warmers. Thats all I can remember from my cold weather days. Hope it helps you get through the winter. PS beware of hypothermia. It can sneak up on you. If you start to experience pain (usually cold hands or feet), you may be in trouble. Seek out warmth, dont delay. | ||
| Fast1075 |
Dang, all this about winterizing...it's just now getting cool enough to ride (in Florida)without worrying about heat stroke. We don't have to worry about cold so much..cold here is 35 degrees and it only lasts a day or two at a time...and winterizing means driving the cage to work if a cold front is bringing torrential rains...but the fall/winter season heralds the return of the most feared highway menace....the deadly blue-hair in the Cadillac. yikes!!! | ||
| Robi |
Any thoughts on DieHard Battery Charger/Maintainer? It's much cheaper than Deltran Battery Tender Plus, but want to get some advise if it does the same thing as the Deltran. From the specs, it looks like it does, however, this will be my first. http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_028712190 00P?vName=Automotive&cName=Batteries+%26+Chargers& sName=Battery+Chargers+%26+Boosters Per Sears: Charge your battery from inside the vehicle! Fully Automatic Battery Charger/Maintainer with Float Mode Monitoring for 6 and 12 volt batteries. 2 Amp, 12 Volt/4 Amp, 6 Volt slow charge with Reverse Hook-Up Protection is ideal for keeping stored, lead-acid batteries charged and power maintained at all times. Great for Motorcycle, Lawn Tractor, ATV, Snowmobile size batteries and to maintain larger Car, RV, Boat, Deep Cycle, Antique and Classic Car batteries too! Includes: 50 amp battery clamps, 12V accessory plug and permanent ring connectors for fast, easy charging every time. | ||
| Swampy |
Winter storage for the AGM(Absorbed Glass Mat) battery (what we use in the Blast) is pretty failsafe. 1. Charge it 2. Disconnect it 3. Forget about it till next season The AGM battery will not freeze because there is no liquid in it. As long as there is no draw on it, it is stable and won't degrade. | ||
| Super_cj |
just ride it all the time i ride my at least once or twice usely more even in the winter i even rode my bike up snowboarding this winter my friends truck was full he brought my board up it just gets cold put a jacket on! | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
cj: Please, no offense, but could you try to use some punctuation? Your posts are often difficult to decipher. |
