| Author | Message | ||
     Buellinachinashop |
With the cold coming and sledding and icefishing just around the corner, I gotta start thinking of putting away the bike. Anybody got good tips on winter storage? Should I take my battery out? Stands or no stands? Should I do my 10k (I'm close) before winter to ensure no water in anything or wait for spring? | ||
| Jaimec |
Beats me. I never take my bike off the road... | ||
| Zenfrogmaster |
Change all the fluids just before storage, so that none of the nastiness sits in your bike all winter. Put the battery on a tender - leave it installed if the bike is kept indoors. Stands are probably a good idea, but I haven't used them for storage. I used to move the bike around the garage frequently, which may be why I never had a problem. | ||
| Wile_ecoyote |
I usually do all of what Zen said but, start it and let it idle for a few minutes every month or so. Run her up to the 5k mark a few times to blow anything out also. If you got F.I. I would add a fuel additive like techron too. If not fuel stabilizer to keep the fuel from turning. | ||
| Zenfrogmaster |
Almost forgot to mention securely fastening wire mesh or screening around the exhaust tip. Keeps the little critters from fashioning a home in your muffler. Wile - Good catch on the Sta-Bil or equivalent. My mind must be going. | ||
| Cataract2 |
Thanks for the tips. Fl. guy here in CO now. Kinda lost in what to do for this whole winterize thing. | ||
| Beachbuell |
Do what I did.............. Move to Florida. Year round riding, whats winter? | ||
| Leeroy_jenkins |
Gladware. | ||
| Spiderman |
if you live in a wooded area put steel wool in the exhaust pipe so a critter doesn't hibernate in there. I pulled out 3 cups of dried corn out of a S3 that wouldn't start after winter storage. | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
"I pulled out 3 cups of dried corn out of a S3 that wouldn't start after winter storage." Must have been the same mouse that added 3 cups to my waders hanging in my garage. | ||
| Cyclonedon |
bundle up and ride! I rode every month last year except for February and even then I started it weekly and let it run. I just won't ride when ice is on the ground. | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
I do bundle up and ride...my sled and atv, to my favorite icefishing hole. | ||
| Glitch |
Winter is Coming, Tips on Storage Is it that time of year already!? I thought it was early yet for this thread to come around! I know it's too early to start bragging about how I rode to work all week...  | ||
| Ferrisbuellersdayoff |
This thread confuses the hell out of me as much as the whole "winter project" thing. Seriously, whats the season got to do with anything? "I know it's too early to start bragging about how I rode to work all week" Hey Glitch, ever have to ferry your bike in a jonboat 2 blocks to find pavement to get it out of the yard so you CAN ride it? Hurricanes suck! | ||
| Smitty808 |
DRAIN THE CARB!! I work on bikes for a living, and spend most of my time removing carbs, and cleaning idle jets after they have clogged from sitting. Shut off the petcock, drain the carb, pull the choke, and try to start the bike until it quits trying to run. Then put stabilizer in the gas tank. Starting the bike every so often does more harm than good unless you actually ride it, and get it warm enough to dissipate the moisture in the engine, and exhaust. Otherwise you are just making condensation to make things rust. Battery tender, or a trickle charger is good too. My 2 cents(costs a LOT more than that for your dealer to clean a carb!!) | ||
| Wile_ecoyote |
Should have made myself more clear. yes run it awhile to "dry" out motor and exhaust. Running it this long will also run the fuel additives through carb so the jets shouldnt clog. BUT, Smitty is correct. Drain carbs if you wont run it over winter, it will save you from having to clean carb. | ||
| Glitch |
Hey Glitch, ever have to ferry your bike in a jonboat 2 blocks to find pavement to get it out of the yard so you CAN ride it? No, and hope to not ever have to. | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
"This thread confuses the hell out of me as much as the whole "winter project" thing. Seriously, whats the season got to do with anything?" Spoken by the guy from Florida. | ||
| Tramp |
yeah- I got a a tip- keep riding it all year. spoken by a guy who's been known to take his Buell ice fishing and snowboarding | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
if its the bike in your profile pic, I believe it. | ||
| Swampy |
Hey Tramp! How you doing? Do like Tramp says and keep riding. What ever you do, do not start it once a month and let it run and shut it off. An engine that is run like that will draw moisture into the engine. As far as the battery goes, as long as it is a dry powder battery like the ones used in most Buells, all you need to do is charge it and let it go. It will hold the charge just fine as long as you remove a connection lead to prevent a parasitic draw. If it is a lead acid battery, replace it with a dry powder battery like the one used in most Buells, they last forever! Gas can be a problem being left in a bike but it is worse if left in a snowmobile. Winter gas evaporate faster than summer gas, and when cleaning snomobile carbs you sometimes find a jello type material in the carbs. In bikes it is usally because the gas has been left in it for a couple of years. However, if I can live long enough I think moving south is the answer, though my job search is not going well and the State just shut down. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
Air up the tires to max pressure or slightly over as indictated on the side wall. Not really sure if this prevents flat spots but it can't hurt. Remember to adjust the air pressure in spring. | ||
| Wolf102 |
i live in north eastern wisconsin and will be riding all winter long just like last year | ||
| Xl1200r |
I put the bike on a battery tender. I don't take the battery out of the bike. Run the bike until it's hot to burn off the moisture, then change the oil and primary fluid. Let it run for a couple seconds to make sure to clean oil coats the parts and you don't have old acidy oil all over everything. If you have a carb, add some fuel stabilizer to the tank and let it run for couple seconds. My advice is to keep the carb FULL. Don't close the petcock and empty the thing out. If you have air in there, there's room for moisture to form and turn the gas into a sticky mess. Leave it full with stabilizer and it will be fine. Do a good washjob on the bike. This is my least favorite part since by the time I put my bike away the water is forming icicles on the fenders, but it needs to be done. Use some kind of corrosion resitnat crap for all the bare aluminum parts. To keep wildlife out of the exhaust (and aircleaner if you use a regular dry cotton or paper filter) block the passages with steel wool or rags soaked in a little gasoine. Cover the thing. Can't hurt. If you hands stands, it can't hurt to put the bike up. If not, no big deal. You should be running radial tired which will only get a temporary flat spot. If you have bias play tires it's a different story. I've never had a carb gum up. Never had a tire flat spot (radial or bias ply), never had a mouse house inside the bike, etc etc. Personally, I think most folks (myself inculded) put too much time into getting a bike ready winter storage. If it's only going to sit for a couple months, I don't think you REALLY have to do much outside of keeping the mice away. | ||
| Ted |
If you change out the oil for storage, do you change it again for spring startup? | ||
| Xl1200r |
If you change out the oil for storage, do you change it again for spring startup? Nope. It's already clean. Just make sure your first ride is a good distance to (again) get all the moisture out. | ||
| Bigdaddy |
Ride. | ||
| Glitch |
Amen, Brother Greg! | ||
| New12r |
Heated gear and you wont notice the snow! I ride all year in GA, and I have rode in the Snow when I lived in IN. | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
Its pretty easy for the guys from down south to say "ride", especially when 1/2" of snow closes roads and causes mass chaos on the highway systems down there. My plan is to ride until the first salting, then she gets tucked in for a nice nap. | ||
| Xl1200r |
Its pretty easy for the guys from down south to say "ride", especially when 1/2" of snow closes roads and causes mass chaos on the highway systems down there. Tell me about it. Everyone should come up here and ride all year. Then you'll get my respect. Snow storms typically drop as much as 4 feet of snow in a day or less. Roads are covered in salt and still have black ice all over them. High temperatures for the day have been as low 5 degrees above 0 for weeks at a time in recent years. In fact, I remember one morning waking up and the current temp in lake placid was something around -35. Even if I could tough it out and ride all year here, I still woudln't have time since I spend all my free time clearing my driveway. |
