The Winter Thread

[nativenyerintexas]

Originally Posted by bm50Chapin

With colder weather creeping in all across the states, some places more than others, I'm contemplating winterizing the M50 for the first time in four years. This may be because I plan to sell during the begenning of the next riding season. Up to this point I've always kept the bike out of storage for the winter and gone on at least a few rides. I would always start the bike and let it warm up and run for a while several times a month if there was snow on the ground and I may do this again this winter, I'm undecided, but I still have a few weeks to really make up my mind. This just got me wondering what the majority of M50 owners do with their bikes during the cold/snowy months of the year.

So, do ya suit up and grit n' bear it riding ocassionally through the cold winter?

or

Do you 'winterize' your M50? And if so what steps do you take? (I know there are lots of threads on this, but everyone has their own take on it.)

No cage so if I want to get out, I gotta ride. Not such a bad deal here in Texas being it never stays really cold for too long.

Originally Posted by omegajim

although I agree with your train of thought, condensation really only occurs when the temp is a few degrees either side of freezing.

Up north, that is a few weeks in fall, and a few weeks in spring.

Really??? Then explain the condensation formed on a cold bottle of soda on a hot and humid summer day. I thought condensation was caused by a quick fluctuation in temperature. As stated by Wikipedia: "Water vapor will normally only condense onto another surface when the temperature of that surface is cooler than the temperature of the water vapor." Those that live in areas where it gets cold will know this: getting in a car in the morning when it's really cold, condensation appears on the windows INSIDE the car because it's colder outside, it appears on the warmer side when there's a fluctuation in temperature. When I used to go back packing I went mostly in the winter. And I brought some semi-expensive camera lenses with me. To reduce condensation inside the lenses it was recommended to put the lenses in a ziplock bag. I never had a faulty lens. The theory being the air around the lens inside the bag cools slow enough from the air outside the bag so condensation doesn't get inside the lens.

My thoughts on winter storage: if you're going to ride it, then ride it. If you want to warm it up, then do it for more than 10 minutes. Anything less is useless and can cause more damage then it solves. Another solution is to use a battery tender and a space heater with a thermostat. The space heater might not really do anything but it's nice to come in from the cold into a warm garage. That's good enough for me.

[nativenyerintexas]

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by nativenyerintexas

Really??? Then explain the condensation formed on a cold bottle of soda on a hot and humid summer day.

Maybe he is thinking of frost.

Condensation generally occurs when a solid object is colder than the air around it........and the air is not bone dry.

[fargoben67]

*surface has to be colder then the dew point. not just the air temp

[xanthia]

We just do stabil, lift them up, cover and take out the batteries. The end! Works in MO!

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by fargoben67

*surface has to be colder then the dew point. not just the air temp

Yea, that's what I was hinting around at. Trying to K.I.S.S.

The surface cannot be colder than the dew point without also being colder than the air......unless you are standing in pea-soup fog !!

[omegajim]

*surface has to be colder then the dew point. not just the air temp

yes that, when the temp fluctuates around the dew point, that's how you get condensation on a bike in a detached garage.

[BAGOCHIPS]

Just winterized it today.
Wash and wax,
Stabilizer in the fuel
Fresh oil and filter
Battery out
Covered with bedsheets
Jacked enough to take some weight off the tires but not high enough to have the weight of the tires pulling down on the suspension

[omegajim]

that ought to do it.

me, I just jam the old axe into the corner, although I should remove the battery this year.

[womper]

i usually ship it off to a bike shop and get it winterized and stored there...

this year will be a bit different. i'm bringing my bike to my dad's large shed and ripping it apart. guess i should ride it over there before the snow hits.

here's a question... if i'm going to be doing work on it, should i still winterize it? (ie, fog the cylinders, etc) as it will be in a non-heated shed.

[fargoben67]

well what work are you gunna be doin there womper?

[tricker]

stabil, put on centerstand, put piece of cardboard under front wheel, take out battery, put on cover. Oil was just changed like 400 miles ago so I don't feel like doing that again. Shed a tear and close the garage.

Well minus the moving the boat trailer to the back, the trailer with the snowmobile to the front, and in the process not hitting the bike.

[DMAN302]

Just tucked her away after a 20 minute ride to allow the stabilizer to make its way through the system. I have never really seen the need to fog the cylinders if its sitting for less than 6 months or so in a relatively dry location like an garage. I often didn't add fuel stabil to my mustangs when I tucked them away and never had problems...but again I'm sure it can happen if bad gas was there to start with. I will do a final cleanup and wax sometime in the next month or two but for now she sits under a cover and sleeps untill april shows me something over 45deg. I don't usually remover the battery, I just disconnect and charge it every 4-5 weeks for a few hours on 2amp charger setting.

[womper]

Originally Posted by fargoben67

well what work are you gunna be doin there womper?

a few little things...from front to back

new brake disc and pads
new brake line
new clutch cables
new throttle cables
take off windshield
new dual bucket headlights
fix front forks (seals blew out again)
change handlebars
change right hand housing
fix left hand housing
change mirrors
new highway pegs
see about getting my cam chains looked at
take final drive apart
new rear brake shoes
weld rear tail bracket back on bike
change rear fender
redo all the electrical
change out the exhaust
fix rear turn signals

paint exhaust and plastic BBQ matte black

that's all i can think of on the top of my head.

[fargoben67]

holy crap dude! you got quite the project ahead of ya! i guess i've never really seen the need to fog cylinders either. unless you are doing long term storage. good luck womper!

[omegajim]

yes, womper, still winterize - your list does not include working on the engine per se.

but it does include everything else.

I would start with replacing the handlebar related stuff first - just in case things fall behind and you don't get everything else done.

and why all the electrical work?

additionally, what's all with the fork seals blowing out again?

[womper]

i have a bunch to do, but i turned the M50 a project bike...

electrical, to clean up all the wiring i've done for the fog and driving lights, the horn, GPS, cigarette lighter, battery meter.. etc... it's a real rat's nest.
ya, i think i'll be doing that stuff first... cables and stuff.. get it looking the way i want first

why the fork seals blowing? umm.. Mayo Hill blew out my first one, and i think the dalton highway and all the backroad riding blew out the other time...
i'm a bit rough on it

i'll be picking up a new KLR650 next year anyhow... want to learn how to ride rougher roads and get ready to head south to Argentina

[omegajim]

my bad, I completely forgot you were the one that road a cruiser into what could affectionately be called "no man's land, but we have a road paved there to prove it."

[old new biker]

In the past I would add stabel, remove the battery, jack it up just to get weight off tires, and cover it up. Then I would put the battery in my basement on a battery tender.

This year, I plan to do all of the above, and also drain the oil and put in some fresh cheap oil for the winter. In the spring I will do a complete oil and filter change with the good stuff.

Does anyone see a problem with just draining the oil and leaving the old filter in place until spring?

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by old new biker

Does anyone see a problem with just draining the oil and leaving the old filter in place until spring?

YES....and I really don't mean this as a personal jab....or for it to be offensive.....but it's hard NOT to under the circumstances.

If you are REALLY worried about having "old" oil in there, then just CHANGE IT.....once.....with whatever you want in there in the spring. This business of wasting perfectly good (even if cheap) oil is ....well.....beyond me. It's not only a waste of oil ($$$) but of your time and energy too. There is also a tiny chance that your cheap oil is somehow incompatible with your regular oil.

AND....if your bike is stored inside where the temperature never (or very seldom) goes below 0F, there is ABSOLUTELY no point in removing the battery. If the storage space is partially heated such that the temp. doesn't go below 20F or so, removing the battery is counter-productive. Battieries actually LIKE cool temps. and age slower when it is cold. There again, just a big waste of your time.

Both of those practices are....mmmmm.....unwise.