Winterize your bike?

[Gixxerdale]

In the past I have been known to give Uncle Bob, Louis, and SuzukiGirl some grief about having to winterize their bikes and not ride for months on end. So this year I will list my process for winterizing the Gixxer!

Locate and prepare the following:
Chain lube (for extra damp conditions)
Larger tank bag (to hold the extra crap)
Extra pair of thick socks (for those cooler mornings)
Turtle Hood (to keep the draft out)
Long sleeve T Shirt (to go over the short sleeve one)
Insulated gloves (just in case)
Rain Gear( for one of those really rare occassions!)


You didn't really think I would park it for more than a week did you?

[Hardware]

My winterizing procedure is as follows:

Look out window, decide if today I'll wear my Joe Rocket Phoenix jacket and pants or my Joe Rocket Ballistic jacket and pants...

[Louis]

Uncle Bob, we really need to make that ban button more easily accessible...

[State]

The weather in East KY is crazy right now, It's Nov and everyday this past week its been warm enough to ride with a tee shirt on. This will be my first winter with my bike. I think I'll either rent a storage building for mine(their are storage units less than a block from my house) or I'll just keep my Bandit in my house.

[bat4255]

Pull battery out @ Thanksgiving, Have several beers till the next season.

[Louis]

I prepared my bike this weekend

-Put the bike on jack stands (front and back)
-Clean and lubed the chain
-Changed the oil
-Filled the gas tank
-Put Fuel stabilizer in tank


Remaining:
-Put two-stroke oil in cylinder heads (18mm spark plug socket will arrive tomorrow
-Remove battery
-Place battery on automatic trickle charger until Spring
-Put a rag over the exhaust to prevent critters to enter

[inspiron]

Hey Louis,

I would also suggest to
- clean the bike (get all the bug juice off the chrome and pipes)
- put some wax on the tank and other painted parts
- put something over the seat to prevent it from being used by cats or other critters
- cover the bike to keep dust off of it

I really should winterize my bike, but I just can't bring myself to accept that winter is coming. I guess that I'll take her out tomorrow for one last ride, then tank her up and take her out of commission.

[inspiron]

Okay, I'm convinced ... Winter is coming ... by the end of this week, they are expecting the afternoon highs to be around 5°C (41° F) with rain. *brrr*

http://meteo.search.ch/basel.html

[Louis]

Originally Posted by inspiron

Hey Louis,

I would also suggest to
- clean the bike (get all the bug juice off the chrome and pipes)
- put some wax on the tank and other painted parts
- put something over the seat to prevent it from being used by cats or other critters
- cover the bike to keep dust off of it

I really should winterize my bike, but I just can't bring myself to accept that winter is coming. I guess that I'll take her out tomorrow for one last ride, then tank her up and take her out of commission.

-The bike is 20 years old and NOT in superb shape. It is fairly clean so no additional cleanup.
-I'm waiting for the spring for a tuneup by a real mechanic to assess the status and condition of the engine. If it's not too bad, I'm planning on repainting it with the original colors. The clear coat is already lifting in some places, so I could care less about the current paint.
-The bike is stored for this year in it's little temporary shelter. So I'm not putting additional covering on it. Clicky here for picture It's 5' wide, 8' long and 6'6" clearance.
-Good idea about the seat though.

[stevie c]

I ran my Gixer through winter last year,made sure all parts that can be affected by road salt were covered in wd40,bike was fine........

.....same it was squashed by a blind white van driver this summer

[NewEvolution]

Speaking of winterizing, I'm not going to be cranking my bike over for a while. As far as the tank goes, what's the best bet...fill it to the brim, or empty it entirely for the winter. We don't get much of a "winter" per se here in FL, but I suppose I should still be worried about rust / condensation on the inside of the tank. Conversely, as my tank is only held on by a bungee cord at the moment, would it be a better bet to just totally empty it, leave it open to de-fumigate, and pack it away inside someplace?

[rogerthat]

winterizing for me.

-put bike in garage.

then, in the middle of winter, i,

-wait till its really icy on the roads
-take bike out
-make tire pressure low
-make sure brakes work
-ride really fast
-slam on brakes on ice
-try to get a 360*

[inspiron]

Hi NE,

Just ignore rogerthat ... he doesn't even have a driver's license, so he's talking about his BMX bike.

There are different thoughs about how to winterise a bike. In FL, you don't have big temperature differences, so condensation shouldn't be a major problem. Here, where winter has started (first snowfall today) and it will continue to be cold until mid-March, the common practice is to top off the tank and drop in some stabilizer.

The logic is that condensation is caused when the tank is warm, and then the temperature outside drops, this will cause condenstation to form on the tank walls. If the tank is full (up to the neck), there is little or no space for condensation to form.

HTH!

[LayinLo]

Emptying it is the best bet if you have time and the know-how.

[NewEvolution]

Originally Posted by inspiron

In FL, you don't have big temperature differences, so condensation shouldn't be a major problem.

True, but I'm rather north in Florida. Last "winter" it did manage to get below freezing once or twice, so while condensation isn't the worry it is up more northward, it's still an issue I think. Since my bike will be sitting for a bit as I get it back into running condition, I think I'll just follow your advice (and the advice of others I've heard) and top the tank off & add some stabilizer. That should also keep my carbs from gunking up, which I gather can happen from sitting, regardless of temperature.

[inspiron]

One dealer recommended to close the gas line and let it run until it dies, so that the carbs are empty ... then I reminded him that my bike has fuel injection and shutoff valve

[axel_2078]

Originally Posted by inspiron

One dealer recommended to close the gas line and let it run until it dies, so that the carbs are empty ... then I reminded him that my bike has fuel injection and shutoff valve

Assuming it had carbs, would you even need to do that if you put a fuel stabilizer in the tank and ran it through the system?

[inspiron]

Good question ... I dunno.

I asked the dealer what effect the stabilier would have on my injectors, but didn't get much of an anwer ... something like "shouldn't hurt 'em".

I put in the stabiliser, took my bike out for about 30 minutes (went about 20 miles). Now I need to put in about 2 liters to top off the tank again

[Louis]

My petcock doesn't have an OFF setting. I just put fuel stabilizer and let the bike run about 5 minutes to makes sure some of it gets into the carbs.