Successful Winter Storage of Your Motorcylce

I hate to even think about writing this column, and debated delaying it for yet another month or so, but decided that if I got you thinking about it early enough, more of you would properly winterize your bikes.

We do not mind the flurry of parts business in March and April when you are fixing all of the problems that could have been prevented by proper storage, but we'd rather see you on the road.

When storing your beloved bike (or car for that matter), an ounce of prevention really will prevent a pound of cure. Spend a little time now, or a lot of time and money in the spring. This article is an overview of what you need to do to insure a smooth spring start to the riding season.

• Putting your bike away for the winter without fresh oil and a bath is like not brushing your teeth before you go to bed. You KNOW how that feels in the morning. Seriously, engine oil collects acids and corrosive byproducts of the combustion process.
  Why store your bike with that old acidic fluid in it? We recommend a complete oil change including a filter change. If it is time to change your transmission and/or primary case oil, do it now, not after it has been sitting all winter. After you have changed the oil, start the engine and allow the new oil to circulate for a few minutes.

• After you change your oil, put some Sta-Bil in your FULL fuel tank (included in our Winterizing Kit). We recommend that you store it with a full tank, so the least amount of water can condense in the tank, and of course, start to rust. Sta-Bil will ensure that your gas stays fresh until spring and will prevent problems caused by "old gas", which turns to varnish.

  Run the bike so that the Sta-Bil gets into the carburetor. While we will drain the carburetor, this will protect any passages that may have residual gasoline in them. Then TURN OFF the fuel tap, and let the bike run until it drains all of the gas from the carburetor and dies. This prevents any gum from forming in the carburetor overthe winter.

• Remember, RUST NEVER SLEEPS. It is critical to protect your piston and cylinder from rust and corrosion over the course of the winter. Condensation WILL form in the cylinder causing the rusting process to begin. This is as true as death or taxes! Up here in the northland, where we have 9 months of winter and 3 months of tough sledding, we like to protect our cylinders (cars, boats, snowmobiles, etc.) in the off-season by using a Fogging Oil in the cylinder. Fogging oil sprayed inside of the cylinder enters as a fog and then sets up and forms a grease-like protective coating on the cylinder wall. This will provide great protection during the storage season.
• Install a new Spark Plug.
• Clean your bike. Do not store it dirty. You could wait until spring to clean it, and spend a lot of time trying to remove rust, etc. incurred during winter storage, but that would both waste your time, and let rust get a foothold. If you clean and protect it now, it will be ready to go in the spring, no problem.

Here are some tips:

• Clean the bike thoroughly
• Protect all of the exposed surfaces. Use a product to protect the paint, chrome and rubber. I especially like a Waterless Wash & Wax product from Prowler. We've used it with good success on everything from plated parts, such as chrome wheels and spokes, to painted surfaces and glass. It's loaded with Carnauba Wax, and can be found in our Supplies and Lubricants collection for the upcoming year. Some good tire cleaner from your automotive store will effectively clean your rubber items like tires and foot pegs.
• Lubricate the drive chain with Chain Lube, and adjust it before putting the bike away for the winter. D. Lubricate all of the cables with Cable Lube to protect them from corrosion (the leading cause of cable failure).
• Check and clean the battery terminals with a wire brush if you see some corrosion. (Some people like to then smear a little petroleum jelly on them to prevent corrosion. Others like Permatex Dielectric Grease.) Check the water level. Do not overfill, and use distilled water if you need to add. Install an automatic low-current Battery Tender on the battery. This is a critical step. If you do not keep the battery electrically active over the course of the winter, the odds of it being usable in the spring are quite low. Some people tell me that they remove the battery, and take it inside. Unfortunately, that is still not beneficial to the battery. When a battery sits idle, its plates sulphate and eventually ruin the battery. On the other hand, if you keep a small charge on the battery, you can double or triple its life. Be sure that whatever you use is automatic, so that it shuts down when the battery does not need a charge. This is an often overlooked step that can save you a lot of money and downtime. One extra season on the battery pays for the charger, which should work for years and years!
• Lastly, inflate the tires to the recommended pressures
• Invest in a Bike Cover. We sell a very nice cover for only $59.95. Not only will your bike be clean and shiny in the spring, it will be protected from bird-droppings, dust, dirt and whatever else goes on in your storage space.