Questions about winterizing

[Kenreesesr]

First year with my 03 Vmax and want to do it right. Not ready to put it away yet, but its right around the corner. I assume oil and filter change? Any thoughts on fuel stabilizer? What's best to use? What else should I be doing? Should the battery be pulled?

Thanks
This forum is invaluable

 

[maleko89]

I have an Odyssey battery and leave it in. Most other batteries I'd remove. I put a couple oz of Seafoam before filling up and park it. Turn the key every couple of weeks to keep float bowls full. Make sure tires are at full pressure and rotate them once in awhile to prevent a flat spot. Take some bread bags and rubber bad them to the end of the muffler(s).

 

[[email protected]]

There is no right or wrong way, just a bunch of opinions. Here is what I do:

Fill the tank at the gas station that is close to home and dump marine grade stabil in the tank. Ride it home (less than 1 mile) and park it.

Put it on the centerstand and put jacks under the frame sliders so both wheels are off the ground.

Plug my battery tender in.

Cover it up and let it sit till its ready to ride.

In spring I typically start it and warm it to temp, change the oil, then do a carb synch. My bike sat for over a year recently using this method with no issues.

 

[mr.maxx]

up north.. yea id yank the battery and keep it inside. or keep it onna tender. or you can charge it once a month. up to you:biglaugh:. its a pita to yank the max battery tho. lol. but anyhoo stabilzer is a MUST. i like the sta-bil marine formula. and make shure the gas tank is full of fresh gas and let the bike run long enough so the stabilizer gets to the carbs, yu will know when you can smell it in the exhaust. an oil change is a good idea also....then yu will be good ta go in the spring.

 

[cgswss]

I fill the tank up with "pure gas" and ad stabil. I add it at the gas station so on the way home it gets thru the carbs. I leave the batt in the bike with a battery tender. I put own some plywood scraps under the wheels and center stand and put it up on the center stand.

I like to go out and start the bike about one a month and let it warm. Then (with the rear wheel off the ground) put it in gear and use the clutch and shift. the reason I do the clutch/gear thing comes from a number of bikes I have restored in the past. They were all Hondas with low mileage that had done a good deal of sitting. What happened on these bikes is the clutches were destroyed. You have a bike sitting with part of the clutch in an oil bath and part out. While in storage, part in the oil swells, while the other part drys out. come spring you take the bike out to get all the fluids moving before you do an oil change. When you drain the oil you find little chunks of the clutch!.

I also give the bike a good wash and a wax job before I put it away.

Craig

 

[Maxine]

All good advise here Usually takes me half a day to prep all my bikes, and the ladies who work at the gas station a mile away get a kick out of me riding everything over one at a time to top off the tanks with stabil and fuel. Once home thay get lined up in the garage and alll pugged into batt tenders and covered with old cotton sheets. if you live far enough North make sure your coolant/antifreeze is fresh and up to the task also.

 

[MaxMidnight]

Agree with much of what has already been suggested except...

The warmer the temperature in which conventional batteries are stored the quicker they will loose their charge.
Leave it in as cool a place as possible but don't let it freeze.
Check the voltage once a month - if fallen below 12.6 volts then re-charge.
If left on the bike then I would also pull the main fuse.

An engine will need about ten miles of operation before it reaches full operating temperature.
Below that then any accumulated condensation and volatile liquids are less likely to have been dissipated.
On that basis I wouldn't run a motor 'once it has been put to bed' unless you are able to reach operating temperature, something that is unlikely to be achieved statically (most folk get bored first).

Simply warming a motor is more likely to encourage a build up of condensation so is best avoided.