Up here it gets pretty cold during the winter (-60's F) without the wind-chill. All my bikes I have stored outside, XS, Venture, Goldwing, etc... Here is what I've done and I've had Zero issues come spring:
- Changed The oil and gear oil.
- Adjusted the antifreeze level to take the cold temp.
- Put some sort of sabilizer in the fuel. in a full tank (I've used seafoam and stabil, however I had fuel issues in the small engines, ie. mower, leaf blower, edger).
- Ran engine a little with the stabilized fuel then drain float bowls.
- Pulled spark plugs and shoot a little WD-40 in the jugs and turn the motor over a few times. (we have a dry winter, so it wasn't needed to spray other metal areas).
- Pulled battery and put it on the tender in the garage. (there was a time when I didn't bother pulling it, and just let it sit. I would get a sears battery for my Goldwing then warranty it out in the spring at no cost :biglaugh: The Venture's battery did just fine being left in the bike, the XS not so much).
- Put bike on the centerstand.
- put 2x6 under front tire.
- Covered it up.
The Vmax is small enough to be kept in the garage next to my furnace. You look around up here, a good chunk of the bikes populus keep thier bikes outside either in a shed or on the back porch. Hope this helps, cold weather storage and safety items to carry in your vehicles is something that get's taught up here at an early age.
