Winterization

[Al up north]

Brrrr. It’s getting cold up here and I’m looking at my last few rides of the year. 
 

As I begin to make space in my Unheated shed for her. I wanted to ask some advice. I intend to run through stabilizer and I’m going to remove the battery and bring it inside on a tender. She just had an oil change too. 
 

any other advice? 
 

thanks!! 

[dirtrider]

1 hour ago, Al up north said:

Brrrr. It’s getting cold up here and I’m looking at my last few rides of the year. 
 

As I begin to make space in my Unheated shed for her. I wanted to ask some advice. I intend to run through stabilizer and I’m going to remove the battery and bring it inside on a tender. She just had an oil change too. 
 

any other advice? 
 

thanks!! 

Morning AL

 

You will probably get lots of suggestions: 

 

I will start with a few--

 

_Put a tarp under the stored motorcycle as that will help prevent moisture from coming up from below (it can come up even through concrete) 

 

_Over-inflate the tires slightly (not a lot but at least to tire sidewall max)

 

_As for battery storage it will store & retain it's charge better in a cooler area, as long as your outside storage doesn't get way below freezing then you are probably better off storing outside than in a warm inside.  

 

_I usually put a rubber plug in the muffler outlet to keep moisture from entering the engine that way,   if you can easily access it then also stuff a rag into the intake snorkel to prevent mice from entering the air cleaner & making a mess (I usually add a long red ribbon to the rag  that is easy to see as that prevents leaving the rag in the snorkel come first ride)

 

_Some riders put moth balls in an old sock then stick that under the seat (or in that area) to prevent mice from eating the wire insulation over winter storage.

 

Personably I store ALL my motorcycles with non-alcohol containing gasoline. Worst thing for storage is alcohol containing fuel as the alcohol attracts moisture, then forms larger droplets that can corrode anything metallic that it touches. Not so bad if your motorcycle still has it's emission evap canister but if the evap can has been removed then the tank vent is open to high humidity ambient air. Then every time the tank changes temperature it can inhale & exhale pulling in moist air.  

 

 

[Hosstage]

I hesitate to offer my experience, but I leave my batteries in the bikes, temps here get well below 0°F for months at a time. A charged battery will not freeze. I put them on a Tender on and off throughout winter to keep them charged. Non lithium batteries. I tend to take the bikes out for rides when possible during winter (you know, when it warms up to 20°!), so I like to have them ready to go.

That said, removing them is probably best, I'm sure it would be much better if I did. I'm just kind of lazy that way.

Also, use a light dust cover over the bike, nothing heavy that will hold extra moisture. I've even heard of guys putting a small heat lamp or 100 watt bulb under the bike to prevent condensation, not endorsing or discouraging it, just passing that on. Potential for fire would be my concern there.

One last thing, I am a fan of Seafoam as a fuel stabilizer, it was developed here for boat motors that don't see a lot of fuel turnover. I've heard and believe Techron (sp?) is also very good. I also run non-oxy fuel. A whole thread of its own could be had with discussion of stabilizers (and probably has if a search here was done).

Winter sucks.

[Skywagon]

Excluding the gas tank, if you are worried about moisture on your bike, place a small fan near it on a timer and let the fan blow a couple of hours a day.  That is a very common practice in the airplane industry as corrosion on an airplane is a really bad thing.  I always kept a very large fan in my hangar on a timer.  I would set it for early morning 2 hours and sunset for 2 hours.  As DR said, concrete does sweat upwards.  The fan will help keep that moisture down or eliminated.

 

It's interesting watching this thread as those of you in colder climates are putting bikes away for the winter.  This is prime riding season for me.  My bike sits most of the summer (June- September) as too hot.  It's really nice right now with 75 degree days. Im riding a lot right now.

[dirtrider]

3 minutes ago, Skywagon said:

Excluding the gas tank, if you are worried about moisture on your bike, place a small fan near it on a timer and let the fan blow a couple of hours a day.  That is a very common practice in the airplane industry as corrosion on an airplane is a really bad thing.  I always kept a very large fan in my hangar on a timer.  I would set it for early morning 2 hours and sunset for 2 hours.  As DR said, concrete does sweat upwards.  The fan will help keep that moisture down or eliminated.

 

It's interesting watching this thread as those of you in colder climates are putting bikes away for the winter.  This is prime riding season for me.  My bike sits most of the summer (June- September) as too hot.  It's really nice right now with 75 degree days. Im riding a lot right now.

Afternoon David

 

Some of us in the great white north are putting motorcycles away now (at least the good motorcycles)  but a lot of us have a couple of old beater bikes that we ride through the winter.

 

It's not so much the cold weather (at least for me personally) that forces the storage it is the heavy salt on the winter roads that just wreck havoc with motorcycle steel & alloy components, even the bolts rust if the bike is ridden on salted roads.

[Al up north]

As always. Great advice. 
thanks everyone! 
 

[roger 04 rt]

After lots of tests on AGM batteries like the PC680, I decided to disconnect the batteries during off-season storage and not connect a tender. When I put the bike back on the road in MA in May after 7 months, its PC680 was at 12.74 volts. I then reconnected the battery and took a ride, letting the alternator charge it up because the odyssey batteries like a good high current charge.

 

When I take the FL bike out of storage next month, I’ll check the voltage, and ride to recharge. It’ll be interesting to see how much its bmw AGM has discharged in the hot humid FL summer.

[Mike279]

I like to use a sheet to cover the bikes in storage.  It lets everything beathe and keeps the dust off.  If your shed has or is near power I would leave the battery in and just check and charge if needed. My lawn tractor sits in a unheated shed all winter with temps below zero and has no issues.  Those lawn and garden batteries are not rated very well and I usually still get 6 or 7 years out of them.  

[dirtrider]

27 minutes ago, Mike279 said:

I like to use a sheet to cover the bikes in storage.  It lets everything beathe and keeps the dust off.  If your shed has or is near power I would leave the battery in and just check and charge if needed. My lawn tractor sits in a unheated shed all winter with temps below zero and has no issues.  Those lawn and garden batteries are not rated very well and I usually still get 6 or 7 years out of them.  

Morning Mike

 

The big difference between the BMW  1100/1150 & your lawn tractor is the BMW 1100/1150 has a content patristic drain on the battery (even with the key turned off)  & most lawn tractors don't have that patristic drain.

 

 

[RPG]

On 10/27/2020 at 10:44 AM, dirtrider said:

Morning AL

 

You will probably get lots of suggestions: 

 

I will start with a few--

 

_Put a tarp under the stored motorcycle as that will help prevent moisture from coming up from below (it can come up even through concrete) 

 

_Over-inflate the tires slightly (not a lot but at least to tire sidewall max)

 

_As for battery storage it will store & retain it's charge better in a cooler area, as long as your outside storage doesn't get way below freezing then you are probably better off storing outside than in a warm inside.  

 

_I usually put a rubber plug in the muffler outlet to keep moisture from entering the engine that way,   if you can easily access it then also stuff a rag into the intake snorkel to prevent mice from entering the air cleaner & making a mess (I usually add a long red ribbon to the rag  that is easy to see as that prevents leaving the rag in the snorkel come first ride)

 

_Some riders put moth balls in an old sock then stick that under the seat (or in that area) to prevent mice from eating the wire insulation over winter storage.

 

Personably I store ALL my motorcycles with non-alcohol containing gasoline. Worst thing for storage is alcohol containing fuel as the alcohol attracts moisture, then forms larger droplets that can corrode anything metallic that it touches. Not so bad if your motorcycle still has it's emission evap canister but if the evap can has been removed then the tank vent is open to high humidity ambient air. Then every time the tank changes temperature it can inhale & exhale pulling in moist air.  

 

 

I will expand on one of D.R.'s points with personal experience. Many years ago, I bought my first house with a very old garage and I stored my R90s on the cold, damp concrete floor. The next spring, the bike fired up fine and I suited up for a ride. As I pulled in the clutch lever to engage first, the bike stalled. My clutch disc had fused to the pressure plate with all the moisture coming up through the concrete. Thereafter, I have always placed plywood, a tarp or something to prevent the condition.

RPG