Went out for the first 2010 ride today

[bandit32ca]

i have a snow blower but its broken so cant help

[claffix]

Got mine out today and went for a bit of a ride.  I love doing all my maintenance in the fall...dropped the battery in and I was gone!  Put on 30 km cruising around weyburn and conveniently got bored and cold at the same time.  If the weather is decent I'll be riding to regina this weekend.

[LearningNinja]

your post just got me thinkin.. i didn't know it was okay to do all the maintenence in the fall and just throw the battery in when its spring..?  can you guys give me your opinion on if you think i neglected my bike?  there seems to be conflicting information on winterizing a bike.

   I left mine outside wrapped up in a breathable cover, surrounded by a custom made wooden box.  the chain was cleaned and then left unlubed, but it was cleaned with kerosene which is supposed to leave a protective wax behind to prevent rust.  the gas tank was completely empty (which is supposed to be bad for rust on the inside of the tank, but aren't tanks nowadays made of stainless steel and chrome on the inside?  me and my dad had a looong discussion about this).  My battery was the only thing taken care of really good.  I kept it trickled and warm.  My oil was synthetic and was left sitting in the engine all winter though.. i changed it a week ago.   
so basically, i took the cover off, did an oil change, lubed the chain, threw in the battery and started it up.  Checked the tires and they were 15/20, down from like 34/38 (approx). 

Am i missing something?  I have this constant fear that i treated my bike like ****.. seems to run fine but thats all i can go by!

[TGSXR]

Don't worry so much. They aren't made of glass or that fragile. Next time, fill the tank, toss in a little stabilizer and you'll be fine. Just make sure your antifreeze is good if you're leaving it outdoors all winter. Keeping the battery warm was a good call.

Tires can be refilled, chains are tough. If your tank was stainless, then why does a tankbag with magnets stick to it?

The good thing about leaving it outdoors is that the cold will greatly reduce the rate of any of the chemical processes (like corrosion) that can do damage.

[T-bar]

Overall you did well.  The issue with an empty tank is it causes what fuel is left to degrade more.  Gas is a mixture of compounds and some are more volatile (evaporative/reactive) than others.  When gas goes bad, it's because the more volatile compounds are coming out and reacting with the air.  So the more fuel in the tank, the less air in the tank, the less exposure of the fuel to the air... you get the point.  Fuel preservative helps with this too.  I always put in the preservative, fill the tank, and then run it just long enough to get the preservative through the fuel lines and injectors so I don't end up with gummy fuel in there. But your bike won't self destruct if you don't do that for one winter.

[claffix]

Here's what I do in an unheated garage:

-Full tank of gas with stabilizer.  Prevents tank rust and I've never had a problem when burning that stabilized fuel in the spring.

-Fresh oil + filter.  When you think about it, that oil isn't gonna break down any faster sitting in your engine than it would sitting in a bottle at the store. Again ready to rock in the spring.

-Check all the fluids before it gets put up.

-Battery comes out and into the warm house.  It was a little weak this year so I think for next season I'm gonna wire up a plug for a battery tender.  That way I should be able to leave it in and hooked up and streamline this process even faster next year.

-Lube the chain like I would at any other time

-Stands front and rear so the tires are off the cold cement.

Come spring the battery goes in, tires get aired up to spec and I'm on the road.

[bryan]

Changing the oil before winter rather than after is a good idea too.

[cowboyrt]

its a VERY good idea.  You don't want the bad PH in that oil eating away at your internals.  I do that and don't change oil come spring - don't see the point.

Don't forget to run the bike with the stabilizer for a while so it gets through the entire system.  Common and pretty big mistake. Double so if your carbed.

[TRIUMPHant]

Finally got out for my first ride of the season for a couple of hours today and I gotta say... HOLY S@#T that was a quick couple of hours!!!!

As for spring work...

Here's what I do in an unheated garage:

-Full tank of gas with stabilizer.  Prevents tank rust and I've never had a problem when burning that stabilized fuel in the spring.

-Fresh oil + filter.  When you think about it, that oil isn't gonna break down any faster sitting in your engine than it would sitting in a bottle at the store. Again ready to rock in the spring.

-Check all the fluids before it gets put up.

-Battery comes out and into the warm house.  It was a little weak this year so I think for next season I'm gonna wire up a plug for a battery tender.  That way I should be able to leave it in and hooked up and streamline this process even faster next year.

-Lube the chain like I would at any other time

-Stands front and rear so the tires are off the cold cement.

Come spring the battery goes in, tires get aired up to spec and I'm on the road.

That's pretty much about right.

[Loftaris]

I've always been told that leaving a battery tender on your battery in an unheated garage was a bad idea.  2 different dealers told me this when I asked about tenders, and it even says so in the manual.  I don't know if it's true or not, but I'm just following their instructions.

Found a few websites that say something about adding a charge to a frozen battery, etc.

Food for thought.

[antichrysler]

I left the battery in my bike and let it sit all winter.  Fired up in the spring like a champ.  I wish I could say the same about the Dakota.... worthless Dodge... might have to use the bike to boost it lol

[handsomehooligan]

I left the battery in my bike and let it sit all winter.  Fired up in the spring like a champ.  I wish I could say the same about the Dakota.... worthless Dodge... might have to use the bike to boost it lol

Now that would be a hilarous photo!

[Nos]

Heading to Regina on Sunday to look at a couple of bikes and of course the weather is turning sour.  Assuming I do buy one of them, and trailer it back to Weyburn, its going to be painful to let it sit in the garage until it warms up again.

[olchap]

Here's what I do in an unheated garage:

-Full tank of gas with stabilizer.  Prevents tank rust and I've never had a problem when burning that stabilized fuel in the spring.

-Fresh oil + filter.  When you think about it, that oil isn't gonna break down any faster sitting in your engine than it would sitting in a bottle at the store. Again ready to rock in the spring.

-Check all the fluids before it gets put up.

-Battery comes out and into the warm house.  It was a little weak this year so I think for next season I'm gonna wire up a plug for a battery tender.  That way I should be able to leave it in and hooked up and streamline this process even faster next year.

-Lube the chain like I would at any other time

-Stands front and rear so the tires are off the cold cement.

Come spring the battery goes in, tires get aired up to spec and I'm on the road.

Hmm, I clean and oil my air filter in spring as well. I also gave the chain another lubing as well.

[Bandit]

That's why I ride my BSA this time of year. I wouldn't be out on a bike with near vertical steering head, rear sets and clip ons this time of year either.

What BSA do you have?!