Author Topic: Winterizing the bike!  (Read 4586 times)

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Online jlh3rd

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Re: Winterizing the bike!
« Reply #25 on: October 25, 2018, 03:49:47 AM »
... and a big open box of baking soda as an absorbent.. all in a shed......
      it works for me..
Really?? As long as the shed is not 100% sealed, it will attract more moist. I've used soda in the cabin of my yacht during hibernation, only to find more funghi the next spring...


i guess....the baking soda is in the zippered enclosure but,no, it isn't airtight...however, i get my info from people like this, i don't make it up, it's not internet stories like the WD 40 is acidic comment.
     since I don't have two bikes I can't run an experiment. I'll stick with experts' opinions.
« Last Edit: October 25, 2018, 03:53:42 AM by jlh3rd »

Offline calj737

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Re: Winterizing the bike!
« Reply #26 on: October 25, 2018, 04:21:56 AM »
... and a big open box of baking soda as an absorbent.. all in a shed......
      it works for me..
Really?? As long as the shed is not 100% sealed, it will attract more moist. I've used soda in the cabin of my yacht during hibernation, only to find more funghi the next spring...
i guess....the baking soda is in the zippered enclosure but,no, it isn't airtight...however, i get my info from people like this, i don't make it up, it's not internet stories like the WD 40 is acidic comment.
     since I don't have two bikes I can't run an experiment. I'll stick with experts' opinions.
The challenge with zippered enclosures is condensation from temp swings. If the enclosure is kept out inside, you should be fine. Spread Kitty Litter inside on the floor of the bag instead. Baking Soda you need a LOT of. Kitty Litter is cheap, effective, and a deterrent to rodents also.

Expecting Baking Soda to keep a sailboat cabin dry over the winter is foolhardy. You'd need about 150kG of it spread throughout the cabin (area dependent) to be effective. And boat cabins aren't "airtight". If they are fully airtight, you'd need to vacate all moisture before sealing them up, else you're sealing that moisture inside. That's what is causing your mold, not the ineffectiveness of the Baking Soda.

Moist air subjected solar radiation turns to mold pretty darn quickly in a shaded environment, like a boat cabin. You'd be better off running a small dehumidifier from a small solar panel through the winter to help prevent mold and rot.
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Online jlh3rd

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Re: Winterizing the bike!
« Reply #27 on: October 25, 2018, 04:33:08 AM »
kitty litter, makes sense to me, and cheap.....ok....understand, i run a small electric heater inside the zippered bike enclosure along with the battery maintainer...
      if i didn't have a girlfriend, the bike would be in my living room....

Offline calj737

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Re: Winterizing the bike!
« Reply #28 on: October 25, 2018, 04:40:32 AM »
kitty litter, makes sense to me, and cheap.....ok....understand, i run a small electric heater inside the zippered bike enclosure along with the battery maintainer...
      if i didn't have a girlfriend, the bike would be in my living room....
The heater is not really needed, and a bit of a fire hazard. The zippered enclosure alone (with a desiccant) should be all you need.
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Online jlh3rd

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Re: Winterizing the bike!
« Reply #29 on: October 25, 2018, 04:55:03 AM »
fire hazard.....do you mean because of fumes?......and i'm not debating, i'm asking...as i did think of that.....the heater has a tip over safety, modern circuitry uses electronic switches, not contacts that open and close creating sparks. and electric motors today are much smaller, better shielded. Also, the temp is kept around 60ish so vapor pressure temp is lower...........thoughts?

Offline calj737

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Re: Winterizing the bike!
« Reply #30 on: October 25, 2018, 05:11:37 AM »
Electrical short, dessicant in proximity, possible fuel vapors, etc. Not worth the risk in my opinion, as the need isn't there. Plus, the cost of running a heater 24x7 for 100+ days...  ???
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Offline Airborne 82nd

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Re: Winterizing the bike!
« Reply #31 on: October 25, 2018, 10:37:51 AM »
kitty litter, makes sense to me, and cheap.....ok....understand, i run a small electric heater inside the zippered bike enclosure along with the battery maintainer...
      if i didn't have a girlfriend, the bike would be in my living room....

Put your bike in the living room. Get your priority's in order :D Put a cot in the zippered bike enclosure  ;D JK

Offline Deltarider

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Re: Winterizing the bike!
« Reply #32 on: October 25, 2018, 11:44:08 AM »
kitty litter, makes sense to me, and cheap.....ok....understand, i run a small electric heater inside the zippered bike enclosure along with the battery maintainer...
      if i didn't have a girlfriend, the bike would be in my living room....

Put your bike in the living room. Get your priority's in order :D Put a cot in the zippered bike enclosure  ;D JK
Why not take your bike in bed and keep it warm? In seriousness: they found out that the worst polluter of the air inside one's home is an inbuilt garage...
« Last Edit: October 25, 2018, 11:46:43 AM by Deltarider »
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Offline Dos

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Re: Winterizing the bike!
« Reply #33 on: November 16, 2018, 10:48:51 AM »
What exactly are these horror stories of leaving gas in the tank (peacock off) and carbs?

Offline Deltarider

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Re: Winterizing the bike!
« Reply #34 on: November 16, 2018, 11:36:20 AM »
Probably stories told by people that are ashamed they were negligent and had their bikes standing for years and years unattended. Some owners choose to drain the floatbowls every year before hibernation. Over time they can expect dried out and deteriorated O-rings, in particular the little O-rings around the main jets and the O-rings around the T-joints. Leaving gas in the carbs for too long (years) isn't good either, so we face a dilemma. What works for me is: leave gas in the floatchambers, but drain them say every two months (gas can be poured in the tank again). Then with empty floatchambers and the big Idle Adjustment Screw turned a bit loose (to fully lower the carbslides), kick the engine a few times to suck the jets dry (I hope). Closing the chokes may help to create underpressure. Then open the petcock just to refill the floatchambers. This gives me the best result: no dried out O-rings and the gas in the floatchambers doesn't have time to become nasty. Tank is full ofcourse. There's no need to store the bike with ethanolfree gas as long as the tank is full. As a matter of fact, gas that contains ethanol has quite a buffer to absorb condens, where with ethanolfree gas, there's a risk of having a little pool of water building on the bottom of the tank. Only when fuel with ethanol is left too long opposed to air in a half filled tank and then with variations in temperatures, the absorbed water might reach a level that the fuel will start to separate. Only then it can become a problem. Bear in mind that the stabilizer products (additives) are usually nothing but... alcohol, because it absorbs condens so well. Isn't that ironic?
« Last Edit: November 19, 2018, 04:52:22 AM by Deltarider »
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Offline zturb0

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Re: Winterizing the bike!
« Reply #35 on: November 16, 2018, 02:20:21 PM »
Posters above, who ''leave the gas in the carbs''    :o

Is that alcohol free gas?

or the crappy, 10% corn gas ? :-\
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Offline Dos

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Re: Winterizing the bike!
« Reply #36 on: November 17, 2018, 07:28:43 PM »
Yeah I don’t know because last year I put stabil in the tank, rode it around for alittle and then shut my petcock off and drained the carbs by just running it until the gas was used all up. But then come spring I found my petcock was leaking and my carbs were messed up and I had to reset the float height and it was a whole thing and I just don’t want that to happen again. Maybe I just put too much stabil?

Before that I didn’t know any better and just left the bike with gas in the tank and carbs and let it sit over the winter and it was fine.

Offline Deltarider

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Re: Winterizing the bike!
« Reply #37 on: November 18, 2018, 01:53:12 AM »
But then come spring I found my petcock was leaking
Rubbers dried out and shrunk.
Quote
Before that I didn’t know any better and just left the bike with gas in the tank and carbs and let it sit over the winter and it was fine.
Yeah, you're probably right there. If hibernation does not last more than 6-7 months, you'll be fine, I guess. Before the first ride in spring, I would drain the floatbowls however (and pour the gas in the tank). What I described in reply #34, is maybe overdoing it, but, say every two months, I have to be there anyway, to charge the battery and activate the shocks a couple of times.
« Last Edit: November 18, 2018, 01:57:06 AM by Deltarider »
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