Topic: Winterizing the bike!

[Dos]

Hey guys, just getting ready to winterize my bike and go for my last couple of rides, seems to be getting colder each day here.

I usually coat the bike in wd-40 and take the battery out and have it on it’s center stand but do you guys leave gas in with some additive? Or completely drain the tank out and let it sit empty?

I know to drain the carbs just don’t remember whether the tank should be emptied or not. I have coated it in the past with the metallic sealer( forgetting the name)

Thanks, would like to hear how you winterize your bike.
Is it too early!? Haha I’m in NJ

[Can550]

I add sea foam in gas tank, go for a short ride, turn the fuel petcock off before reaching home, remove battery and put it on centre stand. Throw a blanket (that I had bought few from u haul) and wait for spring. 


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[ekpent]

  Here in Michigan I don't really do too much. I pull the battery and keep it charged. I don't drain the gas out of the  tank or carbs or anything and find it usually picks up where I left off in the spring despite all the fuel horror stories out there. A friend of mine unclips/empties his float bowls on his 750 and lets them lay open on the engine case on his over the winter.

[Deltarider]

  Here in Michigan I don't really do too much. I pull the battery and keep it charged. I don't drain the gas out of the  tank or carbs or anything and find it usually picks up where I left off in the spring despite all the fuel horror stories out there. A friend of mine unclips/empties his float bowls on his 750 and lets them lay open on the engine case on his over the winter.

I agree with you. There are a lot of horror stories indeed. But, in spite of them, so far your experiences match mine. I do replenish the content of the floatchambers say every 2 months (I favour keeping them 'wet' during hibernation) but I seriously wonder if that replenishing is needed... So far never had a problem, not even after 7 months.

[Dos]

Yeah I usually just leave the gas in and drain carbs but for some reason my petcock leaked this season

[millla03]

My experience is similar to what others have mentioned. I put some fuel stabilizer in the tank to match what gas is in it, drain float bowls, and pull the battery. Had carbs off spring 2017 during engine rebuild, and they showed no corrosion or deposits from this practice. There have also been a couple winters I didn't bother to drain the float bowls, and it didn't seem to matter. I use Honda fuel line and Viton o-rings in the carbs, which have held up fine to regular E10 fuel.

Bike lives in heated garage with minimal temperature change, so corrosion from hot/cold cycles isn't much of a concern. Tank is also lined so rust isn't an issue, though fogging it or topping off before storage isn't a bad idea if it is unlined. A good cleaning and detail in the fall is always nice too, just to get road debris and dirt off the bike. Then you have a nice shiny ride to start the next season.

Drop battery in, turn on the gas, and it always fires right up in the spring after sitting for 3-4 months.

[PeWe]

I have my K6 in a warm garage, part of my house. Start it every 2 months or so, let it idle a minute or 2. Charge battery for 2-3 days every 2 months too. No risk it will rust.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

In my garage, I empty the tank and carb bowls or add Stabil and plug in my Battery Tender. It's that simple.

[Johnie]

In WI...bikes stored in my heated shop so no moisture issues. I put Stabil in the tank and take it for a ride. About a mile before I get home shut off the petcock. I do not pull the float bowls. The first of every month I put the Battery Tender on each bike. Come spring I open the petcock and ride them with no issues...ever. Works for me.

[Dos]

I don’t have a metal garage so it gets very very cold. Should I top the tank off with stabil/seafoam? Or just like half the tank?

[Deltarider]

Start it every 2 months or so, let it idle a minute or 2.

Not a good practice IMO. Two minutes of running - and then even idling, ouch! - is never enough to sufficiently warm up the engine and that as a consequence will lead to condens in the engine and I hate to think of what it does to the exhaust... If I were you I would suppress my desire to want to hear the engine run.

[PeWe]

Start it every 2 months or so, let it idle a minute or 2.

Not a good practice IMO. Two minutes of running - and then even idling, ouch! - is never enough to sufficiently warm up the engine and that as a consequence will lead to condens in the engine and I hate to think of what it does to the exhaust... If I were you I would suppress my desire to want to hear the engine run.

No problem in a WARM garage, 21-23C. Wintertime not that humid air either.
My bike has now a stainless exhaust so it will not rust. My old pipes did not rusted either, 4-1 from the 80's or later Yamiya 4-4.

Different thing if stored outdoors under a blanket or similar. Tank can start to rust inside and pipes too.
It might be worth it to take the bike indoors beside the TV 
Or check for a good storage place. Rent a warm dry place with other bikers.

Or check bike shops offering winter storage. It might be a risk if the bike shop will go bankruptcy, bank comes and take everything in the shop. It can take time until the owners get their bikes back if they can proove that they haven't sold bikes to the shop

[calj737]

I don’t have a metal garage so it gets very very cold. Should I top the tank off with stabil/seafoam? Or just like half the tank?

Only enough to treat the volume of gas. BUT, either store your tank completely full or completely empty. 1/2 full provides air space for evaporation that will rust the underside of the tank. Do run the motor with Stabil/SeaFoam to treat the fuel in the carbs/bowls. And spin the back tire every couple of weeks to prevent flat spotting it.

[Old Scrambler]

I stored my K3 in cold and damp storage for an entire year in Wisconsin with 110-race gas in the tank............started right up with the battery that I kept charged. Adapted the idea from friends with numerous bikes to store.  Fill a nearly empty tank and go for a ride. Leave the fuel in the bowls. This year my K3 is traveling with me.

[Pwrwagontom]

I've always left a full/fresh tank of gas, filled with stabilizer; this keeps moisture from accumulating in the empty tank.  I close the petcock and run it out of gas, then put it on center stand. 

[jlh3rd]

i've never heard of acid in wd 40. It's helps in removing rust,sure. But it's a water dispersant or displacement ,WD.....I've also never seen or read any directions on using wd 40 that say not to let it sit on chrome, metal, or painted surfaces....so it keeps water from reaching a metal surface, which is exactly what we're trying to do.

[Don R]

 A bike I bought at auction appeared nasty and pitted but I had a parts bike for it at home and bought it anyway. Later I wiped a turn signal off and it was beautiful under the accumulation of garage dirt, so I cleaned the entire bike. It had been coated with blue coral wax on the paint and WD40 on all of the chrome. There is still blue coral coming out from under the chrome edges but that bike is awesome and I didn't replace anything. If it had been prettier I might not have gotten it. Did I mention it's a sandcast?
 I left some hidden wax on the back of the front turn signals to remember the PO by. He loved his 750 to the end.
 

[Deltarider]

….remove the battery to inside temperatur …

Actually it's better to leave the battery in a cold place, provided it is well charged. The battery contains in fact a constant chemical proces and by storing the battery NOT warm, you slow down that proces, reducing the self discharge and so enhancing its lifetime.

[Stev-o]

Winterizing?   Riding season has just started down here!

Last weekend....

[Dos]

Yeah I’ve got acouple more rides to go

[Erny]

I'm actually in front of the same dilema.
I'll keep tank full of premium gas (100 octane Shell V Power Racing, with gas stabiliser), will empty carbs.

Bit wondering how to prevent rust on chrome parts and paint? And what about seat and rubber parts?
I can spray wd40 on chromed parts, but what for the rest?

I live in Europe, Slovakia, bike is kept in non-heated garage.

[calj737]

I'm actually in front of the same dilema.
I'll keep tank full of premium gas (100 octane Shell V Power Racing, with gas stabiliser), will empty carbs.

Bit wondering how to prevent rust on chrome parts and paint? And what about seat and rubber parts?
I can spray wd40 on chromed parts, but what for the rest?

I live in Europe, Slovakia, bike is kept in non-heated garage.

The seat and rubber parts shouldn’t rust, even in Slovakia 

[Erny]

You know what I wanted to ask - how to maintain them during winter, of course not due to corrosion

[jlh3rd]

wax the painted parts, put viny/rubber dressing on the appropriate parts. wd 40 on chrome and other metal parts,spokes,chain etc..
       i don't have a heated garage, i have a full zippered enclosure with a battery maintainer and a small portable heater,and a big open box of baking soda as an absorbent,.. all in a shed......
      it works for me..

[Deltarider]

... 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...