As winter closes in on us, you need to think about storing your bike for the winter if you live in frigid climates. Although there are only a few months of winter, the main concern is to avoid any corrosion while your bike is in storage. Then, once winter passes, you will have a bike that is ready to go.
The areas of most concern against corrosion are the valve seats, cylinder walls and piston rings. Because moisture can find access to your engine from many various places and cause serious damage, it is the enemy. Closing up all the areas moisture could enter the engine is not feasible, so it is crucial to focus on moisture proofing your bike instead.
Begin by warming up your engine. Any moisture that has accumulated will be driven off, and this makes it simple to get a fair coating of oil in each of the cylinders. Next, turn off your bike and remove your spark plugs. Now, using your good old turkey baster, suck 25cc's of engine oil, and then squirt the oil into each of the plug holes. By hand, and with the plugs still out, turn the engine over by placing the bike in top gear and turning the rear wheel. This will coat the valve seats, piston rings and cylinder walls. Follow up by replacing the spark plugs, and draining the existing crankcase oil. After this, fill the crankcase with fresh oil. It is suggested that you retain the old filter and plan on changing the oil in the spring. However, if you prefer to use the existing oil after the thaw, you should change the filter now. This concludes the difficult part of preparing your bike for winter. You can rest assured in knowing that moisture will not rust out your engine parts.
But, there is still more to think about. (If your bike is fuel injected, you can skip this step.) The inside of your fuel tank will also need protection from rusting. To do this, fill your tank to the top using fuel that was treated with a fuel stabilizer. Then, drain the float bowls. To do this, unscrew the small screw found on the carb float bowl. When fuel is left in the bowls for an excess of two months it becomes jet-clogging sludge that requires a carb overhaul to remove.
Since batteries self-discharge, you must keep the battery charged up when the bike is stored. The solution to this is to hook your battery up to a Super Smart Battery Tender. The battery can be left in the bike while it is hooked up. Ensure that your bike has enough coolant and cover the bike with a motorcycle cover. You are ready for winter!
To protect your motorcycle this winter, visit Beverly Bay to shop our quality motorcycle covers.
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