10 Tips On Winterizing Your Motorcycle
Preparing your bike for Winter Storage
Winter provides an excellent opportunity to give your bike a thorough cleaning and inspection and perform routine maintenance. You may even want to dismantle and clean some of the more accessible parts. A little preventative maintenance can go a long way in early detection of problems and prolonging the life of your bike. When it’s time to ride again, you want it to be in top shape and ready to go.
For hands-on opportunity to accomplish this on your own bike, register for our fall workshop.
Remember; always refer to your owner’s manual for guidance for your own specific motorcycle.
- Check your tire pressure and make sure it’s at the recommended setting.
- Place your motorcycle on the centre stand if you have one; otherwise it’s a good idea to purchase a lift. This effectively relieves the weight from tires and suspension.
- Place a thin layer of cardboard between your tires and the floor. Rotate the position of your tires periodically to prevent the formation of flat spots.
- Purchase and install a battery tender. You can do this without removing the battery and it keeps your battery fully charged as long as the tender is plugged in. Check the specifications of battery and tender before using.
- Change your oil and filter.
- Fill your gas tank and add fuel stabilizer as per the directions and let it run for a few minutes. If your bike is carbureted, drain the carbs. There may be a mechanism for doing this on your bike; you can also turn off the gas supply to the carbs and letting your engine run until it runs out of gas.
- Clean and dry your bike thoroughly. Wax liberally. You may even apply a thin layer of oil to chrome and metal parts to deter the formation of rust.
- Plug the air filter intake; also the exhaust pipe(s). It deters little critters from making nests in them.
- Clean and liberally lube your drive chain if you have one.
- Cover your bike loosely with a good quality cover to keep dust off and avoid condensation from forming.
Bonus: If you’re planning on having any work done by a shop during the winter, book early. Good shops book up quickly and you don’t want to be waiting for your bike when spring arrives.