Winter storage

[scratch]

Not worth a plane ticket. Better to have someone there do it for you, if anything. You already ran fuel stabilizer through the carb, and you took care of the battery; IMO it's not worth the worry. I've done less to a bike in storage for 7 months, outside, under the eaves of a house.

[niteshade]

thanks... that's all I was wondering.

[Sicarii]

I'm sorry but I think you guys are crazy to even consider riding in snow.  I live up here in Buffalo NY, and my GS is NOT coming out into the snow/slush/salt.  I have had many experiences up here in my car wondering "why doesn't the accelerator work?  Am I in neutral?"  or even worse, "My brakes just don't seem to be doing anything and that ditch/tree/old lady is getting awfully close!"  To have that kind of an experience on a bike would be beyond stupid, because if you lose traction on your front tire, and I guarantee that you WILL in Buffalo snow, you are going to go down.  And that is going to suck, because slush in your underpants isn't fun, although I guess it gets the ice on your injuries pretty quick!

[Chuck]

Yeah, I'll ride in the winter, but only if the roads are clean.

[Onlypastrana199]

  I came to a stop light that was at the bottom of a hill..hit a patch of ice and slid right under the back of a pickup truck...crawled out, truck moved forward, picked my bike up went  that was bad sorry! and rode home 

[Alphamazing]

If it snowed in Texas, I'd get an old dual sport (like the old 1980 Yamaha XT250 in our garage) slap some massive knobbies on it, gear up like mad and go ride.

What? Snow? No, f%$k snow!

[ducati_nolan]

I think we're getting a little off topic here.

For storage, the jesus guy has most of it covered, I'd recomend squirting a little fogging oil in the spark plug holes, turning the engine over a few times, then spray a little more in there and put the plugs back in. If you don't have any fogging oil, a few tablespoons of engine oil will work fine. This will keep the cylinders and rings from rusting. I had this happen once and it really sucked.

Also rubber band a plastic bag over your tail pipe and air intake. For the ultimate protection, put a silica gell packett or decadesant (sp?) in your exhaust and air intake before you put the bag on.

If you don't have a trickle charger, storing the battery inside a heated area is best.

Cake your chain in lube or wax to prevent rust, and spray nuts, bolts, bare metal, etc with WD-40 to prevent rust.
Have fun 

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

put a silica gell packett or decadesant (sp?) in your exhaust and air intake before you put the bag on.

Dessicant.

[ducati_nolan]

Thanks for the Spell check 

I forgot to mention the most important part. Tape a note over the ignition saying what you did so when you start it up you don't start a fire 

Or just keep riding the damn thing 

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

Thanks for the Spell check 

I forgot to mention the most important part. Tape a note over the ignition saying what you did so when you start it up you don't start a fire 

Or just keep riding the damn thing 

No problem. No need for the  .. I was just helping out. You asked SP? So I told you.

As for the note... great idea. Like when I change my oil.. I always put my keys with the new oil, so I can't accidentally start the car/bike with no oil in it. I've never come close.. I know people who have.

[gory]

That's a great post!  Thanks for all the info.  Q's:

1.  I would have thought that using less fuel and adding stabilizer would have been better no?  Higher stabilizer to fuel ratio is better isn't it?  The just put fresh fuel in the spring.
2.  Instead of draining the float bowls (I'm assuming you would do this by running the engine until it stops with the fuel switched off), would it be better to just run some of the fuel mix from Q#1 through the carb?
3.  Would it be better to just fill up the oil, leave it over winter, and then get it changed in the spring instead?  I'd assume you would want to change the oil in the spring anyway.
4.  I've also heard about putting "fogging oil" in the engine and turning it over a few times.  What the heck is fogging oil?
5.  What about rotors and rust?  Does anybody lube/protect the rotors somehow?  My garage will go through cool/freezing and dry/high humidity cycles over the winter from weather changes and the car being parked in the garage with snow melting off of it.

Moving to Calif. sure seems nice right about now.

[MarkusN]

1. I would have thought that using less fuel and adding stabilizer would have been better no? Higher stabilizer to fuel ratio is better isn't it? The just put fresh fuel in the spring.

For the GS with its steel tank filling up as high as possible is preferrable to prevent rust.

2. Instead of draining the float bowls (I'm assuming you would do this by running the engine until it stops with the fuel switched off), would it be better to just run some of the fuel mix from Q#1 through the carb?

Nope. Gas has a tendency to deposit varnish, even when stabilized. That wreaks havoc in your carbs. Most problems with bikes misbehaving in spring stem from varnished jets.

3. Would it be better to just fill up the oil, leave it over winter, and then get it changed in the spring instead? I'd assume you would want to change the oil in the spring anyway.

That (changing oil in spring) is sound advice for winter riders. Sissies that store their bikes for the winter better do this with fresh oil, as the old one contains lots of byproducts, some of them corrosive. you don't want your bike to stand around long with this. The new oil will not degrade over winter.

4. I've also heard about putting "fogging oil" in the engine and turning it over a few times. What the heck is fogging oil?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I take that for WD-40, Caramba and their ilk.

5. What about rotors and rust? Does anybody lube/protect the rotors somehow? My garage will go through cool/freezing and dry/high humidity cycles over the winter from weather changes and the car being parked in the garage with snow melting off of it.

In spring, a few brakings will take care of the rust. Anything that comes close to protecting iron from corrosion is bad news on the rotors, as all these materials are also lubricants.

[ducati_nolan]

Fogging oil is a preservative oil that sprays in a "fog" and sticks to the cylinder walls. It's meant to prevent corosion and rust on the cylinders and rings. You can get it at ACE hardware. WD-40 is too thin and will run off of the cylinder walls, doing little good. Engine oil is much better than WD-40, the thicker the better. 50 weight would be best but anything is better than nothing. I once got a bike running at the end of fall, and parked it for the winter, when I got it out in the spring the motor was siezed from the rings rusting to the cylinders.

The fogging oil is especially important if you park your bike in a high humidity or marine environment. It also reduces wear on the first start of the season, it may slightly foul your plugs, but that's easy to clean. It wouldn't be a bad idea to turn the engine over by hand every so often too, to make sure everything still moves.

On the GS there is no OFF position on the petcock so use the drains on the carbs.

I think the stock brakes are stainless, so they shouldn't rust much.

[CirclesCenter]

If it snowed in Texas, I'd get an old dual sport (like the old 1980 Yamaha XT250 in our garage) slap some massive knobbies on it, gear up like mad and go ride.

What? Snow? No, f%$k snow!

Alpha, no offense man but you would get f%&ked UP. Especially when it snows here, first you get a 1/4 to 1/2 inch layer of ice on the road, then you cover that with snow.

And then you add all the idiot drivers, and even worse Cali drivers who have never seen snow; neither of which slow for conditions, and winter is a good time for that massive wrenching project you may have been thinking about. (We're talking about people ending up sideways on the freeway doing 75mph, panicing and letting go of the steering wheel because "traction control" will save them...)

Now minus the tards in cages, with some studded beast tires and enough gear that when you hit the ice you bounce, FACK YEAH WITCHES!

[GoldFish]

Speaking of dusting off old threads....

first good winter storage thread to come across