My First Winter with my GS

[royced57]

I have a '93 GS500 that I bought in late June.  I'm a new rider and so this will be my first winter with a bike.  I know it's a bit early to start thinking about Winter, but I want to have a plan.

I live in Des Moines Iowa.  It gets pretty darned cold and snowy here - especially over the last few years.  I'm going to ride as much and as late into the season as I can.  But, I want to have a protocol for keeping my bike in good riding shape for spring.

The bike lives in an attached garage that stays above 50 degrees F even on the coldest nights.

My working plan was to:

• Keep it covered
• Use a trickle charger on the battery
• Add fuel stabilizer
• Start it every few days and let it run for 10 minutes or so

Is this enough - or even the right direction to take?

Thanks in advance for your input.

P.S - I've put up about 800 miles since I got license in mid July.  Loving every minute of it.

Cheers,
Royce

[shchuka]

The alternative to starting it every day would be to drain all the fuel from the tank and the carb floats and remove the battery.  You can use something like OptiMate battery conditioner on the battery inside your home.

[zirconx]

I don't know why you'd need to cover it when its inside a 50+ degree garage.  To keep the dust off I guess?  Depending on the cover it could hold in moisture and cause more rusting than not covering it.

I usually put stabil in the tank, run the engine a while (maybe a short ride) to make sure its gotten into the fuel lines and carbs, then park it.  I put a battery charger on it every 4-6 weeks (or you could use a battery tender).  I try to start it up once or twice per winter when the temps are at a higher than normal point.  You certainly don't need to start it every few days, that will probably do more harm than good.

I live in Nebraska so have the same weather as you.  I've been storing my motorcycles this way for over 10 years and have never had a problem.  

[royced57]

Thanks.  Good point on the cover.

Curious, why would starting it every few days be worse than starting it a couple of times over 4 months?

[zirconx]

Thanks.  Good point on the cover.

Curious, why would starting it every few days be worse than starting it a couple of times over 4 months?

You could end up with water in your oil. When you first start the bike there will be condensation in the crankcase and probably in the exhaust (ever seen water dripping from car tailpipes in winter?). When the bike gets warmed up this moisture eventually gets burned off. I'm not sure if idling the bike will create enough heat to burn it all out.

If you read the label on the stabilizer, I think it says the gas will be ok for a few months ay least. Just make sure to treat the gas right away, it starts going bad as soon as you put it in your tank (probably before).

[Yev]

Full tank of gas with Stabil. Put a plastic sandwich bag over the exhaust and rubber band it (keeps critters out). Put on centerstand and put wood blocks under both tires. Take battery out and store somewhere at room temp and charge it every 4-6 weeks. Also, some people say do an oil change before putting it away so the motor sits with fresh oil.. 

[Shaddow]

Alternative keep riding through winter.

[ojstinson]

It really has been getting colder the past few winters, it's that Damned global warming is what it is.

[JEREMY JOCK]

If it's inside, I wouldn't bother covering it with anything more than a sheet to keep the dust off.

Instead of using a trickle charger all winter, just remove the battery, and keep it in a location that's room temperature. When spring rolls around, you can put it on the charger for a day or two and be good to go.

As far as fuel goes, drain it, or add a stabilizer.

[royced57]

Thanks again!

[Yev]

Draining the gas is not the best idea. Water condensation will build in the tank and rust it from the inside out.
Always better to keep it full of gas (with stabil).

[Shaddow]

What sort of temps turns you guys off riding? Just curious as I ride with -3 Celsius (26 Fahrenheit) to 10 Celsius (50 Fahrenheit) being my normal winter range of temps.

[007brendan]

It depends on the type of riding.  In college in West Virginia, I rode up until the roads were covered with snow, definitely below freezing, but it was all city riding-- around 35 mph.  My commute is a little longer now and it's mostly highway.  I haven't ridden in anything below 50 in a long time, but highway riding is just uncomfortable in the cold for me now.  Maybe I've lived in California too long, and I'm getting soft.  It probably doesn't help that all my riding gear is made for hot weather.

[tt_four]

How long do you think your bike will need stored? That might determine how much you need to do to it. If it's only 2 months, you won't need as many precautions as you might for 5 months.

I used to ride up into December and then start again first thing in march, but it took the right gear to do it. I used to have heated grips, gloves, vest, and chaps all to keep me artificially warm. Obviously a windscreen helps.

I have some heated grips in my basement. Eventually I'm going to put those one, and keep around a pair of hand guards to deflect some wind to see if I can make colder rides any more enjoyable without numb fingers. I don't feel like going too much more into it than that anymore.

[royced57]

The Winter can vary pretty wildly here in South Central Iowa.  It can be riding weather into December.  I've even played a round of golf in January.

But the last 3 years have been below normal and very snowy.  Last year we crushed the record for consecutive days with 5" or more of snow on the ground and missed the all time snowfall record by less than 2".

So... it's hard to say.  I plan to ride for as long as I can.  I guess my working plan is to add stabil to the tank when it starts looking like it could be the last day/week for a while.  If I have a chance to get out and ride, I will.

Thanks once again for the responses. 

Royce

[ojstinson]

Royce, you need to understand the world according to Gore theory, as the earth gets hotter it stands to reason that the winters will get colder, and eventually the earth will become so hot that we will all freeze to death.

[JEREMY JOCK]

I don't know how far into the cold I'll make it this year, being more used to the warm temperatures. This past spring, I got my GS out of storage as soon as the snow melted. I think daytime temps were around 40 degrees. My morning commute to work average between 20-30 degrees. With the proper cold weather gear, you could go all winter if you wanted.

[tt_four]

So... it's hard to say.  I plan to ride for as long as I can.  I guess my working plan is to add stabil to the tank when it starts looking like it could be the last day/week for a while.  If I have a chance to get out and ride, I will.

Keep in mind you don't need to have the stabil in there for too long, just long enough for gas to work it's way through the carb. As long as you can get one medium length ride in you should be set.

[scratch]

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=312.msg1730#msg1730

[Toogoofy317]

I'm not really sure what this white stuff you call snow is. But, this year during the summer was hotter than hades. Actually, it was our second hottest summer on record. I am so relieved that we are only 85 this week! Last year we had a lot of cold days though but I ride year round. Actually, ride less in July than I do in January.

No idea on storing in the cold though!

Mary