I usually ride enough that I don't actually have to winterize my bike. Just put the battery on the charger if I feel like it's been long enough since I've ridden.

Sadly, this year I spent the entire summer fixing the GS up. I got it running and in good shape by late summer, waited until I had some money to put down on the insurance so I could get it registered/inspected, and by this point I figure 'forget it'. I plan on selling the GS in spring already, so I'm just gonna leave it parked, keep cleaning it up over winter. Put the new tires on late winter. Get it inspected as soon as I can smell spring, and try to unload it.

By next winter I'll hopefully have a second smaller bike, cb125 or something along those lines, so I can leave my nicer bike inside when the weather comes, and just take that thing out.

Anytime from mid-November to late December.  Whenever the snow starts to stay on the streets - which means I usually have to dig it out of a snowbank in order to winterize it.  Some stabilizer in the tank, drain the carbs, and double tarp it out behind the shed until April.  Not bothered by salt on the roads, but am not fond of ice!

Quote from: DoD#i on October 12, 2009, 02:52:02 PM

Quote from: RyanMidd on October 12, 2009, 11:10:03 AM
Anything else you chaps can think of?

Personally, I'd drain the carb bowls (having run the stabilizer through first) rather than leave them filled (albeit stabilized). Also a good idea to change the oil. When did you last change brake fluid? It's pretty easy to prop the front tire right off the ground with a 2x4 the right length or a jackstand. Also plastic wrap and rubberband over exhaust and intake (or a big cork). Strew a few old fashioned mothballs &/or set some mousetraps. Remove the battery and let it sit elsewhere on the tender. Pop the sparkplugs and put a teaspoon/5ml of oil down each plug hole (then replace them). Look it over for anything you'd like to get done while it's not on the road, so you don't lose riding time next year.

All this assuming long-term storage, which would seem to be the case if it's already off the road.

Okay, now I have more questions than I began with;

1) How do I drain the carb bowls, and what/where are they? (If it's in the Howto wiki, just point me there).
2) Oil was changed just about 3 weeks before I put it on the stand, so its pretty fresh (rode maybe 1-2 days each week)
3) Brake fluid is still the original from 2005. I just hit 10,000 km last week, so the (6000 mile?) service in the spring I believe will include that.
4) Front tire is off the ground. There are no rats/mice/insects to worry about. Both because I live where I live, and because its too cold for them to survive in my garage.
5) Any particular reason to move the battery out of the bike? Just curious. 2 minutes and a screwdriver and its done.
6) Spark plugs are also stock from 2005, might I just want to include that in the service in the spring?

1)   I'm sure it's in the wiki, but I don't have time to search for it at the moment. On the bottom of each carb, right behind the frame, they're the baseball sized things with the black tops that all the cables hoses run to, there is a little place on each to hook a small hose onto, and a screw that you can start to unscrew. If you put the hoses on and unscrew it the gas will just run out. Make sure the pepcock isn't on PRI or you'll be there for days.

2,3,4) did you actually have a question about these? Getting your wheels off the ground is more about moisture than it is rats/mice. If your garage is dry it's not as much of an issue

5)   You don't have to take it out of the bike, but you do need to unhook it from your bike and put it on a charger, or it'll definitely be dead when you try to restart your bike.

6)   If your spart plugs are still working, they don't have to be changed, but if you don't change them every couple of years, you'll only find out one is not working when one of your cylinders stops firing. They're cheap though so I'd just replace them.

Quote from: RyanMidd on October 12, 2009, 11:29:45 PM

Okay, now I have more questions than I began with;

1) How do I drain the carb bowls, and what/where are they? (If it's in the Howto wiki, just point me there).
2) Oil was changed just about 3 weeks before I put it on the stand, so its pretty fresh (rode maybe 1-2 days each week)
3) Brake fluid is still the original from 2005. I just hit 10,000 km last week, so the (6000 mile?) service in the spring I believe will include that.
4) Front tire is off the ground. There are no rats/mice/insects to worry about. Both because I live where I live, and because its too cold for them to survive in my garage.
5) Any particular reason to move the battery out of the bike? Just curious. 2 minutes and a screwdriver and its done.
6) Spark plugs are also stock from 2005, might I just want to include that in the service in the spring?

For some reason the big versions of these pictures from http://www.gstwin.com/float_height_check.htm don't load for me. Anyway, the carb bowls look like this.



and you put a hose on the hose-putting on part:



Then turn the screw and drain what comes out. Don't, as mentioned, be set to prime.

Oil is probably fresh enough to leave. Advice is to avoid letting it sit with oil that needs changed, since various acids/condensate in the old oil get to work on parts for months as it sits. The more nutty/extreme folks change it both into and out of storage.

I'd do the brake fluid now, not later, for a similar reason to the oil.

You'd be surprised where mice manage to live, but until you find a mouse-nest in your airbox, you are certainly free to feel that you don't have them. You may be right. The front sprocket cover is another popular spot, judging by many (including my own) experiences of finding nuts and seeds stored in there with the old chain lube.

I take the battery out because it may, while being charged, vent a bit of acid "fog". That is, the hydrogen that vents during charging can take little (micro) droplets of acid with it. This will go out the vent tube, but if the bike is just sitting still for months, there is some potential for that to have a slight impact on the area near the tube exit. Not much, but unless you are going to pop out and ride it on a warm day in January, take the two minutes and set it somewhere else.

Yes, change the plugs.

When i lived in NJ USA I rarely rode with any salt on the road b/c usually it's TDC (too damn cold) anywho.  But wash the bike immediately afterwards.
Since I'm here in Hong Kong now with the same bike, no snow, no salt, no worries. 

Quote from: RyanMidd on October 12, 2009, 11:29:45 PMOkay, now I have more questions than I began with;

You see now why some folk decide, "Screw it, I'll just ride it - it's easier."   

Yup, that's what I do.  I look outside and say 'Is there any ice or snow on the road?'  No - then the GS comes out of the garage and away I go.  People really stare at you if it's really cold outside.  'Look at that crazy person on that motorcycle.  He is really stupid.'   

That cold air really wakes you up and makes you appreciate being alive!  You can have your warm houses, video games, football/TV, computers.   Going for a motorcycle ride when it's really cold out is awesome...

Quote from: lamahug on October 13, 2009, 12:48:56 PM
Going for a motorcycle ride when it's really cold out is awesome...

Hear hear!!! 
I went for a long commute to Aberdeen (+130 miles each way) on a very cold May day soon after getting my GS500 last year.  I left the house at 06:00 but I had to stop after a couple of miles to tape up the vents in my helmet because the cold air was really hurting my head.  After another hour on the road, I had to stop at a roadside cafe to 'defrost' my hands in running water.  Things got a bit better as the day warmed up so I only had to stop once more to warm my hands up.  But it was, honestly, a very nice ride because I was simply loving being on the bike. 

Must get heated grips for this winter... and a heated jacket would be great too.

I don't like heated grips.  They burn the front of my hands and let the backs freeze. :p

I put handguards from a DL650 on my GS - they fit with only a tiny bit of Dremeling, and do an excellent job of keeping the wind from stripping the warmth from my hands.  To me, that's the biggest problem with riding in the cold!

I wore a Neoprene ski mask under my helmet when I lived in Seattle and it would get cold.

i put my bikes away 2 weeks ago. before putting them away the only thing i do is fill the gas tank to the top.  i dont drain the carbs i dont do like the manual says and fill the crank case right full of oil i put it away like im goin to ride it tomorrow and thats it.  oh i do pull my batterys out of the bikes so i can keep them on a trickle charger over the winter.

What is this snow and ice people seem to be talking about It was 95 today in FL

Sooo, needless to say i don't put my bike away.

Mary

I have to drive over 8-9 bridges to get to work, and they have already been real slippery and at 65 MPH, falling is a probablility. I did take my bicycle out last night and saw two hardy souls commuting home. Made me rethink my putting it away so early.

first sign of snowplows and the bike goes up..will ride in 40+ temps but as soon as the salt hits the roads the bike goes to sleep for about 5 months or so..