So this will be the first spring with my bike coming off a winter storage.  Is it imperative to change the oil BEFORE I start it up and take it for a ride?  I have not changed the oil on my bike before so Im not sure how to do it.  On that note, is there anything else I need to do coming out of a winter storage short of putting my battery back in and giving it a quick charge?

Thanks,

You should have had the battery on a maintainer-charger all winter, or at least charged it every month or so. If you haven't charged it at all, then definitely charge it before trying to start the bike.

I wouldn't worry too much about changing the oil before or after first starting it. I think in ideal situations it should be changed before starting, but in the real world I doubt it makes much difference either way.

I've never had to winterize a bike (thank God for year-round riding), but when doing lawn mowers/boats/etc, we always change the oil when putting it up, so that it's clean during the off-season.  Come time to use it again, you'd just jump in and go.

So I guess I'm not really answering your question, other than to say that if you changed it before, you'll be fine now.  If you didn't...well...do it right next winter. 

Did you drain the carbs, or at least run some fuel stabilizer through the system..?

Quote from: burning1 on March 07, 2011, 11:37:49 AM
Did you drain the carbs, or at least run some fuel stabilizer through the system..?

Thanks for the replies.  Yes, prior to putting away in my garage for the winter I filled the tank with fuel and the appropriate amount of fuel stabilizer, rode around for a bit to get it in the system and then parked it on the center stand, put wood boards beneath the tires to get them off the concrete, removed the battery, covered the exhaust and put a bike cover on the bike.  And no, I did NOT have the oil changed before I put it away, but it was changed at the ~2000km mark around July.

I wouldn't worry too much about the oil. Just warm it up gently.

You're supposed to warm the engine up before you change the oil anyway so start it up, take it for a short ride, then go ahead and change it.

Good luck with the battery! I just spent $101 on a new battery for my other bike because it died over winter.

Pull the plug caps and crank it over on the starter a few times before you go for it. Wont do any harm to fill the galleries and get some oil up around the top end before it sees some revs.

Quote from: sledge on March 07, 2011, 02:02:23 PM
Pull the plug caps and crank it over on the starter a few times before you go for it. Wont do any harm to fill the galleries and get some oil up around the top end before it sees some revs.

I used to be able to accomplish this by just flipping the kill switch and then pressing the starter button.  The bike would turn over but would not fire since the kill switch disables the ignition. Many new bikes don't allow you to attempt to start the bike when the kill switch is tripped though. I don't know if this trick will work on the GS500 or not.

It doesnt 

store with stabil in the tank, but carbs drained

clean oil

a spray of oil in the plug holes

take the battery out


thats pretty much what i did