You live in the northern hemisphere of the US, winter is not a good time to ride your bike, too much snow, way too cold. Since you are going to store your bike for winter clean up your Men Leather Motorcycle Pants and store them as well. Let’s take a look at what it takes to winterize your bike.
Gas and Fuel System
There are many fuel stabilizers to choose from
For carbureted bikes, it is best to empty the tank and drain the fuel from the system. For fuel injected bikes, that is the most modern bikes, it isn’t easy to empty the tank, there is a better way. To neutralize the ethanol in gasoline use a good quality fuel stabilizer. Fill the tank with gas, add the stabilizer to top off the tank. This leaves very little room for moisture to accumulate and form rust.
The stabilizer neutralizes the ethanol so it can’t mess up the fuel system during storage. Finally, run the bike for a few minutes to get the stabilizer distributed through the fuel system for total protection.
Protect the Battery
Lead-acid batteries will discharge when left unused for a long time, like a few months. The trick here is to remove the battery, hook it to a smart charger to keep the battery charged up ready to crank. You want a smart charger that feeds current to the battery as current is needed. Lithium-ion batteries are of a different breed, they will hold a charge for very long periods of time.
The trick here is to unhook the negative terminal to prevent any slow discharge from occurring. The battery terminals should be cleaned and coated with a light coating of grease.
Give Your Motorcycle a Bath
Washing and waxing your bike during the riding season is how you keep it shiny and looking good. When prepping your ride for winter washing it thoroughly is how to protect it from winter corrosion and rust.
Wash the motorcycle completely, every nook and cranny is washed as clean as possible to get all the dirt and grime off. Dry the bike completely every part, piece of chrome, the handlebars, even the mufflers, everything.
You can use a leaf blower or a hairdryer to get the hard to reach places dry. Then wax everything that shines the paint, the chrome, everywhere, if you can’t reach it spray on WD-40 to keep moisture out.
Fresh Oil and Filter
Protect your engine from damage during long winter storage by replacing the oil and filter. Leaving the old oil in the engine is just asking for moisture and corrosion damage, so change the oil using SW30 winter weight oil.
Protect the inner engine by removing the spark plugs and squirting a tablespoon of engine oil inside the piston. Rotate the rear tire with the bike in gear to distribute the oil inside the engine. Don’t forget the external moving parts like chain, cables, control fork surfaces, any part that moves, rotates or pivots should be lubed.
While you are at it check your Leather Motorcycle Jacket to find out if you need to replace the protective plates and pads.
Coolant
If your bike uses antifreeze or coolant make sure the levels are at adequate levels to prevent the engine from freezing. If you run water in the cooling system you may want to spring for some coolant to protect your bike if storing in climates where it freezes.
Other Protections Not Covered Above
Protect the tires by placing the bike on wheel stands as tires tend to develop flat spots when sitting in the same place for long periods. To prevent rodents from moving into the exhaust pipes, use an exhaust pipe rubber plug.
For the intake use bright colored plastic bags to seal up the ends of the intake. Using colorful bags will help you remember to remove them in the spring. A good quality MC cover works best for winter storage.
To cover or not to cover, if storing indoors covering the bike with a good quality motorcycle cover is ok. To protect the seat use a good quality vinyl protection solution and rub it in thoroughly. If the bike has to be stored outdoors in might be best not to cover it, but remove the seat and store it indoors.
Winter is a great time to log onto Wicked Stock and look for deals on summer riding gear like Motorcycle Rain Suits for Men.
Please read, ‘Time to Take That Camping-Only Road Trip’ before you decide camping in winter.
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