Tri-City Cycle Motorcycle Winterization Tips

Tri-City Cycle Motorcycle Winterization Tips

It’s that time of year again. The leaves fall as quickly as the temperatures, the road doesn’t ever seem to get completely dry, and there is snow and road salt on the horizon. If these elements of fall sound like a Halloween fright, then it might be time to think about putting your bike away until the next riding season.
Properly storing your motorcycle is essential if you want to have a ready to ride machine in the spring. It also keeps the value up. Nothing depreciates faster than an ill-maintained bike.
We have some tips and tricks to help you keep your bike tip-top over the winter months.

Electrical

We see many of the same customers purchase new batteries every year. The reason for this is lack of battery maintenance. Fortunately, maintaining your battery is very simple. Storing your battery for the winter in a heated environment is ideal. Keeping a charge similar to that of frequent riding is absolutely necessary. The best tool for the job is a “smart” maintenance charger like the Oxford Oximiser 900. Plug in your battery to the charger, plug the charger into the wall, and walk away. It’s as easy as that. The smart charger will maintain the charge on your battery over the entire winter as if it’s being charged by the charging system on your bike. With only a one time purchase $59.99 plus tax, it’s a lot cheaper than spending $200 a year on a new battery.

Fuel

We have particularly low quality fuel in Southern Ontario. That doesn’t help the shelf life of the gasoline in your tank. When fuel gets past its best, it breaks down into a varnish and “gum” like substance. This can be devastating for your fuel system. The best way to prevent this is to store your motorcycle with the fuel tank as full as possible; right to the brim, then add the correct amount of fuel stabilizer. When you purchase fuel stabilizer, it will tell you the correct amount to add to your size of tank, on the package. We recommend riding your bike around the block once, to get the stabilized fuel through the entire fuel system, before you put it away for good.

Oil

One of the attributes of engine oil is it cleans the engine. Particles that you don’t want on the inside of your motor and transmission, like clutch dust, dirt (yes, dirt), carbon, and sometimes small metal shavings, collect in the oil. The oil holds onto these particles until it’s time for your next oil change. If you haven’t done an oil change in a while, before you put your bike away, that contaminated oil will sit inside your motor, slowly deteriorating your clutch material and seals. A quick oil change before storage will prevent this. You don’t even have to use good, expensive oil. You can use low-quality inexpensive MA approved oil because it would be ideal to change it out again the in the spring.

Tires

Most people store their motorcycles on a cold concrete garage floor. Over an extended amount of time, the rubber and silica in your tires will want to gradually form to the shape of the surface it’s resting on. This causes a “flat spot” on your tires. This could ruin a good set of tires. A set of stands for your motorcycle are an easy and inexpensive way to get your bike up off the ground and prevent damage to your tires. You can usually find a set of stands for as little as $100. That’s a lot better than having to spend an unexpected $500 on a set of replacement rubber.

Critters

Mice and small rodents can do a lot of damage to your motorcycle. The airbox is an ideal spot for them to live during the cold winter months. They fill up the airbox with seeds and “bedding” that they forage for in the late fall. For some reason, they also enjoy eating the wiring insulation in your expensive wiring harness. This can lead to thousands of dollars in repairs and diagnostics. If you don’t want to put a maze of mouse traps around your bike, there are other deterrents that you can use without harming the animals. Moth balls strategically placed in and around your bike will stop them in their tracks. If you can’t stand moth balls, people have found that strong scented bar soap can sometimes work just as well. Break up a bar of smelly soap and put it on, in, and around your bike to send those pesky mice packing. You just have to remember where you put the moth balls or soap when it comes time to bringing it out of hibernation in the spring.

Follow these essential tips and you should have a ready to ride bike when it comes to hit the road again.