How to winterize? | Page 7 | GTAMotorcycle.com

How to winterize?

Re: What to do for keeping bike during winter?

Do you think you're the first person on this site to ever have a question about storing a bike for winter? Use the Fing search button, or better yet, google.
Why do you have to be so nasty? You read the title; doesn't interest you? Move on. Simple. Thank goodness there are some decent people on here who choose to offer advice to a fellow rider.
 
Re: What to do for keeping bike during winter?

Hello,

I just put away my bike for the winter as well.

I would like to ask you guys how should I do maintenance with the battery?

I purchased this battery charger today:
http://www.bs-battery.com/chargers/ba10/ba10-features.php

Do I need to keep it connected and charged all winter? Or should I be charging periodically?

Thanks!
 
Re: What to do for keeping bike during winter?

Either method is fine, whichever works best for you. I hook mine up every couple of weeks because it's easy since I ran the battery connection underneath the rear passenger seat. Just pop off the seat, connect my charger to the outlet in the garage, snap my connectors together and let it charge until 100%.

My bike sits in an unheated garage so I'd rather not leave the trickle charger sitting there all winter as like with any electronic device, they work best in an ideal temperature range. But that's really a personal preference thing. The key is not to let your battery discharge to near empty.
 
Re: What to do for keeping bike during winter?

Hello,

I just put away my bike for the winter as well.

I would like to ask you guys how should I do maintenance with the battery?

I purchased this battery charger today:
http://www.bs-battery.com/chargers/ba10/ba10-features.php

Do I need to keep it connected and charged all winter? Or should I be charging periodically?

Thanks!

It is fine to leave that one on 24/7.
 
Re: What to do for keeping bike during winter?

It is fine to leave that one on 24/7.

It is automatic, so you can leave it on all the time.

One thing to consider though, I had mine on a sealed battery and it was fine, stating my 7th year on that battery, so I think I am on borrowed time. I also have a non-sealed battery on the Honda 400, and a couple of the cells went dry. So if it isn't sealed keep an eye on it, and top up with distilled water.
 
If I'm supposed to change oil and filter before and after winter, can I just put a cheap oil and filter in over winter and get a good one for the spring time?
 
Sooooooo how do i winterized a bike?? Still not sure.


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You need to consult a mechanic to help you perform the proper rites and mechanical sacrifice. The ritual must be performed under a full moon with the right synthetic oil in the bike. Make sure the axel sticks are greased.

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If I'm supposed to change oil and filter before and after winter, can I just put a cheap oil and filter in over winter and get a good one for the spring time?

Get some synthetic oil and good filter and then just ride it in the spring. Less waste that way. I used to put a new filter and cheap Cdn tire oil in it, then change this unused oil in the spring. Problem is, you get a nice early spring day and you want to ride, guess what, crappy oil in there, so put the good stuff in there and go ride. OR put good m/c oil in there and then just change the oil in the early summer. I am sure this will morph into an oil thread very shortly.
 
Several earlier posts recommended filling the tank full with fuel, to protect against rust or corrosion from condensation.

I've a mid-80s bike with an aluminum tank and rubber surround on the fuel pump can which break down with long exposure to ethanol-charged fuel. My other bike being modern has a plastic tank that can swell with exposure to ethanol-charged fuel. So I'm toying with the idea of removing the tanks, empty them completely and storing in a warm place over the winter to prevent condensation. Anyone heard of problems with this approach?
 
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Several earlier posts recommended filling the tank full with fuel, to protect against rust or corrosion from condensation.

I've a mid-80s bike with an aluminum tank and rubber surround on the fuel pump can which break down with long exposure to ethanol-charged fuel. My other bike being modern has a plastic tank that can swell with exposure to ethanol-charged fuel. So I'm toying with the idea of removing the tanks, empty them completely and storing in a warm place over the winter to prevent condensation. Anyone heard of problems with this approach?
If you're worried about ethanol damage in your fuel system, don't use ethanol fuels. Ethanol fuels do more damage to old bikes in the summer than they do in the winter. Ethanol evaporates off fairly quickly, so over the winter it will be all but gone by spring. While that might be desirable for your plastic parts and seals, it's not helpful as the fuel becomes stale (less volatile) without the ethanol, making it hard to start small engines. Stale fuel makes for hard starting on any bike - so non-ethanol is always the best for winter storage.
 
If you're worried about ethanol damage in your fuel system, don't use ethanol fuels. Ethanol fuels do more damage to old bikes in the summer than they do in the winter. Ethanol evaporates off fairly quickly, so over the winter it will be all but gone by spring. While that might be desirable for your plastic parts and seals, it's not helpful as the fuel becomes stale (less volatile) without the ethanol, making it hard to start small engines. Stale fuel makes for hard starting on any bike - so non-ethanol is always the best for winter storage.

Holy thread revival batman.

But I'm not sure you understand the real issue about ethanol. On a modern bike that's ridden regularly ethanol gas is no issue whatsoever in the summer - modern fuel systems and engines are designed for it.

In the winter it's an issue because of a phenomenon called phase separation. In short, the tank "breathing" all winter long with warm/cold cycles causes moisture to be drawn into the tank and the ethanol based fuels attracts and separates it..and you end up with a layer of water sitting in places you don't want it, with all the accompanying issues.

Non ethanol fuels are better for storage because there's no ethanol to attract (and therefore separate) the water out of the air, so the issue simply doesn't happen - the tank will still breathe, but the moisture leaves during the heating (outward breath) portion of the cycle instead of separating and staying in your tank.

Long story short...it's the WATER (as a result of the phase separation) that causes the issues in small engines now, and only those left sitting for long periods of time - phase separation can take weeks or months to occur to a noticeable/problematic level. This is the reason seasonal items like weedeaters, snowblowers, and lawn mowers suffer from the problem the most - it's not inherently the ethanol fuel (they will run on it just fine), it's the results of it when the fuel is left sitting.

On a motorcycle that's ridden enough to consume a full tank at least once every few weeks, ethanol fuel is perfectly fine. At the end of the season however, add stabilizer, then fill it to the brim (to minimize the expansion and contraction breathing) with non ethanol to eliminate the phase separation issue...then ride it for 5-10 minutes to make sure the fuel is mixed and distributed through the entire fuel system. Put on battery tender, and...done.

Now, on older motorcycles that were not designed for ethanol fuels it can be a bigger issue as it can weaken seals that were not designed for it, but that's a different ball of wax..but most motorcycles made in the last 15-20 years are designed for ethanol.
 
Holy thread revival batman.

But I'm not sure you understand the real issue about ethanol. On a modern bike that's ridden regularly ethanol gas is no issue whatsoever in the summer - modern fuel systems and engines are designed for it.....

I do get it. Phase separation happens to ethanol fuels. But it's only a concern with large storage tanks or fuel tanks that can be infiltrated by liquid water. It doesn't happen to motorcycle fuel tanks in our climate.

Gasoline-water phase separation, requires condensing the moisture from 200+ liters of humid air per liter of E10 gas -- that's simply not happening in a motorcycle gas tank in winter storage as the tank can't possibly breath that volume of air. Oxygenated fuels also hold more water than conventional gasoline, winter air is not that humid, and here you don't have the 30C temp swing needed to condense moisture from air -- makes phase separation even less likely in a motorcycle. Slight chance it would happen in Arkansas -- but you're not likely storing a bike there.

Older bikes, 2 strokes, and very small engines (weed eaters, lawn mowers etc) are not designed to run ethanol based fuel. The Ethanol in gas corrodes their carb metals (brass and aluminum), damages gaskets, plastic floats & fuel line connectors. These machines are susceptible to Phase separation, if left outside or carbs are left full of ethanol gas over the winter. Even so, if this happens its most likely due to water infiltration from rain and ice.
 
Fuel stabilizer test:


Had experience years ago with storing a bike (carbureted) with the fuel tank full over the winter ... hard to start and didn't run right come springtime.

Since then, I store my bikes with fuel tanks as empty as possible, and with the last fill-up having been non-ethanol fuel (Shell 91 or Canadian Tire 91). Carbureted engines (including generator and snowblower), last fill-up with non-ethanol fuel and run it as empty as possible, and switch off the fuel and run it until it stalls due to running out of fuel in the carburetor(s). Bikes are stored out of the weather. This way the start-up the next season will be on fresh fuel, and whatever small amount that might have been left in it doesn't matter much.
 

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