Winter motorcycle maintenance is important. If you are one of the unfortunate souls who live in a location that prevents you from riding your motorcycle for a few months out of the year, you need to make sure that it is properly maintained. There are many steps you can take to ensure your bike will be ready for you to ride as soon as the weather breaks.
Steps to Prepare Your Motorcycle for Winter Storage
Winter motorcycle prep involves a few steps.
Step 1: Clean the Motorcycle
Make sure that you clean your motorcycle before you store it for the winter. Condensation, dirt, and the fluctuation of temperature come together to form corrosion on your bike. The best way to prevent this from occurring is to put your bike away, clean and buffed. This is the time to give your motorcycle a good detailing. If you’ve missed the time to do that, you can still invest in some good spray and some cleaning products to use in the garage.
Step 2: Change the Oil
As clean as your motorcycle is, your engine should be the same during storage. It is best to perform an oil and filter change to flush out any contaminants before storing it away for the winter. You can purchase a product called Sea Foam that contains water absorption properties to apply to your fresh engine oil.
Step 3: Take the Top Off the Tank and Add Fuel Stabilizer
There will be a significant amount of air trapped the longer you let your fuel tank sit. This means that you will wreak more havoc on your fuel system. Fluctuations in temperature can result in moisture in the air evaporating in the sealed environment. As a result, condensation will occur. A metal tank will start to corrode if it is exposed to these conditions, which can cause rust to develop. This can weaken your tank and clog injectors, jets, and fuel filters.
Step 4: Empty the Carburetors
If you have a motorcycle that is fuel injected, you can skip this step. However, if you have a motorcycle with a carburetor, you will need to make sure you get all the fuel out to prevent the needles and jets from becoming clogged with the old fuel. An easy method to use to make sure they are dry is to turn on your fuel supply valve to the off position and allow the bike to run until it is out of gas.
Step 5: Plug the Exhaust and Airbox
When a motorcycle is stored for long periods of time, critters can get into the engine. An easy way to prevent this from occurring is to plug all entrances, including the open airboxes and exhaust pipes.
Step 6: Inflate Tires and Charge the Battery
Motorcycle storage also means inflating the tires of your bike, or elevating them since they can develop flat spots if left for a long while. Also, if you leave your bike without doing anything to the battery, you may have to replace it. Make sure you charge it.
Step 7: Cover It
The last step is to protect your bike with a cover before storing it. You can use old sheets, moving blankets, or even drop cloths.