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When the cold weather starts creeping in, it is about time to start thinking about storing your motorcycle for the winter. This takes a lot more than just taking the motorcycle, putting it into a garage and covering it. If you want to extend the life and the beauty of your motorcycle, storing it properly for the winter will help. In this article we are going to cover a few things you will need to do to make sure your bike is ready for a long winter nap.
There are a few items you will want to purchase in order to store your motorcycle properly. One of the first things you should get is a fitted cover designed for your motorcycle. When shopping for the cover be sure to get a “breathable” cover. This will make sure that water doesn’t get trapped under the cover causing rust and mildew to form on your bike.
Another thing you will want to buy is a trickle charger for your battery. When storing your motorcycle for the winter, you will want to remove the battery from the motorcycle and store it somewhere else. A work bench is a perfect place as you will want to use the trickle charger for 12 hours every 3 weeks or so. Whatever you do you should never store your battery on a cement floor. Doing this can cause damage to the battery which may lead to you having to buy a new battery.
And one other thing you will need are motorcycle stands. The main purpose of these is to get the tires off the ground. When storing your bike and not getting the wheels off the ground they will be sitting in the same position for months. This will reduce the lifespan of the tires. So, be certain to get the tires off the ground.
Now for the most important part. You will want to get a fuel stabilizer, which is an additive you will add to the fuel when storing it for long periods of time. There is actually a method to doing this. While you can just dump the additive into your tank, if you follow the suggestions here it will be more effective. First you want to either drain or run your bike until your fuel tank is practically empty. At that point you will want to add the fuel stabilizer to your tank. At that point take your motorcycle for a short ride about two or three miles. By doing this you are making sure the stabilizer is all through the fuel system.
Then come spring when your ready to take your bike back out again, all you need to do is to fill your gas tank with fresh gas, hook your battery up and you’re ready to go. One other thing that many people do is to make sure they clean their motorcycles thoroughly and lubricate all moving parts before storing it. This is actually a good idea as it can help to make sure nothing binds up from not being used
