How To Winterize Your Motorcycle

[jeffs99vulcan]

Originally Posted by N3FOLN3FOL

I personally do not winterize my bike. Winter riding can be very relaxing once you have the right gear for the temperature.

Peter, looks like you got everything covered in your post.

If you can do it, do it. We drive to Florida nearly every year for a week or so, usually in February, and the first place I usually see bikes on the road is PA. I can handle the cold, and I'd ride all year if all you get for snow in PA is what I see in February...

Case in point, this picture was taken as I was snowblowing my driveway February 2nd this year, the day before we left for Florida:



This picture was taken the NEXT DAY, in Harrisburg, out the car window (I took it because it was the first bike we saw on the way down, and I wanted to remember how far I could get if we ever throw the bikes in a cube van and start heading South):

[KURT]

I talked with a guy i know yesterday. He had his harley at the
dealership for service. They told him they could winterize it and
store it for only 750.00. He thought that was a good deal and
told them okay. I had to keep my thoughts to my self.
Does everyone winterize there lawn mowers in the same manner?
I have had 2 lawn mowers for 20 plus years each. Only if they had
old batteries they needed a charge in the spring.
Don`t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with trying to store
things properly. But I have had good luck just parking them.
Maybe on a warmer winter day, run them for a few minutes.

[jeffs99vulcan]

Originally Posted by KURT

I talked with a guy i know yesterday. He had his harley at the dealership for service. They told him they could winterize it and store it for only 750.00. He thought that was a good deal...

Maybe on a warmer winter day, run them for a few minutes.

I was at the dealer the other day and they had posters up... If I'm not mistaken, it was $75/month... I guess if you have no alternative (no where to put it inside), then you have no choice, and maybe that's not bad... but I'd look into a self-storage place before I committed to it.

As far as starting them on a warm day, I'd avoid that. It can cause incompletely warmed oil to condensate in your cylinders, and condensation to form in your pipes. Put her to sleep, and let her sleep soundly until spring...

Originally Posted by jeffs99vulcan

That's enough to make a fellow wanna immigrate to Mexico...

[jeffs99vulcan]

Originally Posted by Jamie C.

That's enough to make a fellow wanna immigrate to Mexico...

Check this one, I put the rest of the pics on the "winter" thread...

And you claim the ticking is what's driving you nuts...

I'm thinking you've been crazy for a whooooooole lot longer than you've had that Vulcan, if that's where you've spent your entire life.

[jeffs99vulcan]

So you don't get 51cm snowfalls in Tennessee?! (That's what that one was...)

That reminds me, if the Sta-bil did it's job over the summer, the snowblower should be good. If not, my ticking might get pre-empted by a carb job on a Tecumseh Snow King engine... I better check that out! (I can hear my neighbour trying to start his as I type this...)

Originally Posted by jeffs99vulcan

So you don't get 51cm snowfalls in Tennessee?! (That's what that one was...)

Two possible answers to that:

1) Never all at once, or usually even in the same year...

2) Nope, we measure our snow in inches, and even at that, usually no more than a few of those at a time.

Let me put it this way... this is what our typical snowfall looks like. We might get 3 or 4 of these a winter:



And this is a 7-incher that snuck up on us out of the clear blue, and set the whole area on it's ear fro a few days. We get these only once in a while, during our "bad" winters ( which are only about every 5th year ):



Both of those were taken in February as well, a couple of years apart.


*listens carefully* Okay... you can quit laughing now.

[jeffs99vulcan]

Originally Posted by Jamie C.

Two possible answers to that:

2) Nope, we measure our snow in inches, and even at that, usually no more than a few of those at a time.

Both of those were taken in February as well.

*listens carefully* Okay... you can quit laughing now.

The first time I EVER don't convert to imperial, and I get called on it!

OK, it was 20 inches... and they don't come every day either! 4-10 inches is my call on the "average"... And this was a long, early winter that stayed very late... highly unusual. The last winter anything like it was 1974.

That second pic is gorgeous... My wife loves the fluffy, gently snowfalls like that! You see anything GENTLE about my pics?!

But as far as shutting us down? Nah, that's a Toronto thing! (They'll have to live with that FOREVER!) They got a snowfall of about 20cm (8") a few years ago in what they like to think of as the Canadian centre of the Universe, and couldn't handle it... they had to call in the Army to help them clear the streets!!! LOL! (We're about 4 hours apart).

That 21" dump in my pics came on a Sunday, and our city was virtually back to normal by Monday morning... with the exception of a few side streets.

Would I like winters more conducive to biking? Yup... Do I wanna move? Not really... we talk about somewhere Southern sometimes, but that's not easy... And there's a lot to do in thE winter. We don't snowmobile any more, but we might get the kids into skiing this year, they love tobogganing, skating... AS LONG AS IT COMES LATE AND LEAVES EARLY!

Originally Posted by jeffs99vulcan

The first time I EVER don't convert to imperial, and I get called on it!

OK, it was 20 inches... and they don't come every day either! 4-10 inches is my call on the "average"... And this was a long, early winter that stayed very late... highly unusual. The last winter anything like it was 1974.

Jeff, you have to understand something; if you say the word "snow" and the number "51" in the same sentence, here in TN... you won't be able to find a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk for a week. And god help when they actually figured out that 51cm is almost 2 feet.

Doesn't matter if it's inches, centimeter, or even millimeters... people go apesh!t nuts and rush out to the stores before it gets here, even if it's only flurries that's predicted. Craziest thing you've ever seen.

Originally Posted by jeffs99vulcan

That second pic is gorgeous... My wife loves the fluffy, gently snowfalls like that! You see anything GENTLE about my pics?!

I don't think you understand... that 7 inches came without there even being snow in the forecast. It caught everybody... weather guessers included... flat-footed.

And it was MESSY. Which also means it ended up being ugly, 'cause when the roads people fianally got out and sanded and salted it down, it was too late to help.

Originally Posted by jeffs99vulcan

But as far as shutting us down? Nah, that's a Toronto thing! (They'll have to live with that FOREVER!) They got a snowfall of about 20cm (8") a few years ago in what they like to think of as the Canadian centre of the Universe, and couldn't handle it... they had to call in the Army to help them clear the streets!!! LOL! (We're about 4 hours apart).

That 21" dump in my pics came on a Sunday, and our city was virtually back to normal by Monday morning... with the exception of a few side streets.

An inch of snow closes schools here. A foot would shut everything down, government offices included.

Originally Posted by jeffs99vulcan

Would I like winters more conducive to biking? Yup... Do I wanna move? Not really... we talk about somewhere Southern sometimes, but that's not easy... And there's a lot to do in thE winter. We don't snowmobile any more, but we might get the kids into skiing this year, they love tobogganing, skating... AS LONG AS IT COMES LATE AND LEAVES EARLY!

I've always said I could never live anywhere that it's actually practical to own a snowmobile... As for skiing... I'll pass. The idea of doing a high rate of speed, downhill and with no brakes just isn't appealing to me at all.

[Mercury]

shoot i almost lost my bike on black ice last year in the winter... if you ride in the winter please be careful... danger is always out there especially in winter...

and the wet leaves right now are very slick too

as for storing it... fill the gas tank all the way up - this will not allow mosture in the air in the tank to condensate much

kenny

[jeffs99vulcan]

Originally Posted by Jamie C.

Jeff, you have to understand something; if you say the word "snow" and the number "51" in the same sentence, here in TN... you won't be able to find a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk for a week. And god help when they actually figured out that 51cm is almost 2 feet.

Doesn't matter if it's inches, centimeter, or even millimeters... people go apesh!t nuts and rush out to the stores before it gets here, even if it's only flurries that's predicted. Craziest thing you've ever seen.

I don't think you understand... that 7 inches came without there even being snow in the forecast. It caught everybody... weather guessers included... flat-footed.

And it was MESSY. Which also means it ended up being ugly, 'cause when the roads people fianally got out and sanded and salted it down, it was too late to help.

An inch of snow closes schools here. A foot would shut everything down, government offices included.

Ah... so THIS is why you were listening carefully for laughing!!! ROFL!

That 51 centimeters was actually FORECASTED, and they were dead on, within ONE centimeter... they called 50. ALl that meant here was a collective SIGH...... and the odd murmer about whether 2 gallons would be enough to run the snowblower all day...