I was having a discussion about winterizing a bike with an older rider today. And he stated something interesting. Since he rides as much as possible even in the winter, He says he just walks out to the garage every 3-5 days and cranks it up. Lets it idle for a while and thats it.
Is this a viable alternative to completely winterizing your ride? Ive never heard of doing that before.
imo no. the hot/cold cycles will just cause internal moisture/condensation. there really isnt that much to winterize. add fuel treatment and remove the battery...
I have asked this question regarding my other bikes in the past and this is the response I usually get. It made enough sense to me that I buy it. Basically if you aren't going to run it for an extended time, you shouldn't start it up on a regular basis. Now I throw fuel stab in my bikes as soon as snow hits the ground. If it gets warm, I can still ride but if the slush and salt stays, my bike is ready for storage. I also switched all of my bikes over to LiFePO4 batteries. No more tending!
Let me give some details. Still goes through the same summer maintenance routine, cleaning and lubing, checking seals ect ect ect....
But instead of winterizing he goes out and and cranks it up, and lets it run for half an hour or more, and puts a little oil around the suspension seals and works the suspension while he's at it.
Granted he has an older parallel twin from the 70's. Not too much different from my cm200t. And there is alot more to winterizing those than the daytona.
you live in NC man winter isnt long enough or cold enough here to "winterize" your bike. put the battery on a tender, lift the bike up on some pitbull stands and she will be ready to go on those freak days we get in the middle of winter that are super nice and deserve a good ride
What would be the downside to his technique? His bike stays ready to ride.
Winterizing, from what I understand is to prepare the bike for 3-5 months of storage. Never winterized as there's not much of a winter in Southeast GA.
Also, not many people would have the dedication to spend that much time maintaining their bike in the off season.
Sounds like more work than winterizing it. I just put it up on stands, change my oil, put the fuel stabilizer in the full tank and disconnect the negative cable on the battery (LiFe battery doesn't really need constant tending). Done. Don't have to mess with it until I get it ready for Spring.
I live in CO so we have real winters. But even so, I can ride every now and then. I put mine on a tender and treat the fuel and that's it. I will move it around to avoid flat spotting the tires. I'll be doing big stuff too around January or so. Suspension stuff, 520 conversion etc. never had a problem with this method.
I don't think it is a good idea ever to let any engine sit and idle for a long period of time. In fact some car manufacturers recommend against it specifically.
Did a similar routine with my Ducati when I couldn't ride it yet, worked fine but it didn't prevent loss of charge from the battery, should've disconneted it.
Makes perfect sense when there are riding days in winter.
I winterized my 675 every year. My other bikes tho not only would I ride thru winter but I would fire them up every week and try to ride down the street n back. I follow this for both of my 1986 VFRs, and not once have I had to clean the carbs.out come spring
Keep in mind my garage doesnt see below 40f, as I run a gas heater
idle for a while is considered extreme riding conditions for engines. I would not recommend this. If you choose not to winterize your bike, I suggest actually riding it!
You should just bring her inside. Doesn't she deserve to be in the nice warm house? When it gets below 40 degrees and mine is sitting in the garage she looks at me all pathetic and I can't help but bring her inside.
am i the only guy who has seen the "search" button?
Some people say it is bad to idle, some say it is good. Do what you want. It isnt cold enough to ever put the bike up in NC anyway. I keep startron in it and a battery tender on it. If you are really OCD, get the wheels off the ground.
Around here it gets below zero pretty regularly throughout the winter. Given that, I winterize and leave it alone. It stays on the tender whenever I'm not on it so that part is easy. I have been advised that unless you go out and get it up to running temp and ride it, you're not really going to burn up the moisture that builds inside, so best not to create more of it with occasional winter idling.
true winterizing is more intended to preserve the vehicle during harsh cold weather, not just to make it stable to store. That's storage. Winterizing would involve a change or drain of the coolant so it doesn't freeze and break hoses or hard parts, in addition to some other freaky cold weather stuff. There is no need to truly winterize in NC, or most states.
I did bought a VFR-750F 83 from a guy who was doing just that, ie (run the bike a few minutes once in a while) when I got to finally buy it and get it home. I started to give it a good once over checking everything, when I got to the engine oil, it came out as a creamy whitish goo. Just like when water is mixed with oil. So, unless you run the bike long enough so that all humidity is burned...witch would take like 30 mins or so. Better leave it has it is. Take care of the battery... that's about it. :thumbup:
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