Triumph 675 Forums banner

Winterize vs Idling

3K views 22 replies 18 participants last post by  havenoclu 
#1 ·
hey Guys

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.
 
#11 ·
imo no. the hot/cold cycles will just cause internal moisture/condensation.
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!

AB
 
#4 ·
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.

When he said he did that, he just baffled me.
 
#5 ·
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
 
#9 ·
I know right? it was in the 70's last week and now its in the 40's! and back to 60's over the weekend.

Im not going to let my daytona sit thats for sure, but the cm200t will sit a good bit more, still working on that.
 
#6 ·
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.
 
#8 ·
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.
 
#10 ·
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.
 
#12 ·
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
 
#15 ·
Thanks for the info guys, im not about to winterize anything triumph while its still getting in the 50's here.

Ill winterize my wifes bike because she's too chicken to ride cold.
 
#16 ·
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.
 
#17 ·
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.
 
#18 ·
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.
 
#20 ·
thats what im doing, theres no need for storing a bike in NC unless its an unusually bad winter, which it doesnt look to be.

I pull it into the shed, make sure everything checks out, clean/lube the chain, check fluids, and try to ride it once a week
 
#21 ·
This thread was more intended for my wifes bike which is being worked on more than riden at the moment, mostly because

A: its being worked on alot

B: shes a pansy and hates being cold.
 
#22 ·
winterize

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:
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top