Winterizing

[Guest]

I know, there are a ton of posts about this, and after reading too many I've decided to put up a list of what I'm going to do for your approval/ridicule. So here goes:

The ol' 84 Pop up has to share garage space with the 82 Kat thou, my wife's Impala, our Suburban, and a bunch of bicycles that usually get hung on the ceiling but probably won't this year. Oh, and my snowblower. Needless to say, since the 82 is freshly renovated, it will be living in the garage this year. With all these things, the pop up will be relegated to the shed in my backyard. My concern lies in the fact that once it is parked in the shed, it will not be disturbed until springtime. Temps get down to single digits and sometimes go in the red, i.e., negatives...

I will be doing the following to hopefully ensure an uneventful reawakening:

Full tank, with a healthy dose of Stabil. Run it a few miles to blow out all the condensation, and to fill the carbs with the treated fuel. (I am NOT pulling those carbs again! Its the most painful motorcycle maintenance job I've ever done!)
Disconnect battery, bring it into the basement on a trickle charger.
May fill the crankcase with oil, may or may not change oil prior to putting her away.
Put it up on the centerstand, and get the front wheel off the concrete with plywood or something.

My biggest concern is that because the temps will be so low, is there something I should be doing that I'm not even aware I should be doing?

Thanks for the help!!

[raistian77]

double strength the stabil, remove the plugs put some oil in the cylinders spin the motor a few times then put the plugs back in. Put steel wool in the exhaust pipes to keep the mice out. I have been told mice hate moth balls so maybe some under the bike will discourage them from using your wiring for a nest. Spay the rotors and upper fork tubes with anti-rust of some sort (not WD-40). Maybe put the seat in the garage to keep mice and condensation out of it.

[bonanzadave]

Speaking of critters....

If your bike goes in a shed like mine....dont put your helmet out there. Had a squirrel shred all the padding from the inside to make a nest .

Stabil also makes a spray / fog for the spark plug holes.

[gs road racer]

Speaking of critters....

If your bike goes in a shed like mine....dont put your helmet out there. Had a squirrel shred all the padding from the inside to make a nest .

Stabil also makes a spray / fog for the spark plug holes.

Dave your best bet for winterizing is probably Phoenix.....too goddam cold in the north ......

[cowboyup3371]

Started mine tonight. A full bottle of Stabil in the tank and run pretty dry. I'll pull the battery off tonight probably and the tank this weekend. Time to start working on fixing things up.

[tkent02]

Winterization...

[Steve]

tkent, you're a sick man, but I like it.

I agree with the double dose of Sta-Bil and all the other stuff. When you connect your battery to the "charger", make sure it's an appropriate device. Even a "trickle charger" will overcharge a battery into oblivion if left on too long. A "maintainer" is far better, as it can be left on indefinitely.

I suggest covering with an old sheet or blanket to keep most of the dust off, but will still allow it to breathe.

Another suggestion is to change the oil before storage. No sense in leaving whatever contaminants are in the oil to sit on one spot of the bearings for several months.

.

[Road_Clam]

Full tank, with a healthy dose of Stabil.

If you have E10 fuel the standard "red" Stabil will not work. You either need to use the Stabil marine formula (black) or better yet I highly recommend Startron !

[Truth]

Winterization...

I'm seriously thinking about this. No sooner did I finally get a new battery and a tender, it's 20 degrees and snowing. Is this on the GS or a different bike?

[KDS111]

Full tank and MARINE sta-bil.

[chuck hahn]

and battery tender on the battery