Oil changes and winter storage

[chuck hahn]

Not paranoid at all..Its just fact that getting it 'warm" only invites condensation build up. And besides taking 10 minutes to follow the service manuals procedures takes any and all variables out of the equation.

[DohcBikes]

But it doesn't keep the bike ready to ride at any moment. We have some harsh winters, yet I will always find at least a few days each month that are good enough to ride. Might go insane if i didn't

[chuck hahn]

When I took the Cooley out of storage in September..after 15 1/2 months...it took the time to dump in a gallon of gas, turn the petcock to PRIme, and hit the button. So you cant be serious "with a 'at a moments notice" plea. It takes you just as long to put your winter gear on as it does to take a bike out of storage. And it may even take you longer to suit up than it does to dump in some gas and fire it up.

[DohcBikes]

Yes, ready to ride means hop on and ride, not drive to a gas station to get fuel and bring it back.

[chuck hahn]

Like i said earlier to each their own. I work on bikes all winter and theres always fresh gas in a can in the shop. Spin it any way you wish but i go by the service manuals procedures and they restart everytime without any issues. I dont need to dump in Seafoam or other snake oils and run a tank full of gas through the carbs to "freshen" them and get response and performance back up to par.

But if thats someone idea of doing it right then thats why Robert Barr sells a schits load of oring kits each year. Bet his sales peak quickly with the winter thaws too.

[nejeff]

Also from Nebraska. Sorry but there's a lot of people out there that don't ride their bikes long enough ever. Not a bit worried about crankcase condensation on a bike that runs 5-10 minutes every couple weeks. If you are worried about that then you are a very paranoid person. My current GS sat with the same oil in it for 8 years and the cranckase and everything inside looks new.

So you still have a cycle shop DOHC?

[nejeff]

Nebraska..leaving the drain plugs out also invites bugs to get in and build nests in there. If they are drained down and left a little loose is ok though. But generally any tiny residual will evap out the vents. Long as the jets and choke pickup tubes are subjected to gas that can coagulate and varnish it all up you should be good to go.

Hey Chuck, yeah never figured anything would crawl back up there in the cold weather, most the bugs are dead by then. Probably just as easy to leave them loose so you don't misplace them.