winterizing

winterizing

by Robin
(Madison WI)

it's getting cold in the midwest. what do you do to winterize your bike? do you do the work yourself, with a friend/family, or take it to a shop? this is my first winter with my dream bike. i want to store it properly, but i'm not mechanical. i plan to take a maintenance class next spring. i'm just wondering if i can do this myself, and if not, how much it'll cost me. thanks!

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winterizing

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Oct 24, 2011

Winterizing
by: Pam

Living in Syracuse, NY I just winterized my VStar 650 Sunday. I have a bike shop down the road and the owner helps me out with my mechanical questions as I have only been riding since Aug. 1st. He is what he said:pour 2oz of Startron enzyme fuel treatment in the gas tank. If you need gas Fill your gas tank all the way up either way your tank must be completely filled. Ride around the block. Park your bike, turn your fuel gauge to off and let it run until it stops. Get a battery tender. Remove your battery ( mine is under seat) and put on battery tender. He said you can keep it on the entire time it is in storage. A friend of mine puts his on once a month, charges it then unplugs it. Good luck !

Oct 24, 2011

oil change?
by: Robin

I'm really wondering if I should change the oil before I put my bike away. Basic maintenance, I know, but I've never done an oil change myself. I could never admit that on a men's motorcycle message board! I wonder how much maintenance women are doing on their bikes and whether they think it's worth it.

Oct 24, 2011

Winterizing
by: Judy

If you decide to keep fuel in the tank, before you put it away, buy a product called Sta-Bil, follow the directions on how much to add, and then take a short ride to allow it to mix in and circulate in the fuel system.

You should drain the carburetor of all fuel, but if you have fuel injectors, I can't tell you how to do that. Best to buy a factory manual, which should have extensive exploded drawings of all components.

Take your battery out, and hook it up to a maintenance charger such as a "Battery Tender." Lack of use will kill M/C batteries fast!

That's all I can remember off the top of my head.
Although we have plenty of rain in the NW, all of my bikes get ridden year-round so I generally don't need to winterize mine.

Oct 24, 2011

Winter?
by: Dawn

Ok, I live in SOUTH! FL, and there's no such thing as "winterizing" here.... However, with that being said, I love my "BEAST" and if I lived in a place where it snowed, I would defintiltely leave it to the professionals to say what's best! If my bike needed to be stored for the winter in some "special" way, then YES, I would do it! Learn from people over time if the "professionals" have steered you right or wrong. I'd rather be safe than sorry with my bike. It's up to you with yours.

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