Okay, so the winter months are probably approaching as you read this - are you ready to store your motorcycle for the cold spell? If you are, or even if you have plans to tough it out on your bike in the cold, these quick ideas may be of help to you. Or maybe you have your own motive for not riding your bike - might be work commitments, might be travel commitments, might be a nagging wife. Fortunately for you, these tips to keep your motorcycle in tip-top condition are of the "quick and painless" variety, and it wouldn't take you too long to accomplish the tasks below to ensure that your bike looks and feels brand new in the winter months.
The first thing you would want to check would be whether your fuel system is optimized or not. This would be accomplished by bringing the fuel level as low as you can go, and optimizing it with a fuel additive. Then run your bike for a few miles to be sure the additive gets into and through the entire fuel system. Then, when your ready to ride, simple fill up with fresh gas and you're ready to go.
Next be sure and clean you motorcycle thoroughly. In order to remove the nasty grease and grime, you will need to use a top quality degreasing product. The brakes and suspension of your bike must also be taken care of. Use a brake cleaner to clean brake calipers, and top off by lubricating them for the winter.
Make sure that your bike is completely dry. Compressed air would work especially well.
Next re-lubricate the motorcycle. Aside from cleaning the calipers, make sure that both calipers and discs are protected while re-lubricating. Be sure to get all of the joints and pivots points. You can lubricate your brakes simply with ordinary, garden-variety chain lubricant. While you wouldn't want to use these with your brakes, corrosion treatments are strongly suggested.
Wax the surfaces of your bike to make it shiny anew. Brakes, as usual = off-limits.
Get the tires up and off of the ground. If you own a center stand for this, that's brilliant. If not, invest in a pair of stands to get the bike up. This is a sound buy no matter how you look at it.
Save yourself the grief of needing a new battery come spring by using a battery tender. This would be a "gift that keeps on giving" that can work for repeated winters to come.
Last but not least, make sure you have a motorcycle cover. To avoid condensation, make sure the material can breathe.
If you won't be riding your bike for some time, we hope these ideas were a great help to you, quick as they may have been. Always remember that an ounce of prevention is always greater than a pound of cure.
The first thing you would want to check would be whether your fuel system is optimized or not. This would be accomplished by bringing the fuel level as low as you can go, and optimizing it with a fuel additive. Then run your bike for a few miles to be sure the additive gets into and through the entire fuel system. Then, when your ready to ride, simple fill up with fresh gas and you're ready to go.
Next be sure and clean you motorcycle thoroughly. In order to remove the nasty grease and grime, you will need to use a top quality degreasing product. The brakes and suspension of your bike must also be taken care of. Use a brake cleaner to clean brake calipers, and top off by lubricating them for the winter.
Make sure that your bike is completely dry. Compressed air would work especially well.
Next re-lubricate the motorcycle. Aside from cleaning the calipers, make sure that both calipers and discs are protected while re-lubricating. Be sure to get all of the joints and pivots points. You can lubricate your brakes simply with ordinary, garden-variety chain lubricant. While you wouldn't want to use these with your brakes, corrosion treatments are strongly suggested.
Wax the surfaces of your bike to make it shiny anew. Brakes, as usual = off-limits.
Get the tires up and off of the ground. If you own a center stand for this, that's brilliant. If not, invest in a pair of stands to get the bike up. This is a sound buy no matter how you look at it.
Save yourself the grief of needing a new battery come spring by using a battery tender. This would be a "gift that keeps on giving" that can work for repeated winters to come.
Last but not least, make sure you have a motorcycle cover. To avoid condensation, make sure the material can breathe.
If you won't be riding your bike for some time, we hope these ideas were a great help to you, quick as they may have been. Always remember that an ounce of prevention is always greater than a pound of cure.
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