[Silverado6x6]

Its just about that time of the year up here in Alaska, the nights are below freezing and any day now we will see icy roads and snowfall. My poor CX 500 has had almost no usage this summer what with our very wet and cold summer and my daily job which being a concrete mixer driver demands my attention when the weather is good, so neither bike has been ridden a lot, It may have been june when I was last on my CX and about a month ago on my Star 1300 Tourer.



I am going to leave the CX with a full tank of fuel with Stabil in it, all the metal will get a shot of spray oil or wax, the cooling system will NOT be drained as I have found that it creates more problems left dry in the long run, but it will be rated for -45 temps. The seat will be removed and put in a sealed bag as will the battery. The whole bike will be cocooned and I may go so far as to get some C02 gas and desiccant material to remove ALL the moisture, and hopefully she will be alright come next may or june, or earlier if I am lucky.

 

[OU812]

I always would change the oil & filter before the 6-7 months of winter storage that I'm also faced with.But now I wonder if thats a good idea or not as oil should be changed every 6 months.It seems a shame to change oil now & again spring time with no miles on it.Do you think storing the bike over the winter without oil in it would be harmfull?

 

[cstick3]

This is a topic i'd like to know more about from you guys.



I just bought my cx a couple weeks ago. I have about a month left of riding.



What is the best way to winterize the bike? I don't know if I'll put it in a garage or not...



I know to remove the battery, but what else? I don't garage it, should i put a gas additive and drain the radiator?



Thanks,

 

[DakotaMK]

Alaska.... WOW



and snow any day now..... We're back up into the 80s here right now.....



Can't say I really care for cold/ snow, so here's hoping for a short winter for you!!

 

[OU812]

This is a topic i'd like to know more about from you guys.



I just bought my cx a couple weeks ago. I have about a month left of riding.



What is the best way to winterize the bike? I don't know if I'll put it in a garage or not...



I know to remove the battery, but what else? I don't garage it, should i put a gas additive and drain the radiator?



Thanks,

I wouldnt drain the coolant ,I would replace it & make sure it is strong enough,I would also fill the tank with fuel & put in a stabizer.run it for awhile to allow the stabilizer in the carbs.Over the winter I hit the starter & turn the engine over a couple times just so everything sits in a different position pistons, valves etc.Don't start it.I also put pieces of wood under the tyres to keep the frost from them.If you keep the battery fully charged it will not freeze. .Hope this helps.As for the oil I think I'll do what I usually do & change it now.

 

[Silverado6x6]

I just got through starting it up and filling the tank with new gas, I mixed some marvel mystery oil with a splash of Seafoam in the fuel, ran it awhile and then shut the fuel off, hopefully the oil will keep the carbs from drying out and rotting the rubber, I then sprayed the whole bike down with some cheap synthetic spray oil and rust preventer, including the aluminum, removed the battery and seat and they are in the house.



Last year I kept it in a heated shop, if I had the room it would have gone in the house like my Yamaha 1300 tourer just did. I could have done some more riding but I just don't have the time as my work season as a concrete mixer driver is at its peak right now.



I wrapped the bike in some heavy black plastic, its very dry here in Alaska and rust isn't the problem, then I made a lean to with some heavy tarp fastened to the side of the house so there won't be any snow piling up on the bike, I had planned on building a house extension just for my bikes but the downturn of the economy put a damper on that, obviously Obamas stimulus failed to reach Alaska.



Other people have better ways to store their bikes like fogging the cylinders and such, that is a good idea and should be done in a high humidity environment, here in central Alaska our winters are notoriously dry though.

 

[Blindstitch]

Always store the bike with oil in it. I also change the oil before storing and after but it's better to have no miles on the oil than an engine without oil in it. You can also fog the cylinders if you're really worried.



Fluids are cheap compared to a locked up engine.

 

[jstrutz]

I'm in Anchorage, and all I do is pull the battery. Aside from that the bike lives outside with the dogs. This routine has been the same for every Alaskan bike I've owned since 1964. Starting 'em up in April can be trouble though.

 

[Cobram]

Recent Thread with good info.

 

[Silverado6x6]

I'm in Anchorage, and all I do is pull the battery. Aside from that the bike lives outside with the dogs. This routine has been the same for every Alaskan bike I've owned since 1964. Starting 'em up in April can be trouble though.

You have a lot more moisture there along the Inlet than I do out in the Valley (Anchorage is like San Fransisco, Wasilla is 35 miles inland)and the ice buildup is nowhere near as bad out here. This will be the first time since I have owned my CX that it will be outside, I am definitely going to doublecheck the coolant and see what its protected to.



On all of my equipment I make sure its rated for -45F. Now that I am thinking about it I am going to take the fuel tank off as its so easy to do so and keep it stored full and separately, I do not want a gas fume buildup under a covering, with today's mixed concoction of ethanols and such I cannot say what a concentrated gasoline vapor would do to plastics or the wiring, especially the stator wiring.

 

[Trickster]

I always would change the oil & filter before the 6-7 months of winter storage that I'm also faced with.But now I wonder if thats a good idea or not as oil should be changed every 6 months.It seems a shame to change oil now & again spring time with no miles on it.Do you think storing the bike over the winter without oil in it would be harmfull?

When I winterize my bikes they are stored, with fresh fluids from top to bottom, battery left in and charged by



trickle charger monthly. Stored indoors in the slightly above freezing heated garage. Every month when I charge



the battery, I rotate the crank via turning the rear wheel a few times while in gear.



If I could afford it, I would put the bikes in one of those Harley bubbles, cool idea.

 

[vleighty59]

My old school mechanic told me to start it once a month and let it run just long enough to pump oil and coat all the bearings, etc. Makes ya go hmmmm

 

[lucky]

My old school mechanic told me to start it once a month and let it run just long enough to pump oil and coat all the bearings, etc. Makes ya go hmmmm

that would be a good idea but a lot of the guys dont have that kind of time during the winter (or so they say) but me i dont do nothing with my bike in winter besides ride it i live in the desert and yea we get snow but o well its the ice that keeps me off two wheels for a couple of days

 

[MGR1]

I never start and run any engine just to pump oil & coat bearings. Tests I have read show that engines wears the most the first seconds after a startup, it actually wears equivalent to several thousand miles of normal running.



I remember a guy here that had a very nice and original racing Bugatti in storage. He did not use it for many decades, but started the engine every month or so "to lube it up". When he passed away the car was taken out of mothballs. It looked superb, but to their horror the guys that took it over found out that the engine was completely destroyed by internal corrosion. Since he only let it idle it never ran at full operating temperatures, and the corrosive vapours from the combustion process ate up the internals

.



If you don't run the engine you risk that the seals harden, but that's better than corrosion and wear.



SAAB did a roadtest some years ago, with some 900 Turbo's. They took three cars of the production line and ran them for 100,000 km on a track, at full power, as a PR-stunt. I think without any servicing during the entire test. Afterwards they took apart the engines, and they showed no wear. Of course SAAB were confident that this test would be to their advantage, they knew that engines that run all the time, even at full power, almost doesn't wear (if they are well designed

.



A tip I have about conservation is the use of anti-corrosive bags meant for the offshore industry. These are large zipped bags that you lay out on the floor, push the bike over, and pull up and zip up. The coating inside these bags (they sell them as Corrodom here), saturates the air inside with an anti-corrosive gas. I have used them for many years.



Also I spray my bikes with WD40 or CRC 5-56, and spray oil inside the exhaust system and the spark plug hole.



We have harsh and long winters here

.



Michael

 

[Shep]

I always start my off-road/unused bikes around once a month to get oil around the engine and seals,pull fuel through the carbs etc.I also ride the bike/s a few feet so the clutch plates and brakes don't seize and and run up to thermostat opening temps.

The amount of wear to the engine is negligible compared with the decay that a unused engine gets.Not moving the pistons and ring grooves will start to form in the cylinders as well.

Also electrical cables like current through them.It helps prevent contact oxidisation.



My 10 penn'th

 

[lucky]

I always start my off-road/unused bikes around once a month to get oil around the engine and seals,pull fuel through the carbs etc.I also ride the bike/s a few feet so the clutch plates and brakes don't seize and and run up to thermostat opening temps.

The amount of wear to the engine is negligible compared with the decay that a unused engine gets.Not moving the pistons and ring grooves will start to form in the cylinders as well.

Also electrical cables like current through them.It helps prevent contact oxidisation.



My 10 penn'th

you know shep i never thought about the wiring that is a very good point and plus the clutch plates you are a smart cookie there shep

 

[kingston73]

I always start my off-road/unused bikes around once a month to get oil around the engine and seals,pull fuel through the carbs etc.I also ride the bike/s a few feet so the clutch plates and brakes don't seize and and run up to thermostat opening temps.

The amount of wear to the engine is negligible compared with the decay that a unused engine gets.Not moving the pistons and ring grooves will start to form in the cylinders as well.

Also electrical cables like current through them.It helps prevent contact oxidisation.



My 10 penn'th

Here's a first hand account to think about: last winter I stored my bike and brought the tank in to paint, so no fluids circulated anywhere for at least 4 months. When I revived it this past spring the petcock leaked a little for about 2 weeks and the water pump had a couple drips for a few days. Point being, I feel like if I'd started it once in a while the rubber bits and pieces wouldn't have dried out. This winter I plan on keeping it under a cover in the driveway and starting it once a week and maybe even riding it once in a while when the temps and ice (or lack of ice) allow.

 

[Trickster]

Here we go again, with "opinions" on proper laying up of the motorcycle.

Wonder what the mfgs. recommend?



Seem to remember a thread last winter about this that went on and on and......



All very good ideas and advice, with worthy reasoning behind them, but I wonder, what is the "proper" way if there is one.

 

[marshallf3]

Here's a first hand account to think about: last winter I stored my bike and brought the tank in to paint, so no fluids circulated anywhere for at least 4 months. When I revived it this past spring the petcock leaked a little for about 2 weeks and the water pump had a couple drips for a few days. Point being, I feel like if I'd started it once in a while the rubber bits and pieces wouldn't have dried out. This winter I plan on keeping it under a cover in the driveway and starting it once a week and maybe even riding it once in a while when the temps and ice (or lack of ice) allow.

That really is a good idea. Changes in temperature from warm &/or sunny days and cool/cold nights causes condensation to form almost everywhere so it's a good idea to bring the engine up to operating temperature every now and then, even if it means having to move the battery back and forth. I wn't leave a battery outside in the winter if I'm not going to be using it on a fairly regular basis, it's hard on them and especially these little MC batteries.



I don't use a "tender" either. I just charge it once a month, discharge it for a bit with a 12V RV light bulb, charge it back up again then leave it be for another month or so.