Winterization

[Axel]

SUCKS

Today I put my bike away . I had to wear a balaclava for the last ride to a friends barn (slightly heated) so I guess it was time .
I spent yesterday cleaning ,polishing and lubricating. I changed the oil and filter . I have the battery hooked to a maintenance -type charger . I plan to fog and seal intake and exhaust openings.
I have a fairly strong Seafoam solution in the fuel .
What do you do ?

[MartyA]

Add sta-bil, fill the tanks, run for about 1/2 hr, air up the tires to proper psi, take the batteries out and store them in the basement, cover in a un-heated garage. If the oil is fairly new I don't change it till spring. Both of mine have only a few miles on the oil so they won't get changed till spring, hopefully that is April sometime.

In the spring I have a local shop cycle the batteries, charge them up and off we go.

[Dragonrider]

I figure it's about time for this...

Winterization

[tinman905]

I am resisting doing the same was out this weekend and it was very nice and lots of riders out there but not too many without windshields. Maybe after next week I hear it's going to be in the teens .

[Hired_Goon]

Oh for some winterization right now. 90 degrees F in my very inefficiently air conditioned office.

Don't want to go outside just yet.

Fortunately my bike never sits for more than two weeks at a time, all year round. But then I can't say I've ever seen ice outside the freezer in the last twenty years either.

[prometheus578]

I'd drain the float bowls, too.
Put the bolts back in in case the petcocks leak a bit during storage.

[fredintoon]

I drain the carbs and remove the gas tank to drain it, dump in a half-cup of gear oil, shake it about then remount it. Disconnect the big ol' car battery and fully charge it in situ then shove the rig into the far corner of the garage and drape a dust sheet over it. The drained gas gets used in my snowblower.

[LoHo]

Or you could suck it up and keep riding, you big pansy...

;^}

[fredintoon]

sucking it up

Hi LoHo,
tell you what, you show up in Saskatoon anytime after the snow flies and before the thaw and I'll give you a weekend's free board & lodging. All you have to do is ride up here from sunny Fresno on your XS11. If you can ride the XS11 out to Biggar when you get here I can arrange that the Mayor will give you a free pizza.

[BLUEJEEPLAB]

Winterization this year is extensive.

1st - Find someone to rebuild my carbs right (after 7 attempts, no. 2 still is dumping gas into cylinder)

2nd - Fix the Timing Adjustment cover oil leak

3rd - Overhaul the front brakes

4th - Get a real paint job to replace my rattle can job

5th - Get a hold of the Corbin people and see if they will custom make a seat for me. (It's a three hour ride to the factory and it's a pretty nice one)

Oh yeah, polish, polish, polish

[LoHo]

Hey Fred, how about July...that's after the snow flies, right?

I like pepperoni and mushroom, by the way.

;^}

[fredintoon]

Hi LoHo,
alas for you and your hopes, it is also after the thaw. Hey! by July the City crews will have even swept up the 50,000 tons of gravel they put down over winter.
My summer offer:- Arrive at my place for the August long weekend having ridden your XS11 all the way from Fresno CA and you can crash at my place and we will go to the Biggar Classic Bike Rally. Pizzeria Adria in Biggar makes the best pizza in Western Canada but in August you have to buy your own.

[fredintoon]

Today she's parked.

This morning there's already an inch of new snow in Saskatoon and it's still coming down and although it was not the first snowfall of the season it's highly unlikely that this one will melt before next April. So I cashed in the insurance yesterday and tomorrow when the car has taken my wife to work and there's room in the garage I will take the rig for a few circus spins in the bay of our street just to warm up the oil then change the oil, drain the carbs, drain & oil the gas tank, disconnect the battery and shove the rig in the far corner of the garage under a dust sheet. Then I can test-run the snowblower that will take over the rig's pole position in the garage until the spring thaw.

[LoHo]

Let's see...that's about an hour west on 14? How much is a short-term fishing permit in SK? Does Canada have provincial fish & game administration, or national? Fred, you don't flyfish, do you?

[Crazcnuk]

Winterization?

Fill the gas tank...take the battery out (if your heated garage is above 0C you can leave the battery in.

Wait till spring.

If I had to do half the stuff most these guys do, I'd have quit riding years ago. Of course, we seem to have much better gas up here...