Here in the Hinterlands, winter is bearing down. We see it on the calendar and feel it in the air — soon we'll see it in the air in the form of fluffy white stuff. Over this past weekend we were treated to a balmy, sunny day so I took advantage of it to winterize my three bikes. I keep them in riding condition, so for me, that just means making sure they're clean, full of fresh, stabilized fuel, drain the carbs, plus an oil/filter change. Of course, gotta warm that old oil, so out for a final blast on each.
There's a fair number of myths and bad information out there about how best to prep a machine for seasonal storage. For some clarity, here's an article from Revzilla's Common Thread.
A personal plea: The top mistake owners make on this subject is to periodically start their machines during storage. DON'T DO THIS! Unless you're actually riding — on the road! — for at least 20 minutes to fully warm the oil and evaporate the moisture and acids a cold start creates, DON'T DO THIS! I once bought an airplane from a seller who proudly told me that he would regularly start his engine and let it idle for ten minutes during the winter months (he rarely actually flew it). I knew I would soon be in for an engine rebuild and, sure enough, a year later the engine failed its annual inspection resulting in a $14,000 rebuild. I wanted to hot rod it a little anyway, so this was expected. The point is that his practice of running the cold engine resulted in cumulative damage each and every time. Your engine is happy sleeping through the cold — let it sleep in peace.
There's a fair number of myths and bad information out there about how best to prep a machine for seasonal storage. For some clarity, here's an article from Revzilla's Common Thread.
A personal plea: The top mistake owners make on this subject is to periodically start their machines during storage. DON'T DO THIS! Unless you're actually riding — on the road! — for at least 20 minutes to fully warm the oil and evaporate the moisture and acids a cold start creates, DON'T DO THIS! I once bought an airplane from a seller who proudly told me that he would regularly start his engine and let it idle for ten minutes during the winter months (he rarely actually flew it). I knew I would soon be in for an engine rebuild and, sure enough, a year later the engine failed its annual inspection resulting in a $14,000 rebuild. I wanted to hot rod it a little anyway, so this was expected. The point is that his practice of running the cold engine resulted in cumulative damage each and every time. Your engine is happy sleeping through the cold — let it sleep in peace.
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