How to get your bike ready for winter

Whether you’re storing your bike or riding through the season, the MotorEagles® motorcycle attorneys have tips to help you get your bike ready for winter.

Depending where you live, you may only have a few more chances to ride before you have to put your bike away for the cold winter months.  Many of us dread this time of year, but fortunately, the motorcycle injury lawyers at MotorEagles® have tips to help make winterizing your motorcycle less of a hassle.

Winterizing your motorcycle is important in order to prevent costly motorcycle repairs in the spring. With these tips, your bike will be able to make it through winter and you’ll be ready to ride come spring.

And even if you’re going to continue to ride through winter, you still need to prepare your bike for the cold weather. These tips can keep your bike performing at its best all season long.

1. Location, location, location: If you’re storing bike, you need to find a good location.  Some motorcycle dealers offer a storage program and they will prep and store your bike until you are ready to ride again in the spring. If you store your bike yourself, choose a dry location away from any windows to avoid condensation and paint fading.
2. Oil: Change your bike’s oil.  Even if your bike isn’t due for an oil change, it can help your bike start up and run smoother once you take it out of storage.  Cold weather causes oil to lose viscosity, so acids can form in the oil and damage the interior surfaces. According to the MotorEagles® motorcycle attorneys, you should change the oil despite whether you’re storing your bike or riding through winter.
3. Fuel stabilizer: If your bike will be stored for less than four months, add fuel stabilizer and let your bike to run for about 10 minutes, but be sure not to overfill the tank.
4. Cylinders: After a while, oil from the cylinder walls will be removed since the last time you ran your motorcycle, which can result in rust formation and piston and ring wear.  If your bike will be stored for longer than six months, detach the spark plugs and pour a tablespoon of clean engine oil or spray fogging oil into each cylinder.  Turn the engine over several rotations to spread the oil around, and then reinstall the plugs.
5. Battery: The battery needs to be removed when your motorcycle is in storage because motorcycles have a small current drain even when the bike isn’t turned on.  The motorcycle injury lawyers at MotorEagles® recommend charging your battery every two weeks to sustain power.
6. Wax: Apply wax to your motorcycle even if you’re not storing your bike this winter. Wax blocks moisture during winter and can prevent rust from forming.  Also, spray your engine with WD-40 to prevent moisture damage.
7. Mufflers, exhaust: You should also spray the mufflers and exhaust with oil like WD-40 to prevent rust damage.  If your bike will be in storage, place a plastic bag or dry cloth into each end of the muffler hole to keep moisture from entering into the exhaust, and then cover the muffler to block moisture.
8. Tires: Inflate your tires using an air pressure gauge.  Cold weather compresses tires, so you want to keep them protected from ice and snow.
9. Fluids: Service your brake and clutch fluids if you haven’t done so in a few years.  Dirty brake or clutch fluid makes it easier for rust to form, so keep your system clean.
10. Cover: If you plan to store your motorcycle in your garage, cover it with a breathable, mildew-resistant cover. Other materials, such as a plastic sheeting or tarp, can cause rust.

Winterizing your motorcycle is important so you won’t have to deal with costly motorcycle repairs when you’re ready to ride again in spring. Once you perform these steps, all that’s left to do is sit back, watch the snow fall and wait for the first flowers of spring to blossom.

MotorEagles® is an important resource for motorcyclists. Our motorcycle injury lawyers promote motorcycle safety, increase motorcycle awareness through our safe rider campaigns and provide access to our vast legal resources through our rider representation program.

Share your winterization tips with MotorEagles’ motorcycle attorneys on Facebook and Twitter.

Tags: motorcycle attorneys, motorcycle injury lawyers, motorcycle safety, motorcycle storage, winter storage, winterization tips

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 at 11:34 am and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.