general pre winterization question

Hey all I've read up on other threads re: winterizing and some say that you should lube up the bike to prevent rust...I'm def planning on cleaning and lubing the chain but what else can I lube? and what do you use to lube them WD40?   thanks

Here's what you gotta do:

Park it.

that's it. winterization complete!

WD40 is not a lubricant, so don't use it as one. just park the damn bike and don't touch it until spring.

Heres some slightly more helpful info: your users manual has everything you should do and the frequency in it. Honda spent a lot of time putting it together, so its just as well to use it.

Shouldnt you atleast diconnect the battery negative if its gonna be sitting a while??

I fill the tank with new gas, add Sta-Bil if I have it.....I've done it both ways and not had any problems.  Wash the bike normally and park it in the corner. I start it once a month (usually a warm day) and take it for a little spin (6 blocks or so) and park it again.  Not once had any problem with battery life or clogged carbs/injectors.  I live in Minneapolis so yes.......it's cold here and it snows on occasion.  There is usually ONE day per month that you can get it out for a tiny bit to run it. 
That's just what I do........No, i dont change the oil before and after winter.  I do lube the chain (as I just washed the bike). I have stands but dont put it up on them. 
I cant say to do it this way because.....well it's not at all  like the anal retentive types or the manuals........but I've not had a problem yet. 
 
If you're worried.........follow the manual, you can't go wrong.
 

    just unhook the battery so the clock doesnt drain it.
make sure the chain is lubed so it doesnt rust with actual chain lube.
wash the bike to get all the road gunk off

you technically dont have to put stabil in gas anymore. it wont hurt though.  i like to drain my tank as much as i can just because its not doing any good just sitting there in the tank

geez guys can we not talk about this yet or at least until after thanksgiving, your bringing me down

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ORIGINAL: !!!!!NJ Ride

geez guys can we not talk about this yet or at least until after thanksgiving, your bringing me down

The weather here in MI is bringing me down. We got a Canadian system swirling over us for the next 4 days at least.... followed by a day or two of overcast w/broken sun... and then back to crap.   I'm already itchy to get out on the bike. Cars suck.

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ORIGINAL: !!!!!NJ Ride

geez guys can we not talk about this yet or at least until after thanksgiving, your bringing me down

u ride in NJ ? me to and u right is getting colder and colder and peoples driving skills get worst and worst (cars i mean) they dont expect to see bikes anymore on the road. i almost got ranover 2-ice last week.

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ORIGINAL: bieniu

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ORIGINAL: !!!!!NJ Ride

geez guys can we not talk about this yet or at least until after thanksgiving, your bringing me down

u ride in NJ ? me to and u right is getting colder and colder and peoples driving skills get worst and worst (cars i mean) they dont expect to see bikes anymore on the road. i almost got ranover 2-ice last week.

I don't know if people are getting dumber or I'm becoming increasingly impatient while trapped in a cage, but it seems like driving is just becoming increasingly burdened with me yelling "WTF are you doing?" at people. Earlier, I watched a woman pull up and stop at a major intersection approx 10 seconds after her turn arrow had ceased. The cars on the other side were just starting to move... and she goes for it.... slowly. Taking her sweet time. Unbelievable.

Slugger: Do you have anger problems?  lol 

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ORIGINAL: crashkhanman

Slugger: Do you have anger problems?  lol 

should I respond with "Fuk off", or "Go to hell"... hmm, decisions decisions...

How much more USEFUL information is there to be had about winterizing a motorcycle? You don't NEED to do JACK SH.IT to make it through even a Wisconsin winter... I think the most USEFUL information about winterizing any internal combustion engine, regardless of what it's mounted into is: DO NOT FUKKING TOUCH THE DAMN THING UNLESS YOU ARE WELL AND FULLY PREPARED TO USE IT AS GOD INTENDED. way, way, WAY too many people over think storage, especially WINTER storage... and to be honest it's really starting to irritate me more and more every single god damn year. Clean the chain, pfft... what, cleaning the chain every 500 miles isn't good enough? Over kill, unnecessary, leave it for when you care next spring. Stabilizing fuel... you got to be fukking kidding me... what is this, 1960? Gasoline has changed about as much as synthetic oil has since the 80's. you don't need to stabilize the damn gas. believe me, it'll be just as clean and just as explosive in the spring as it was in the late to early winter when you stopped riding. Change the oil... fine, change the oil... IF IT NEEDS IT. these retards who drop expensive and perfectly good oil and replace it with some cheap crap they found at Fleet Farm, only to drop THAT oil in the spring and replace it with new $14/qt oil from France need to hung from a gallows with a firing squad below. what the hell is wrong with you people?! That oil was perfectly fine to leave in there over winter! you're worried that the oil is acidic? Unless you get your oil tested for acidic value, you're guessing and are most likely wrong. if it needs replacement because it's close to your OCI, change it and leave it in there until your next OCI. if it isn't then leave it. don't over think it. Wash the bike... yeah... whatever. LIFTING THE TIRES OFF THE GROUND SO THEY DON'T FLAT SPOT. Look, will one of you who have had this exact thing happen where you leave the bike rest on the side stand over winter show me a picture of these so called flat spotted tires? One of you? Any takers? No? Doth you exist at all? My guess? Probably not. It's never happened to anything i've ever owned with wheels to include a host of motorcycles, cars, trucks, and trailers belonging to family friends who haven't the storage space. not a single time. Not once has any of the tires developed flat spots over winter. it's a bullschit story the came from the 60's and never disappeared. Take the battery out. Sure, if you want. in 6 months time it's still gonna need a recharge before it'll start the bike so why bother? battery tender? Never used one. i see absolutely no reason to start either. The OEM battery JUST got replaced on my brother's CBR600F2 2 years ago. purchased new back in 94. He never (nor does) owned a tender or maintained it over winter. lasted over 10 years. Fogging the Cylinders... what you're not satisfied with the quickness that the engine's oil pump delivers oil to the rings when you start it? what nonsense drives these replies? do you guys really even think anymore? does anyone think anymore?!

god gerialgalkjsgjggggajkshdlmnbbboi;uawwwrf............... just.. uhhh!

no wonder people are always so stressed out. they make life hugely complicated for themselves and everyone around them...

Now that's a lot to read. if you don't like to read, have your computer speak it. it may do a better job at reading it than some of you...

crashkhanman , I hope all that answers your question...

Yep that answered my question ... an angry individual.
 
btw relax I'm only busting your balls. I know you have good info to give.

im with you slugger. I got a brand new '07 and you would think i'd be all over babying this thing, instead I realize this  is a Honda. I probably dont have to do shit and it will still outlast then length of time i'll keep it. Naturally I will do all the recommended maintanence and keep it clean but as for excessive winterizing and oil changes, no chance.

Winterizing?  WTH is that?
 
Two words:  Heated gear.
 
I would personally steer clear of the fuel stabilizers.  They tend to react with the fuels that are currently being produced and have been known to cause fairly serious issues after extended storage.
 
Get the weight of the bike off the tires, fill the tank, drain carbs (if equipped) and a Battery Tender should do just fine.

+1 on the Battery Tender, they work great. 

I attached one on the quick connect pigtails to the battery terminals and tuck the end up under the seat of the bike.  That way, I can just pull out the connector and plug it in anytime I want to.  It will really extend the life of the battery, not to mention that it will aways be charged up anytime you hit the start button.

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Get the weight of the bike off the tires

Why...?

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ORIGINAL: knightslugger

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Get the weight of the bike off the tires

Why...?

I don't think they like to listen to you. More work for them.

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ORIGINAL: knightslugger

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Get the weight of the bike off the tires

Why...?

Flatspots. 
 
I don't care what your opinion is, it happened to two of my cars while in storage and two different motorcycles during two different years for a total of 12 tires needing replacement.
Don't believe me?  How about this, I took out my 535i after extended storage and felt a small "hobble" for the first few miles.....and then the next few miles which eventually turned into tire replacement.  What's funny is the hobble was it was very pronounced above 100mph.  Balancing did nothing. 
 
Flatspots are real and still exist. 
 
More work for me?  That's fine as long as I don't have to spend many 100's of $$$ on new tires every year.
 
As far as the rest of your rant......have your blood pressure checked every year...

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ORIGINAL: bergs

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ORIGINAL: knightslugger

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Get the weight of the bike off the tires

Why...?

Flatspots. 

I don't care what your opinion is, it happened to two of my cars while in storage and two different motorcycles during two different years for a total of 12 tires needing replacement.
Don't believe me?  How about this, I took out my 535i after extended storage and felt a small "hobble" for the first few miles.....and then the next few miles which eventually turned into tire replacement.  What's funny is the hobble was it was very pronounced above 100mph.  Balancing did nothing. 

Flatspots are real and still exist. 

More work for me?  That's fine as long as I don't have to spend many 100's of $$$ on new tires every year.

As far as the rest of your rant......have your blood pressure checked every year...

i do, and it's high every year. you say you took your BMW out of storage and felt a small hobble, then it went away, and then came back... that doesn't sound like a flat spot to me at all... but ok, fine, whatever, i don't really care about your car... what about the bike?

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ORIGINAL: knightslugger


i do, and it's high every year. you say you took your BMW out of storage and felt a small hobble, then it went away, and then came back... that doesn't sound like a flat spot to me at all... but ok, fine, whatever, i don't really care about your car... what about the bike?

I said the hobble went away?  No.  I said the hobble existed out of storage (noticed on the first few miles) and continued for the remaining miles until subsequent tire replacement.  Bad sentence structure on my part...sorry about the confusion....blame it on NH schools, Al Gore, Canada whatever...
 
Anyways, both bikes were very similar to the cars.  My first bike was stored for 6 months (?) the first year I had it and it came out with a hobble in the spring and never self-corrected.  New tires made hobble go away.
 
Second bike was the same thing, stored for months, came out with a hobble and that's when I finally learned my lesson to keep weight off the tires if the vehicle isn't going to move for a few months.
 
Keep in mind when I say "storage" I mean "does not move whatsoever until Spring".

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ORIGINAL: bergs

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ORIGINAL: knightslugger


i do, and it's high every year. you say you took your BMW out of storage and felt a small hobble, then it went away, and then came back... that doesn't sound like a flat spot to me at all... but ok, fine, whatever, i don't really care about your car... what about the bike?

I said the hobble went away?  No.  I said the hobble existed out of storage (noticed on the first few miles) and continued for the remaining miles until subsequent tire replacement.  Bad sentence structure on my part...sorry about the confusion....blame it on NH schools, Al Gore, Canada whatever...

Anyways, both bikes were very similar to the cars.  My first bike was stored for 6 months (?) the first year I had it and it came out with a hobble in the spring and never self-corrected.  New tires made hobble go away.

Second bike was the same thing, stored for months, came out with a hobble and that's when I finally learned my lesson to keep weight off the tires if the vehicle isn't going to move for a few months.

Keep in mind when I say "storage" I mean "does not move whatsoever until Spring".

hmmm. Mind if i ask you the precise environmental attributes of the storage area and the bike itself? out of all the bikes i've ever stored out at the farm over the past how many years now, this is the first i've head of someone's tires actually flat spotting in 6 months time. I mean, Silicate rubber just doesn't stay compressed like that, and most if not all of today's hyper performance tires (like the pilot power or corsas) are made out of a silicate rubber compound.

are you sure it wasn't a matter of condensation?

Heeeeyyyyy. keep Canada outta your poor edumicated sentence structure, bub. :P We gots igloos n snowballs...Id be scrred. HHAHAA

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ORIGINAL: knightslugger
hmmm. Mind if i ask you the precise environmental attributes of the storage area and the bike itself? out of all the bikes i've ever stored out at the farm over the past how many years now, this is the first i've head of someone's tires actually flat spotting in 6 months time. I mean, Silicate rubber just doesn't stay compressed like that, and most if not all of today's hyper performance tires (like the pilot power or corsas) are made out of a silicate rubber compound.

are you sure it wasn't a matter of condensation?

Storage was a tarped dome with PVC for supporting the "roof" and a rubber mat for the floor....essentially it was a makeshift shed assembled and placed behind the house.  I think the soft ground may have contributed to my issues...who knows?
The other thing is I didn't have the type of hyper-tires you mentioned on either bike.  One bike was an '89 ZX-7 (not the ZX-7R) and the other was an '83 KZ-11...neither required hi-performance tires as neither was a really a hi-performance bike.  Perhaps another contributing factor? 

bias ply ply tire no doubt.