We get it … it sucks having to put your bike away for the winter. If you have to do it, you should do it right by avoiding these ten mistakes people make when storing their motorcycles through the winter.
Putting your bike away with a half a tank of gas in it. Sure, you can drain the tank if you want to, but if your winter storage is only going to be a few months, it’s a much better idea to fill the tank up all the way. This squeezes out as much air as possible, which will help protect metal tanks from rust. Obviously, corrosion is a non-issue for plastic tanks, but you still want to fill it up because you may have metal or electrical components (like a fuel pump) in there. Before you take that last trip to the gas station, add a stabilizer or other fuel treatment to the gas and then ride to the gas station and back. This ensures the fuel treatment chemicals get dispersed throughout the available gasoline and make their way through the fuel system as well, protecting the gas in all the nooks and crannies of the hoses and what-not. The fuel treatment helps prevent the ethanol in our modern fuel supply from gumming up carburetors and fuel injectors, and a full tank of gas keeps any seals inside the tank nice and supple. You don’t have to worry about gasoline freezing; its freezing point is about -100 degrees Fahrenheit (-73 Celsius) – but the water in it can freeze well above that temperature, and that’s another great reason to use a good fuel treatment designed to prevent water from coming out of solution in the fuel tank.
Starting your bike once a week (or once a month). If you’re not going to ride the motorcycle for at least 30 minutes, don’t start the engine. Idling it for a short while isn’t going to get the engine up to operating temperature, and idling it for a long time runs the risk of damaging the engine or even starting a fire! If you don’t get the engine up to proper operating temperature, you’re not going to suspend enough contaminants and by-products from the combustion process in the oil like you should. Having said that, if you have a modern motorcycle with an electric fuel pump, you can (and should) turn on your ignition WITHOUT STARTING THE BIKE once a month or so. This keeps the fuel pump primed and happy. Doing so can help prevent fuel pump failure down the road. Just turn on the ignition and leave it on for about 30 seconds, or until you can no longer hear the fuel pump running, whichever comes first.
Not using a battery tender. Batteries naturally self-discharge over time. Yes, it’s just a little bit, but it happens. After a month or so, your battery might be down below the level it needs to be at to start the bike; after two or three months, it might discharge enough to actually damage the battery. In addition to natural self-discharge, many modern motorcycles have “always on” features like clocks or alarm systems that put a “vampire draw” on the battery. These things, even though their draw is minimal, can kill an untendered battery. Make sure you use a tender meant for long-term use as well as one specifically for your type of battery, lead-acid (flooded, AGM or gel) or lithium-iron (LiFePo).
Storing your bike with dirty oil in it. We all know oil helps cool internal engine components and lubricates them as they do their thing. Another critical function of oil is to absorb contaminants produced as by-products of the combustion process and suspend them in solution. That’s why your oil looks black when you drain it out after looking nice and clear brown when you put it in. After your last ride of the season, change your oil (while the engine is warm) and oil filter so your engine takes its nap with nice, clean oil in it. And remember – don’t start your bike until you’re ready to ride it for real.
Storing your bike outdoors without a good quality cover. If you want to kill your motorcycle, one of the best ways to do it is to store it outdoors without a good cover on it. Let’s face it: If you’re taking your bike off the road for the winter, chances are high it’s because you’re about to see multiple inches or even feet of snow and ice over the next few months. Leaving that snow and ice piled up on your motorcycle for days and days is a great way to ruin not just the paint and chrome on your bike, but the electronics as well, as water gets in there and freezes, then thaws, then freezes and so on. A giant blue hardware store tarp isn’t going to cut it here, so buy once, cry once: Get a really good waterproof cover that properly fits your motorcycle and clear it of snow and ice as soon as possible after every storm.
Nobody washes their bike before putting it away for the winter, right? Why bother cleaning your bike if you’re not even going to ride it for a few months? Chances are you kept riding until after the first few really crappy weather days of winter, which means there’s a solid chance your bike picked up salt, road grime, sand, etc. Maybe you’re a dedicated off-road rider, which means your bike could be caked with mud. Leaving those things in the nooks and crannies of your bike can cause corrosion and even freeze damage components if you’re not keeping your bike stored in a warm place. Do your bike a favor and give it one last wash before you put it away. If you don’t want to wash it, there are plenty of waterless cleaning chemicals you can use for a final wipe-down before storage. One benefit of doing this is being able to find things that might be broken or worn you might not have noticed otherwise. Suddenly you’ve got plenty of time to fix those things and prevent them from stranding you on your first ride of next season.
Over or under-inflating your tires for storage. There’s no reason to over-inflate your tires because cold weather will make the air pressure drop. Over-inflating the tires isn’t going to prevent flat spots; this is a myth left over from the olden days and your high-tech modern tires are not going to develop permanent flat spots after just a few months of storage. Also, don’t leave your tires under-inflated all winter simply because you’re not going to ride it. The best thing to do for your tires during storage is to inflate them to the proper pressure and check them periodically with a good tire gauge, adding a little air as needed. You can also bag putting cardboard under your tires; this is another myth from olden days. The concrete in your garage or shed is not going to damage your tires. (The asphalt you ride on every day has more toxic chemicals in it than concrete.)
You think coolant and antifreeze are the same thing. Just about any free-flowing liquid can act as coolant in a liquid-cooled motorcycle, but antifreeze is a specific chemical solution designed to resist freezing. That distilled water you added to the radiator or overflow bottle in July was fine to top things up for your summer ride, but water freezes in winter, and when water freezes, it expands. Do an experiment: Fill up a glass jar with water, clear to the rim, and then put a tight lid on it. Now stick it in your freezer and check on it every day until it shatters and you have to clean shards of glass out of your stash of mixed vegetables. Imagine that happening inside the engine of your precious motorcycle! If you have added anything other than actual antifreeze to your motorcycle’s cooling system since last year, drain it completely and refill the system with the antifreeze recommended by your manufacturer. Don’t forget to prime the cooling system! (Yeah … you’ll want to do this *before* you change the oil for the last time.)
Don’t bother cleaning, lubricating and adjusting the chain. As established above, putting your bike away dirty is a recipe for future disappointment or damage, and that goes for your drive chain as well. Give it a good clean, lubricate it per your manufacturer’s instructions, and adjust its tension before you put it away for the winter. At the very least, when you break out your bike in the spring for that first ride, you’ll be able to skip this particular task and just go ride. (I’d recommend checking the tension and giving the chain a shot of lube before that first ride anyway, just to be on the safe side.)
Don’t do anything over the winter to educate yourself or improve your motorcycling skills. I mean, if you’re not actively riding every day, why bother learning anything about being a better rider? Reading a book isn’t ever going to be the same thing as on-the-street experience, but when the weather’s terrible, you can absorb a lot of information from the pages of great books like David Hough’s “Proficient Motorcycling” and others. You could also take an online course from Champ U or Cornering Confidence, both of which are available to MOA members either for free or at reduced rates as a benefit of your membership. Visit the member benefits page for more info!
