Winterizing tips for my R3?

[KDog Bone]

Hi all,

This my first winter with my '13 roadster. Any tips on winterizing? I store it indoors in a semi heated garage.

I plan to:

- remove the battery
- fill gas tank and stabilize gas
- cover the bike

On my honda I would turn off the gas and run the engine dry, but I don't see a way to do that now.

Thoughts?

 

[rocketjohn]

If you have a battery tender you can leave it in the bike and hooked up. Your battery will thank you. If outdoor parking is your only option then you have a good recipe for winter prep. Fill the tank if possible with non ethanol gas, but it's not absolutely needed. To be sure make sure your treatment is suitable for stabilizing ethanol fuel. Star-tron has always worked for me. And a dose of Seafoam come spring will clean out any goo that might accumulate. Don't worry about gas getting into the engine parts....the injectors are off and unless leaky should not drip. If they are, you are already having running issues that you would know about! But even if they the did dribble down, they would dribble what's in them and no more...there's too many restrictions in the system to siphon it out of the tank when the pump isn't running.

I see you are in Canada....Star-Tron and Seafoam may be hard to find up there, but Canadian Tire reportedly has good stuff just like those.

 

[blip]

This is what I do every winter:
- Fill up with 91 octane from Ultramar or shell or 94 from petrocan (i.e. gas with no ethanol content)
- Treat the gas with stabil (or seafoam, I've started to use that to stabilize my outboard motor and it works way better)
- Run it through the engine (idle for 10 minutes or drive for 10 km)
- Change the oil
- If I am feeling ambitious I'll use an oil based spray to cover the metal bits (i.e. rustproffing) but I've only ever done that once and it hasn't made much of a difference.

I tend not to bother with a cover but if you do use a dust cover or thin breathable rain resistant cover. The cover needs to be breathable or it will trap moisture and cause more issues than it will help.

But more importantly ...... winterizing now? I'll have mine out until the salt trucks hit the road. Heck I was driving around in a santa suit on christmas eve last year (But not on my R3).

 

[blip]

I forgot to mention disconect the battery terminals. You can remove the batter and bring it inside which is best or hook it up to a tender like rocketjohn was saying. I tend to get away with just leaving it unhooked and then I aways do a trickle charge in the spring.

 

[rocketjohn]

Hmmm, yes, if you don't use a battery tender, bring it in house or another reasonably warm space!

 

[KDog Bone]

Thanks guys,

I do have a battery tender and may leave it in. I maybe storing remotely and might pull the battery just to make sure nothing happens while I am not around.

Good idea on the seafoam. I use it a start of season but end makes sense too.

I am not putting it away yet, still lots of riding to do. Just planning ahead.

I appreciate the input.

 

[Tripps]

Ride it

 

[Idaho Red Rocket 3]

Ride it if you can at least once a month. A 20 to 25 mile ride once a month during the winter is good for it.

 

[blip]

man how I envy those of you in the states (especially in the south). Both me and the original poster are in ontario where in february last year we had about 50 centimeters of snow in just one 24 hour period (that was a record by the way).

From about December on you also have to deal with the massive amount of salt they dump on the roads there and that will just eat through a bike, since they don't make bikes with a large amount of rust proofing.

Despite that, Most years I ride into early december and then pull it out in Mrch but it all depends on the weather, I run from the salt trucks and then in the spring wait for one good rain storm once the snow melts to wash the salt away.

This year though I am tempted to load the bike on a truck and drive down to florida during the winter.

 

[dougl]

I leave it connected to the battery tender and start it at least every 2 weeks, or ride it if the roads are clear. Never had an issue.