Winter Storage
Dec 16th, 2008 by Leo
I think I’m kind of late in the season writing about this, but for those of you planning to put your bike away for a couple of months, let’s talk winter storage:
The good news is putting your motorcycle in suspended animation doesn’t require a whole lot, as long as you have a (somewhat) climate controlled storage space. When you store cars or motorcycles in places where the air gets moist (i.e., outdoors) you can have problems with corrosion of electrical parts, and if the machine is exposed to extreme cold you get wear on seals and all the rubber hoses, fuel lines, brake lines, as well as the clutch and throttle cable. In that case there’s little you can do about these things, other than keep an eye on them, lube cables, and replace hoses when necessary.
Step #1 Find a (somewhat) climate controlled storage place
Any of the indoor storage facilities around NY and the boroughs will do. Any indoor garage is also fine. Indoor commercial garages often have some sort of climate control; but even if you’re just storing your bike in the back of your parents’ garage, it should be fine…there’s usually enough heat coming from the rest of the house to keep things in the garage above freezing (around NY anyway).
Some people who live in first floor apartments manage to roll their bikes right into their living rooms. If that’s not for you (it’s not for me) there are also commercial storage options: motorcycle dealerships will store your bike over the winter for a fee; there are also clubs that do storage. A quick Google search should get you there.
Step #2 Use Fuel Stabilizer
Gas goes bad. Who knew? It’s not a problem in the tank but it’s a problem in your carbs (the fuel dries up and leaves a hard residue that clogs little holes in your carbs) and fuel injectors (although fuel injectors are somewhat immune from this problem). All you have to do is add fuel stabilizer to your tank and let it run for a while before you store it away.
You can find fuel stabilizer (like STA-BIL, Cyclo or some other brand) in the auto sections of places like Rite-Aid or Target if you can’t get to a bike shop. It’s also a good idea to have an almost-empty gas tank when you put it into storage… Because when you pull it out of storage the bike probably won’t run as well with fuel stabilizer in the tank. You want to use that up and get a fresh tank when you’re ready to ride.
Step #3 Trickle Charge the Battery
Batteries go bad too. Once a battery goes dead or close to dead, it won’t hold as much of a charge. Your motorcycle isn’t designed to charge its battery fully… So to make your battery last more than a couple of years you should put it on a trickle charge a couple of times a year.
When you put your bike into storage, you’ll want to put the battery on a trickle charger. If your storage place has an outlet you can use, you can just take the seat off (or install a plug onto your battery) and keep it plugged in. If you don’t have an outlet where you’re keeping your bike, it only takes a minute to remove the battery and bring it home with you. The battery, under the seat, is probably held on by a rubber strap, so you remove that first. Then you unscrew the two posts being careful not to short the battery by touching a screwdriver across the two points. When you unscrew the red post (+) you want to be careful not to accidentally let the screwdriver touch the frame of the bike, that will cause a short too. Once the two posts are unscrewed you can screw in the two nuts so you don’t loose them, and lift the battery out.
Which battery tender should I buy? I have no idea. I use this one and have no trouble with it…
Does the battery have to be trickle charged the whole time? No. If you had a friend in the neighborhood, you could borrow it once every couple of weeks and just charge it overnight.
Step #4 A Couple of Obvious but a little less important tips
Clean your bike: Salt and road crud can corrode paint jobs as well as rubber hoses, cables, and tires, so give it a quick wash before you put it away. Most people want to give the bike a good cleaning before storage anyway.
General Maintenance: This is also a good time to do things like change the oil, lube the chain, change the coolant (although lots of people almost-never change coolant, they just top it off, and it’s okay). Of course you don’t have-to do these things, but it’s a good time to.
*If you’re storing your bike outdoors or someplace open to the elements, an extra precaution some people take is to remove the air filter and seal off the air intake with clean rags and a couple of plastic bags to keep moisture out of the engine. I don’t know how well this works, but if I were parking my bike outdoors for a couple of months, I might try it just in case.
Step #5 Taking it out of Storage
When you take the bike back out of storage, you probably should change the oil, check the chain, check the tires and tire pressure, etc. You might get some rust on the brake rotors, that’s normal. You can clean it off with “brake cleaner” from any auto parts store, or you can just ride it off…gently squeeze the brakes at local speeds a few times and the rust should be gone…
Anything I missed here? Help us out in the comments section!
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I disagree on the gas tank – a full tank will displace any moisture and prevent rust. Stabilizer shouldn’t have much of an effect on how the engine runs, but if you use one like Seafoam (carb cleaner plus stabilizer) it may actually improve performance. After adding stabilizer, ride the bike for another 5 minutes or so to make sure the stabilized gas gets into the carbs, or just drain the carbs (not a problem for fuel injected bikes, obviously).
Other pre-storage stuff:
Put the bike on a center stand and blocks, or a lift, to take the weight off of the tires. If you use a cover, make sure it is moisture-breathable to prevent condensation, and try to prop it up like a tent so it doesn’t touch painted or chromed surfaces (tall windshield or mirrors and sissy bar can help there). Remove any leather items that you can, and apply mink oil or other leather preservative on them. Remove the spark plugs temporarily and spray the cylinders with some fogging oil though the holes. Make note of any repairs you may need to do before riding again (new fork seals? new tires? new seat cover?, etc) and plan to have the parts and tools ready for the spring.
Other post-storage stuff:
You haven’t ridden for several months – practice your skills again! Also, cagers have had several months of getting used to there not being any bikes on the road, so be extra cautious around them.
Hey JD thanks for the tips!
They do recommend for cars to keep the tank full so that you get less moisture in the tank (from air)…but I was under the impression that this doesn’t apply to motorcycles. It could be that I’ve only been looking at modern bikes (within 10 years or so), someone who’s had classic bikes may have a different story.
I have heard of people complaining about how the bike runs with stabilizer in the tank coming out of storage, but that could be caused by other things.
I like the tip about the cover, spark plugs and being extra cautious when you start riding again. Cheers!
Thanks for the great advice and tips guys! Really appreciate it!
Hey there,
I’m new to riding in the city and my bike has been in storage all winter. I’m wondering when would be a good time to take it out. My mechanic just called me asking if I wanted to take it out in the next few days but that still seems a bit early. When do most people get on the bikes again?
Hey Justine,
If you paid for storage for the whole winter, and you’re not ready to take it out yet – then it’s too early. The garage probably wants to be able to empty out their storage as soon as they can…so they’ll probably keep reminding you. But you should take it out of storage whenever you’re going to have the time and inclination to start riding for the season.
I think people normally start bringing their bikes out of storage in March and April. But maybe some other folks can chime in: When are you going to take your bike out of winter storage?
I haven’t put it in winter storage yet. What’s a good time for that?
Ha! I actually think the winter is better than mid-summer. It hasn’t gotten too cold to ride in NY this winter (although I try to stay off the snow) but there are plenty of days when it’s just too darn hot! Put it in storage for June and July!