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[JohnnyRock]

Used to have heated storage--big (now vacant) building got too expensive to heat. Dealer today trying to sell me $200 (5 month) heated to 69 degrees, pest-controlled, secure storage... Talked about mice in fairings and engines.

I have an '05 FLSTN (carbed). With that I just filled the tank, added Seafoam, parked it uncovered in the unheated (but very mouse-less) garage, and put the battery on a tender in my basement.

Did a search and didn't really see too much on here. Wondering what all you forum members do.

Thanks.

[hard10]

Moved South.
...Further South

[Grizzly]

Keep riding!  Problem solved!

With the right apparel there are always nice days to ride to get you through "the lonely months" here in Ontario.

In no time at all the little critters will get tired trying to keep up and move on to the next garage that has a bike parked for months in it.

[ice6900]

No hibernation here in Switzerland, all our 7 bikes squeeze into a single unheated garage and the 5 street legal bikes get ridden all winter when the streets are dry and free of snow or salt

[HDSLK]

We have 3-4 weeks before the snow starts flying here and I am holding out for the possibility of some sunny days yet!   In fact, looks like some good riding time this weekend!

When it does come time to give it a rest for a while, I follow essentially the same procedure that you outlined except I put a cover on it.

[ridefar]

Once the salt hits the road the bike goes away. I have seen what that crap will do to metal in an unreachable and unseen cranny, warm water really gets it eating away! Bike:2004SEEG,storage: change oil and filter, ride to gas station, add Stabil or Seafoam, top off tank, ride about 10 miles or so to circulate product into fuel system. Let cool. Wash bike and dry. Coat all chrome, especially wheels with WD-40. Connect Accumate battery maintainer and cover it up. Toss some moth balls around the floor to discourage mice and I'm done. I actually found a lethargic mouse sleeping on top of the Accumate once, as it does give off minor heat. Never had a problem with them causing problems indoors. They ate up the fuse block in my pickup once outside though. A note on Ethanol gas: I have not previously stored with this crap, so will have to look into hazards of same, stay tuned...

[Racerdj]

Since moving south is not an option, stabil in the gas tank and a battery tender and hopes of 50 degree to get a short ride in!

[fourstar]

On the good side of living in California, I'll be riding all Winter.  The bad news is that I pay more for energy, pay higher taxes, contend with more stupid legislators and laws, and live with an idiot populace that continues to vote themselves pay raises. 
At least I can get some "highway therapy" to help me deal with it. 

[Chains]

Moved South.
...Further South

Thats what we did too, just stopped one state short of where we will eventually end up.

[Sklywag]

Arizona - always in heated storage 

When we lived in Reno I kept one MC to ride whenever I could during the winter months.  The others got a complete wash at the quarter car wash, washed every where, waxed everything, treated all the leather, then a complete fresh oil change, motor, trans, primary, full tank of fresh gas & stabilizer, battery tender and put on the cover.  Every 2 months pull off the cover & fire it up, let it come up to temperature, let it cool then back to sleep.

[MY2NDCVO]

Never Winterize, Ride ALL YEAR LONG.

[RedDevil]

I put some Sta-bil in the gas and run it through, and keep them both on tenders, but other than that, nothing else because we do get riding days during the winter and I want to be able to hop on and take the bikes out when I can.

[Rio]

Very fortunate. I run a BMW store and for 5 years i have been able to park my trailer in the basement and every winter i just pull it up in the trailer (condor stand), cover it, and every 30 days i go downstairs, take the cover off, open the rear door, fire her up and let her run for 10-15 minutes and dream of warmer days.  Very lucky!

[grc]

1.  Invariably wait too long, freeze my butt off thoroughly washing and drying bike for the last time.

2.  Ride at least 10 miles to get the fluids up to temp, stop right before I get home and top off the fuel tank.  Add Sta-bil.

3.  Change all fluids and oil filter, run engine only long enough to distribute fresh oil.

4.  Clean air filter (K&N) and re-oil.

5.  Put bike on center stand, clean and lubricate jiffy stand.

6.  Inflate tires to 40 psi, leave rear tire off the ground (center stand).  Every two or three weeks rotate front tire so it doesn't flat spot.

7.  Lubricate and adjust cables.

8.  Perform any other checklist items that are due or will be due soon.

9.  Connect battery tender for the duration.

10.  Cover bike with a breathable dust cover only, never a waterproof material.

Edit:  Forgot to mention after #4, pull sparkplugs and spray cylinders with fogging oil while turning engine over slowly, reinstall plugs.


The bike resides in an attached garage (unheated) that also houses Momma's car and her snow thrower.  Haven't had any of the issues some folks have warned about, such as corrosion from sitting on a concrete floor with a cover over it.  Since the garage has steady traffic through it on a daily basis, I don't worry about fumes or other stuff building up and maybe causing damage.

IMHO, this is the perfect time to do the scheduled maintenance items (checklist) so you won't have to mess with them in the spring when you would much rather ride.  It's also a good idea to have the internal parts marinating in fresh fluids for the duration, instead of the nasty acidic old stuff.

The best idea I've heard so far is move south.  I would love to move much further south and west to our 50th state, but so far I haven't been able to convince Momma to get a job so she could send money to support me over there.  Still working on it, but it doesn't look promising right now.  Looks like another winter of freezing my butt off.


Jerry

[SBB]

How do you store it/them for winter?

Just like summer, fall and spring, I ride them!
Garage is heated and the bikes listen to music 24/7.

 

SBB