It’s winter! Some tips on how to prepare your bike to rest!

May be difficult to admit, but winter is coming and we will have to park our motorcycles in garages to wait for the next season. There are some experienced and stubborn riders who never stops, but let’s face the truth, it is not safe and so far from pleasant to ride in winter and cold. Storing your bike is not just cover it and wait for spring. There are some steps to be followed and with just a little work you will save time and be free from some unwanted surprises, ready to hit the road as soon as possible.

So, first of all we strongly recommend to store the bike in a mild temperature place with good ventilation. Well, at least a dry place to leave it.

Wash your motorcycle thoroughly using a dedicated detergent. Remove road dust and insects from the motorcycle to protect the paintwork. Do not let water into the muffler pipe and avoid getting moisture on the air filter. Carefully wipe the motorcycle, do not leave any spot of water, it can corrode the finish permanently. It will be perfect if you treat and protect all metal parts with a special polish and apply car wax to all painted parts. Clean the chain and lubricate it. Polish and apply protective agent into all the leather parts.

The gas tank, when not in use, tend to rust. To block any problem and make sure that everything will be fine to hit the road again in a few months you need to fill the tank with gas and add a fuel stabilizer. When it stays long, volatile substances evaporate from it, and oily and sticky components remain in the sediment, they can clog the fuel system.

If your motorcycle has a carburetor engine, drain the float chamber. Disconnect the fuel line and drain the fuel from the carburetor. Read the instructions to find out where the drainage bolts are. If your motorcycle has an injection engine, then you are free of this operation.

Apply some lubricants onto the legs of the front fork, shake the fork so that the oil spreads over the legs and gets inside. Therefore, you protect oil seals and other rubber details from drying, and legs from corrosion.

Safeguard the battery. It’s recommended to remove or disconnect it, otherwise it will self-discharge. Some batteries require charging with a smart charger every 4 weeks. This procedure will help you to start your motorcycle easily in the spring and avoid the cost of a new battery.

Protect the tires. Yes, also then need some care. When you live your bike in the same position all the winter it will impact on the tires. Make sure you can isolate the motorcycle from the ground, avoiding deforming the tires. You should use a stand and elevate the wheels, letting then booth hanging free in the air.

If your motorcycle is equipped with a liquid cooling system, check the level of antifreeze and make sure you have it in adequate levels. If necessary drain the old antifreeze, flush the system and refill with a new one. Replace antifreeze every 2 years. Do not leave the motorcycle with low level of antifreeze in the system because this may lead to corrosion. Also check all other fluids levels.

After all this done, bike totally prepared for the winter, is important to cover it. A proper one will keep the dust away and also protects the motorcycle from moisture, corrosion and rust.

Following those simple tips your bike is ready to the winter break. And as you can’t wait to the next season you can focus on new projects that you have to upgrade your motorcycle and some maintenance. Maybe you won’t ride in snow, but you can get your hands on your bike in another way…. For this purpose we reccomend to check our website! https://www.freespiritsparts.com