Winterize Your Motorcycle

Winterize Your Motorcycle

With Fall Coming to an End, It's Time to Take Care of Your Ride

The end of fall will bring with it colder weather and forecasts filling with snow. As the winter months approach, you'll want to consider preparing your bike for the off-season ahead.

Some riders rent storage space through local dealerships, which can be great if you don't have the spare room to store your bike at home.

However, these storage plans can become expensive, not to mention you won't have the opportunity to work on your ride in the off-season. If you do keep your motorcycle at home, consider the following tips to keep your bike in tip-top shape through the winter months.

Tips to Winterize Your Bike

Prepping your motorcycle for winter can be easy and relatively cheap. Just keep these pointers in mind:

  • Keep it Dry – Store your motorcycle in a dry area that isn't in direct sunlight. If there's room, keep it indoors.
  • Keep it Covered – Buy a high quality cover that's breathable. Make sure it's waterproof if you're storing your bike outside.
  • Keep it Clean – Wash and wax your motorcycle before it's stored. This will remove all the grime, dirt, sand, salt, and other corrosive elements that could hurt your bike.
  • Keep it Up – Prevent your bike's tires from resting on a cold garage floor all winter. We recommend parking it on wooden boards or putting it on stands.

Other Things to Keep in Mind When Storing Your Bike

  • Fill the tank and add fuel stabilizer. Make sure you use fresh fuel and fresh stabilizer.
  • Change the oil filter, because the byproducts of used oil are very corrosive.
  • Drain your carburetor by turning off the main gas valve from the tank, opening the petcock, and then closing the valve when it stops flowing.
  • Keep mice out by filling a few sandwich bags with steel wool and placing them into the air intake and tailpipes. Mark these spots with red tape so you'll remember to remove them before you ride again.
  • Lubricate the chain and pivot points to prevent rusting over the winter.
  • Remove your battery or install a maintainer to keep your battery fresh for the spring.
  • Check your antifreeze and coolant before you store the bike. Make sure the levels are correct.
  • Spray your bike with WD-40 to help prevent corrosion. Hose the bike off when winter ends to remove the leftover WD-40.

Stay Safe in the Off-Season

The winter can also be a great time to look into some off-season ideas for upgrading your biking experience. These improvements can be a new seat, improved mirrors and brighter headlights, to better brakes and more.

As the winter months begin, we hope you'll stay safe while you're looking forward to the springtime thaw. Until then, from everyone our law firm, we wish you a safe, healthy, and happy off-season.