Winter riding vs. Winterisation

[shoval4113]

Age old winter question. Keep riding your cherished 3 1/2 on nice, crisp but not frozen days, or put away in the shed for three months? If the latter, do you add fuel stabilizer when you fill up the tank, remove the battery and keep it on a trickle charger in shed or home, smother in protective coating?

[Parker3865]

Last year I chose the times to ride over the winter on my 250. This year I have drained the tank while I do some work on it.
Just to amuse this photo is of the 350 sport I got in 1983, just before I sold it to a friend in 91. A man in his twenties (me), mostly only transport and no money to look after it properly (serviced well, but cycle parts suffered).

1983 to 1991 Moto Morini 350.jpg (488.2 KiB) Viewed 290 times

[3potjohn]

2 days ago it was just nippy enough to chivvy up my tree dahlias and remaining tomatoes.
Today 14 degrees and warm enough not to need a fleece under my coat. Had a nice ride too.
Softy southerner alert!
I never just run a bike to warm it up though, no matter how tempting that may be.
I would drain the carbs if leaving the bike.
Not like the -17 of yesteryear. Thank goodness.

[Andy_C]

I like to keep riding all year, but only use one bike for that - my Enfield Himalayan. That is my all weather bike. The Himalayan gets regularly washed after riding and treated with ACF50 as necessary. Biggest enemy is salt hence the regular washing.

The Morini is currently parked up and as with the other bikes I dont use during the winter months I have added some "Stabil" fuel stabliser to the fuel, never bother brimming the tanks, but after adding the Stabil I run them up to get it into the carbs.

If there is a decent crisp dry day over winter I sometimes take the bikes out for a few miles, otherwise they just sit in the garage, or have work done on them over the winter months.

If I dont take them out I at least kick them over a few times, and move them around to lessen the chance of flat spotting the tyres. I give the batteries on each of the bikes a session on the trickle charger at least once a month, never bother taking the batteries off.

I also like to pump the brakes, the logic being that it lessens the chance of the caliper pistons sticking - no idea if it does anything, but never had any sticking calipers to date.

Finally I also free off the clutches from time to time, logic being that if I do that there is less chance of the plates sticking.

Guess different folk have different regimes, but the above is what I have always done.

[funsize]

Pretty much like Andy, been in the trade for over 40 years and, going by our workshop bookings, lack of use and/or some sort of prep/protection is most certainly the enemy. When we get a customer who proudly proclaims their 25 year old bike has only done 8k miles, we get very worried, especially in these ethanol drenched times!
My regime, which I did yesterday ( I’m laying my Strada up..). Putoline fuel stabiliser, 125ml bottle, half will serve a 3 1/2 tank well. Chuck it in, then off to the station, brim with E5 then a couple of miles to circulate. I then always change the oil because it’s a darn site better than standing the contaminated stuff and changing it in March. Old oil is nasty (rub a bit on your skin and see), I’d rather the fresh oil sit through winter. Yes I’m on trickle charge on a proper bike charger (Optimate 1 is perfectly adequate for our old Morinis), though if they’re left on them permanently they can often deteriorate when back in regular use. I’m certain this is because a battery that is always topped to 100% suffers memory loss, again similar experiences through our workshop would confirm this. For that reason I’ll cycle a week on and a week off, this at least partly mimics the battery in normal use. Result being my Yuasa has been on years and is still strong. If you’re riding then you’ll all know about the salt, our types of grit are particularly aggressive, due to the, ahem, lower prices we pay compared to many other European countries. ACF50 or other worthy alternatives like Putoline Metal proof & protect are essential. I’ve done enough winters when I was young and fit, now in my mid-sixties I have no attraction to it whatsoever.
P.S. I’m not trying to promote Putoline oils & products particularly (I also use their DX4 in the Strada), but having worked for the motorcycle-only brand for over 20 years and it being in the shop I’m at now, I just know it works, other brands are available and widely used by the rest of the community I’m sure