Winterizing your Motorcycle for Storage

Wash and Protect

Step one is wash your bike. Yeah, no one's going to see it for a few months, but all of that grime, and oil from the past year is going to wear away at your bike while it sits unless you wash it off now. Be thorough and give your bike a good coat of wax as well, and hit the exposed metal with a shot of WD-40, or your preferred water displacing lubricant.

Oil Change

This is pretty simple, change the oil and filter like normal. You may consider using a winter weight oil to get an easier start up when you pull your bike out of storage. For long storage periods, pull your spark plugs and put a dollop of fresh oil in the cylinder, then turn rotate your rear tire (while the bike is in gear) to get a few rotations on the cylinders to coat the entire inside surface, this will protect your cylinder from potential corrosion.

Lubrication

ALL of the moving parts of your bike should be lubricated before storage. Your chain, cables, forks, any pivot points in the suspension, and controls all should get a coat of lubricant.

Fuel System

Gas doesn't last forever, so you'll need to stabilize your fuel in order to keep your bikes internals running smoothly. Fill your tank all the way, and then add a dose of fuel stabilizer. After adding the stabilizer run your bike for a bit to circulate the stabilized fuel.

Battery

Don't leave your battery hooked up to your bike. This may seem like a time saver but you'll just come back to a drained battery. Remove the battery and hook it up to a battery tender in a safe dry place. While you're doing this check that your battery terminals are corrosion free, if they're grimy clean them off and apply a light coat of grease to help protect them over the winter.

Tires

If you leave your bike sitting on its kickstand in one place all winter you're going to have flat spots, that's pretty much a guarantee. The best way to care for your tires is to use a motorcycle stand that keeps your wheels off the ground. Failing that, rotate your bikes tires manually every few weeks of storage to distribute pressure evenly, and place plywood or carpet under the tires to keep moisture from wicking up from the ground.

Coolant / Antifreeze

If you're expecting a freeze, then make sure your coolant system is treated with a proper amount of antifreeze. If you don't you're going to have one heck of a repair bill to look forward to.

Storage

In the best case scenario, you'll store your bike on a motorcycle stand in a warm, dry garage or storage space out of sight of the public. The very least you should do is cover your bike to protect it from the weather. If your bike is out in the open, consider one (or more) theft prevention methods such as disc locks to deter would be thieves.

These have been just a few tips to make sure that your bike is ready to ride when the weather gets better, but should you like to know more, or you need help with any of these winterization tasks please swing on by our dealership in Memphis, Tennessee, near Jackson, Bartlett, Collierville, and Germantown, TN, and Southaven and Olive Branch, Mississippi; where our staff is happy to help you!