How do you store your bike over winter?.

[jonboy1081]

Hi All

Just wondering wot you all do to your bikes when your store them over the winter period, ive heard several things to do like:

Bike on paddock stands to stop the tyres getting flat spots

Battery on an optimate

Cover the bike

Plug the can

Anything else???.

Jon.
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Yamaha R6 '05

[Jamie S]

Well, you asked what you (I) do, so my answer to that is I carry on riding right through winter.
Regards, Jamie.

[Whosthedaddy]

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

I've tended to just move it every couple of weeks. That's it.

That said I ride during winter if the roads are salt free.
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[That_Hornet]

Haynes gives good tips for storage.

Tea spoon of motoroil in cyliner bores.
Drain carbs, to avoid gum deposits left by fule.
seal air intake aswell as exhaust
both tyres off the ground.
Deflate both tyres by 5 - 10 psi
Lube all pivots points and lube all controls

But as said before. Ride it!

Nothing worse than a bike sitting in a shed, gathering dust.

[Noxious89123]

[joan33987]

[That_Hornet]

[Noxious89123]

[That_Hornet]

https://www.cosgroveaircraft.com/newmarketimages/ACF50.JPG

FTW

[evoboy]

FS365 ftw.

Oh and religous use of boiling water over the brake calipers after a salty ride does wonders!

Will be the ZX6's 2nd winter, no rusty parts or fastners so far!

[el_oso]

i ride throughout winter. just have to clean it a bit more thoroughly + make sure it is towelled down.

i did store my other bike over winter in a garage with a dust cover over the top. started it and ran it for a 10-15mins every few weeks and it started fine. no running problems at all.
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Duke 390
Previous: '05 XR125L | '96 XJ600S Diversion |'05 Suzuki GSXR1000 | '05 Honda CBR125-R | '97 YZF 600R Thundercat | '11 Honda CBR250
Car: Jeep Wrangler 4.0L

[Bendy]

[effit]

I always keep fuel in as I try to run it every couple of weeks. Also, moving it up and down the garage gently applying the brakes too should stop them seizing. Also a good soaking of TS-10 or spray silicon over the bike always helps I think.
Roll on the summer!!

[Barry_M2]

[Bendy]

It seems like overkill because with our completely shagged up weather, you can get some really nice days in the winter.

A half-decent bike isn't going to seize solid just because you don't use it for three months, so why 'lay it up'? If you end up not using it for three months, that's cool. But if you've done this, that and the other to lay it up, you've created enough hassle that you can't just whip it out for that freakishly warm and sunny December day.

If you haven't done things to it, then you're not 'laying it up', it's just parked.

[temeluchus]

[Noxious89123]

Hah, piss off!

I've ridden in every weather condition we get in this country. Hail, snow, floods, all the horrible shit. I never said I was incapable. I've done enough distance riding on ice and in snow to make an informed opinion.

In 2 years I've had 3 small bike crashes. 1st on a wet manhole cover. 2nd a SMIDSY in the rain and 3rd on a couple inches of compacted snow.

I've made the mistakes once, that's enough for me to learn from. The first 2 are easy to avoid happening again, but riding on icy roads and in snow and hail is NOT fun, and can be pretty dangerous. I ride a bike for fun, so taking the choice not to ride in those conditions is a no brainer really.

Get off your "I ride all year" high-horse! I don't consider myself a "fair-weather" rider just yet, so don't treat me like one! I don't only ride on really nice days, I am just choosing not to ride on really shitty ones.

Check out the spill counter and see how many people binned their bikes on icy roads. There were quite alot of posts within a few cold days last year.

Oh, and I clean my bike meticulously

I just get a dozen times more fun hooning around on my bike on nice days, than I do riding in shitty weather, wishing that I was already at my destination because I'm not enjoying the ride. It only takes one little slip to do several hundred pounds worth of damage, and that's money I'd rather spend improving my bike than repairing it!
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'06 Honda CBR125RW-6 ~ '00 Honda CBR600F-Y ~ '07 Honda CBR600RR-7 ~ Bikeless
'53 Ford Ka 1.3 ~ '03 Vauxhall Astra SRi 1.8 ~ '52 Vauxhall Astra SRi 2.2 ~ '53 Vauxhall Astra GSi