I'm going to put the bike in storage for the winter this week, (just had a Nor'easter today with snow and ice with the Highway dept. dumping sh*tload of salt!) and have a question on oil change. I changed the oil about a month ago,and put on about 300mis. since. Should I change it again for storage? I use synthetic.

 

You should be OK with 300 miles. Put in the fresh stuff in the spring.

 

I've ridden bikes for 40 years and other than laying them up have never pampered them. If it is in a good shelter, especially a modern garage, it should be OK to ride as soon as the weather improves. Use a battery tender to keep the battery well charged.

 

Wipe your forks & other metals down with a thin coat of oil to prevent rusting. Pull the battery out & keep it in a warmer area that where your bike will be stored. Full tank of fuel so condensation stays out of your tank. & you should treat your gas with Sea foam so it stays fresh!
Saskatchewan eh??!
Hatch.

 

I used to be really anil about the winter storage routine. But I got over it.

If the oil has 500 miles or less on it, it stays in the bike. If not, and routinely I time my oil changes to the proposed storage season, I swap out the primary/engine/trans(if needed). Wash the bike, fill it up with fresh gasoline, and put it on the bike stand where the tires aren't touching the concrete. I either pull the battery or loosen up the seat so I can charge it through out the winter (heated garage).

 

I just keep my tires nice and hard/at least 40 lb. and leave them on the ground in my heated garage. Can detect a little flat spot in the Spring but it rounds right out when they heat up. Also run the carb dry to prevent gunk buildup in the float bowl and start it up every month or so and run for about 10 min. to get moisture out of the barrels, work the seals, etc. Oh, plus a battery tender for 24 hrs. once a month too. Always ready to go if a "warm" day presents itself. I'll ride if it's in the high 40's and dry.

 

I used to run my old BMW R75/5 for that same amount of time, until I found out that it never heated the mufflers up enough to evaporate the moisture. They both rotted out on the bottom. A VERY expensive visit to the parts department showed me the error of my ways.

 

Hm, hadn't thought of that, Hackd. Think maybe 20 min. would do it? Any longer than that and I might as well just go for a quick and cold ride?

 

I had an R100RS. There was a small UK firm that made stainless steel mufflers (and pipes) for all those twins. That sorted that problem! During my current Glide's early life, after the first pair of mufflers rotted through in record time (at the rear) I found an as-new pair and drilled a small hole in the underside of each. It took quite a while on a ride for them to stop puffing out water or vapour! They lasted much longer.

However back to the original topic, I don't run any of my bikes over the winter, but do have battery tenders on all of them.

 

Well, ya gotta consider that I was keeping the Beemer inside my house (actually in the kitchen). I didn't want to run it very long and end up taking an eternal nap....

Yup I saw 'em. Loved 'em. Couldn't afford 'em.

Control of the thread has been returned to the OP.....