What people said above and if you use the search function there are tons of information on this.

 

+1 Here in Colorado, exactly the same routine for me. Have done it for 10 years with no issues. There are days in almost every month of the year where the roads are clear eonough for a quick ride as long as you watch the shadowed areas so it usually gets fired-up at least once in the Winter months. Messing with additives are not something I've ever done for this sort of routine temporary storage.

 

I don't know if any of you gents know this but look up Buyrealgas.com. Ethanol free gas in your area. Store you bike with E free gas

 

Very cool! Thanks man.

 

There's also Pure Gas, which seems to know about more stations, at least in my area than Buyrealgas does. It's both a mobile app as well as web based for PC.

 

I've had multiple bikes for many years and have always stored them in unheated attached garage or a locked storage facility with only a couple of issues.

The carb'ed bikes do sometimes have issues with ethanol and need to be thoroughly disassembled, cleaned and reassembled if they do not idle or rev up after the engine gets warm.

The other issue involved my wife's '08 T/C 96 Heritage.
I checked the oil BEFORE I started up the engine and it was nearly a quart low so I added enough oil to bring it up to the full mark..
(I should have remembered that I had changed all of the fluids prior to putting it away for the winter).

I started the bike, rode it about 10 (or so miles) to the dealership for a new set of tires---no issues.
After installing the tires, the tech took it for a test ride, again, no issues.

When we went to pick the bike up, after it a few miles, I thought I'd knock some carbon build up out of the engine and opened it up (moderately) for a mile or so and then I saw my wife (who was following me in her car) flashing her headlights so I pulled to the shoulder to see what she wanted.
There as oil all over the read fender of the bike as well as oil all over the front of her car!

All that I can figure is that the engine oil had "sumped" from the oil tank down into the crankcase and that why is was low when I checked it and then added too much oil.

In addition to properly checking he oil when bringing a bike out of storage, I highly suggest that both tires be checked for proper inflation before attempting to ride the bike even for a short distance, even though they may look fully inflated.

 

All good tips here.

You can skip the jack if you let the summer air out of your tires and replace it with winter air. That's what I do.

 

Is that the reason for the green caps on the valve stems? Is green for summer or winter?

 

Good gen IMO.

My comments for storing in an unheated location would include ensuring your tank is completely filled to prevent rust from condensation. A tender has worked well for me. Leave the battery completely in situ and connect the tender over the battery terminals. Be mindful of squirrels, etc that might harvest your seat for nesting material (remove it and store?). Cover the bike but make sure air can circulate. Come spring it will be dusty, don't wipe it down immediately. Use a low pressure hose to wash it off - then clean as normal. Some take a few pounds of PSI out of the tires, I jack the bike to relieve the load on the suspension, tires, etc. Don't run the bike during the cold weather - condensation in the exhaust is a curse.

 

1 last thing.. If you live in rodent country, field mice love nesting in mufflers.. A plastic bag over each tip held on by a rubber band works well