So I'm sure Ill get laughed at but its worth it to get some solid information. I live in Michigan and it gets cold so how much should I actually do to prep this Fat Boy for storage? What I've gathered so far is I should add some fuel treatment, drain the oil and remove the battery and store it inside. Is there anything else anyone suggest ? Should I store it up on my floor jack ? Any help would be appreciated

03 Fat Boy
Carb
35k

 

Mine since retirement sits 5 months. It is FI and they are sealed up pretty good from the tank. I put the maintenance charger on it. Been doing the same thing for 5 years with no problems. If you use additives, only correct amount. Not sure why you are draining fluids. I would fill up the fuel tank.

 

I live in Nebraska, so I know the cold. Draining the oil isn't necessary. My winter storage routine consists of washing, polishing, and waxing my bike. I fill the fuel tank full of fresh fuel, then add the appropriate amount of Stabil. Plug in a battery tender, jack it up far enough to get the tires off the concrete, throw a cover on it and let her sleep until Spring. If you don't have a jack, get a couple of pieces of plywood under your tires. It keeps the moisture away from the tires.

I've never had a battery fail prematurely from doing it this way; a charged battery generally won't freeze. AGM batteries are even better at resisting the cold.

 

 

I add fuel stabilizer and plug in the battery tender, that's it. I change the oil when the riding season starts up. I need to add something, I also plug the exhaust so the damn mice don't build a nest in it.

 

Jack it up to keep the moisture away from the tires?

 

I found this a good review.

 

At a minimum, put Stabil in the tank and ride the bike to circulate it, then top off the tank once it's circulated through.

If you can swing a fluid change (oil/tranny/primary), do before storage, if you only have a few miles on a fresh change don't stress over it.

Battery- leave in the bike, use a SAE plug (below) and put on a float charger. No need to bring battery inside. Battery Tender Jr is a 'typical' charger many use.

Wash/wax is implicit. By late Fall, it can suck washing a bike in cold weather, I've put bikes away slightly dirty before and cleaned up in Spring.

Also, i wouldnt put a cover on it....condensation can form under it and rust your bike.
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All good advice so far. I've been storing bikes over winter for 40 years. Here is my routine..(that works for me)
Fill gas tank and add stabilizer..run it long enough to circulate the stabilizer.
Change oil and filter..run it for a minute or two to re-lube everything. Reset tripmeters.
Do a thorough high quality wash job.
Park it..if you have a jack, use it..tires off the concrete..
Hook up battery tender and cover up the bike.
Suffer until late April.

 

With a carburetor it's a good idea to drain the float bowl for long term storage. At least turn off the petcock & run the bike until it dies.