How many of you guys fog your engine when putting away for the winter? I'm going to winterize in a few weeks and I've been told its a good idea and also not necessary. Also after fogging is it a good idea to shut the gas off and let it stall out? Sorry if this has been discussed. I've searched and haven't found much. Thanks guys.

 

On a carbed bike that is going to sit for a year or more, definitely.

On a bike that is just going in for the winter? Waste of time in my opinion.

Change your oil.
Air up your tires.
Dead full gas tank with Seafoam or Stabil.
Get the bike up off the rubber.
Battery tender.
Bags over the exhaust.

 

Thanks, that's good to know. When you say bags over the exhaust do you mean just some plastic bags with a rubber band or something? Tire pressure to the max? Also I bought a rubber mat to park it on. Figured that would be better than concrete.

 

Yeah, just rubber banding a bag over the end of the exhaust prevents air currents in your storage area from carrying dust and potentially humid air into your exhaust, and into your engine.

Rubber mat is good, be sure to roll the bike a few inches every month so its not always on the same spot on the tires. Max pressure for sure.

I raise mine up on my bike jack so both tires are completely up off the ground, but rubber mats, good pressure, and making sure the bike isn't always on the same spot on the tires is good enough.

Battery tender, don't forget that. You can either take the battery out of the bike and put it on a tender inside, or leave it in, but either way you should be trickle charging the battery through the winter.

 

Thanks Parabellum. I had to put a new battery in a few weeks ago so I bought the trickle charger with the permanent plug hookup and installed that when I had the battery out.

 

Be careful with that trickle charger. It will overload the battery if you don't watch it. A much better, and safer, choice is a battery tender. They have a computer that will shut off charging when full so you don't overload your battery and come back on when needed.

 

My bad, I bought the overpriced battery tender from HD. On a side note, I have been trying to figure out how to get a pic of my bike underneath my posts like yours Scuba and many others I see on here, but cannot figure out how. Do you need a certain amount of posts or something?

 

It is under "User CP" up on the toolbar. Select "Edit Signature" and it should allow you to upload a picture/quote underneath your posts like everyone else.

 

I keep mine in my shop where it is about 65 degrees unless it gets really cold out side. I have a Battery Tender + on it at all times.

 

Heated garage would be nice. Being my first bike I get so paranoid about winterizing and making sure it is in the same sahpe in the spring. Hopefully that wears off after the first year.