Introduction

Well we've had our first snow fall here in Nashville this week and if you don't plan on riding until it warms up again, it's time to prep your bike for "hibernation". Now before we get started you might think about whether you need to winterize your bike or not. Personally, I'll keep riding throughout the winter and I'm comfortable taking rides into temperatures down in the upper 20's. This means I can usually get out at least once every week or two during the winter months. My feeling is that as long as I ride that often for around at least 20-30 minutes at a time then I don't need to prep my bike for winter.

If you prefer not to ride when the temps get into or below, say the 40's, then you should probably go ahead and prep your bike for a winter slumber. There are really just a few essential steps you need to take to prep your bike for winter storage and yet I have found there is an amazing amount of conjecture surrounding these steps. As such, let me state right now that while I do a lot of my own wrenching on my bike, I am not a certified motorcycle mechanic.

(Disclaimer alert!!!)
The information following is a combination of "best to my knowledge" and my own experience. If you do not feel comfortable doing the work described below on your bike, take it to a professional. If you somehow manage to damage your bike by implementing the information in this article (you know who you are) neither Nashvilleriders.com nor myself can be held responsible.

Now with the legal crap stuff that out of the way, let's get to it.

Fuel Stabilizer

Gasoline doesn't do well sitting around in a tank unused for months at a time. Now there are varying opinions on how long gasoline can stay stored and still be considered good. Some say it can degrade in as little as two weeks (I'd call that a bit alarmist) while others claim it can be fine for several months or longer (and I'd call that lazy). My personal opinion is that the truth lies somewhere in between. If we're talking about a simple lawn mower engine, it may run on gas that is a few months old, not run its best perhaps, but it would most likely run.

Motorcycles, however, have tiny needles in their carburetors (or injectors if fuel injected) and small orifices  like these can get clogged easily if the fuel reaching them has started to break down. As gasoline breaks down it can cause gum, varnish and corrosion to build up in the fuel system. If this doesn't sound good, it isn't. While typically not causing permanent damage, enough of the aforementioned crud can keep your bike from running well or even starting at all. This  sometimes can be remedied by cleaners run through the fuel system such as SeaFoam, but in worse cases, you (or someone you pay) will have to disassemble your fuel system components to give them a thorough cleaning. Or you could avoid all of this by just adding some fuel stabilizer.

Before adding a fuel stabilizer, like Stab-Bil for instance, go ahead fill up your tank with fresh fuel. You want to leave as little space for air as possible in your tank during storage as air will have some moisture in it which can condense to water. Keeping the tank full of fuel will also prevent rust from forming on the inside of your tank during storage, you don't want to leave your tank empty. Also, products like Sta-Bil will only prevent your fuel from degrading further from its present condition. It will not "revive" or improve fuel that has already degraded.

Follow the instructions provided with your fuel stabilizer to add the appropriate amount for your size tank. Once you've added the stabilizer you will want to run your engine to get the stabilized fuel into the carbs/injectors. I would recommend going out for a short ride of at least 10-15 minutes if weather permits. If you cannot get out to ride it, then make sure you let the engine run until it gets up to it's normal operating temperature, and then give it about ten more minutes. I suggest doing this as opposed to just running your bike for only a few minutes and cutting it off as this can be harmful to the engine, especially if it's going to be sitting for weeks.

The reasoning here is that if you run the bike for a few minutes, especially when it's cold out, moisture can condense inside the engine and mix (as much as it can) with your oil. You can sometimes see this through your oil sight glass as a milky layer in the oil itself. If you turn your engine off when the oil is in this state, the water can just sit there in your engine. Not a good thing! By running your engine up to operating temperature for a while, it will get hot enough to "cook" that water out of your oil. Do be sure that your bike is ok to run for several minutes sitting still as some air cooled motorcycles can overheat if the engine is running while they are stationary.

Crazy Uncle Johnny wanted me to mention that if you have a carburated bike, you could take the extra step of draining the fuel from your carbs before you put her to sleep. If you have a manual petcock (which most carburated bikes have) you can shut off the fuel and let the bike run until it's drained the fuel from the bowls. He has done this for years and it has worked well for him on all of his bikes.

Fog/Oil Your Cylinders

Over the weeks (or months) your engine is sitting unused, the engine oil will undoubtedly find its way down past your piston rings and can leave your cylinder walls nice and dry. Not the best condition for them to be in when you hit that starter button. To help reduce wear or damage to your cylinder walls, you can add some oil to your cylinders before storing the bike away for the winter. You can use your regular motor oil or you can use a fogging oil. Fogging oil is usually available in a spray can (with nozzle) and is formulated to stay in place better than standard motor oils. Several manufacturers make fogging oils including Amsoil, and Gold Eagle.

You apply fogging oil by removing your spark plugs (now would be a good time to clean them if needed) and spraying the oil directly into the cylinder. You don't need much, just a quick spray should do (less than a second) but follow the oil's directions if provided. Once you have sprayed the oil in each cylinder go ahead and re-install your plugs but don't put the wires back on them yet. With all the plugs installed and each cylinder having been "oiled" go ahead and turn on the ignition and hit the starter for a brief moment, just enough to turn the engine a couple of times. This will help spread the oil throughout the cylinder for best coverage. Now you can replace the spark plug wires (you remember which one went where, right?) and you're good to go.

If you prefer to use regular motor oil instead of a fogging oil, the procedure is much the same. You will need some way to get the oil into the spark plug hole whether it be a syringe, a sprayer, etc. This will depend largely on the design of your bike's engine. Some spark plug holes are easier to access than others. If you have relatively easy access to your spark plug hole than I would recommend a basting syringe. These work well as they typically have holes on the side of the needle so it will spray onto the sides of the cylinder wall, not just down into it. The rest of the procedure is the same. You will still want to turn the engine over briefly to help spread the oil around.

If your bike has been sitting for a long time (2 months or more) you may want to take out your spark plugs before your start it and give it another spray or few drops of oil in the cylinder before turning her over.

Plug the Holes

Make sure to take some rags, towels, what have you, and stuff them in the openings of your exhaust and your airbox. Some critters like spaces like these to hide out in during the winter and sometimes bring friends along. You don't want that party happening in your bike.

Tend Your Battery

If it's too cold to ride, it's not good for your battery to be sitting there not being charged. Get yourself a battery charger designed for motorcycle batteries (car chargers can be too much for our batteries). Most chargers will switch from charging mode to "float" mode once the battery is fully charged. Make sure the charger you get does this or it can damage your battery if left charging too long. Deltran's Battery Tender lineup is a popular choice and has a reputation for making a solid battery charger.

If you have a garage you can probably leave your battery in your bike and just connect the charger to it right there. If your bike sits outside then you should remove the battery from your bike and bring it inside. Find a nice spot out of the way where you can attach the charger to the battery and let it just "be" until you're ready to start riding again.

Stay Undercover

Once you've finished prepping the bike, go ahead and cover her up. If you can, find something that breathes and won't trap moisture. If you don't have a dedicated motorcycle cover and you keep the bike in a garage, you can use a bedsheet or something similar. This will help keep dust off the bike, but will still breathe enough to not trap moisture in there. If you store the bike out in the elements, I would highly recommend getting a quality bike cover. A heavy duty plastic tarp can be used in a pinch though, and it's better than letting the bike get rained and snowed on.

What else?

Everything up to this point is something you should definitely do before storing your bike for the winter. Below are some additional recommendations for winterizing your ride.

Stand and Deliver

If you have front and/or rear stands for your bike, putting your bike on the stands can prevent your tires from getting a flat spot. While this usually takes quite a bit of time to happen, it's not a bad idea of you have the stands, but I wouldn't buy stands just for this purpose. If you don't have stands and are concerned about the flat spotting, running your pressure up a few pounds over normal can help prevent this. Note I said a FEW pounds, do not go crazy!

Fresh Oil

Some bike owners have suggested that one should go ahead and drain your oil and refill with fresh before storing it for the winter. I think that if your oil is old or getting old already, then go ahead. I don't know if i would call this necessary though.

Water Wetter's Beware

If you race your bike you most likely have replaced your stock coolant with water only or water and water wetter. If you have, make sure to drain your water and replace with an antifreeze/water solution to keep from freezing in your engine.

Tell Me What You Think

So that's what I know about prepping your bike for a winter's hibernation. As I said in the beginning of this article, I usually keep on riding through the winter. If you read something here that you are certain I got wrong, let me know. That's what the comments link below is for :). If you'd rather shoot me an email send it to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Stay warm and keep the rubber side down,

-Brandon