Although a motorcycle brings a lot of fun moments, and every rider enjoys the time spent on his two-wheeler, there are still moments like storing and preparing your bike for winter that brings headaches to some of us.
So how do you winterize your motorcycle? To prepare your bike for winter, start with cleaning your bike and changing the oil to be ready for the next season. Make sure to store your battery in a warm and dry place. Fill your gas tank to the fullest, so rust can’t develop on the inside. Cover your bike with a motorcycle cover.
This article is all about storing your motorcycle for winter, so stay with us for further information.
Table of Contents
How to Winterize Your Motorcycle?
Every motorcycle has different specifications and designs, and therefore there may be slight differences from bike to bike. Still, we will give you the most beneficial all-around information that refers to most motorcycle makes and models.
This information that we will provide to you is an overview of the entire process of winterizing your motorcycle.
Tip: For the most accurate information, refer to your motorcycle manual.
Tools and Equipment Needed for Winterizing Process:
- A sponge
- A bucket
- Soap (car washing)
- Water
- A hose
- Motorcycle oil
- Oil funnel
- Oil filter
- Oil pan
- Fuel container
- Fuel stabilizer (Sta-Bil)
- A socket wrench set
- Screwdrivers
- Rubber bands and plastic bags (motorcycle exhaust plugs)
- Motorcycle cover
- Battery trickle charger
- Repair manual
- Motorcycle owner manual
These are the tools and equipment used in almost every type of motorcycle. We will lead you to a step-by-step process of winterizing your bike.
Step 1: Change your Oil and Filter
Changing your oil is the first step you need to take. By doing so, your motorcycle is prepared for a new season, and you don’t have to worry about changing the oil and filter once when good spring weather comes. If you know what oil type fits your motorcycle, then buy that one. If you have any doubts about what oil type goes to your bike, please look into your motorcycle manual to know what fits your bike best.
To perform this step, you will need:
- Motor oil
- Socket wrench
- Oil filter
- Oil pan
- Oil funnel
- Motorcycle manual
Use a socket wrench and remove the oil drain plug, so the oil drains completely. Remove the old oil filter. Use old oil to rub the O-ring of the new filter; this is done so that the new filter seals better to the engine. Tighten the new filter as much as possible with your hands. Change the old drain plug and use a socket wrench to tighten it. Take off the oil cap and use an oil funnel to fill the oil into your engine.
Note: Make sure you fill the proper oil amount, so your engine runs smoothly.
Return the oil cap on and make sure you tighten them enough using your bare hands.
If you want to learn How to Change Your Motorcycle Oil, click on this link; another thing you may want to learn is How to Change Your Motorcycle Oil Filter, and you can learn it by clicking on this link.
Step 2: Clean Your Bike
Cleaning your bike is important because what that does is prevent any dirt that may be left on your motorcycle from damaging its paint, so we want to ensure that it doesn’t happen. Also, you wouldn’t like your bike to be winterized all dirty because (depending on how dirty it is) dust and similar matter can also harm your bike’s installations.
What you will need to complete this step is:
- A sponge
- Soap
- A hose
- A bucket
- A rag
Pour fresh hot water into a bucket and put a little bit of soap. Use a sponge, soak it into the soap water and clean your motorcycle. Use a dry and clean rag to dry your bike and leave it outside to dry completely.
Step 3: Refill Your Fuel Tank
One significant thing is that a full fuel tank can help you prevent rust from developing inside your motorcycle fuel tank, and that is why you shouldn’t leave your fuel tank half empty. That way, you will save yourself a lot of money that you would otherwise have to spend on repairing your motorcycle fuel tank.
What you will need for this step:
- Full fuel container
- Fuel-stabilizing chemical (e.g., Sta-Bil)
Once you have completely dried your motorcycle, you will need to take off the gas cap and fill 3/4 of your tank with fuel. Look into your manual to determine the optimal amount of fuel-stabilizing chemical and fill your fuel tank with it. Once you have filled the optimal amount of fuel-stabilizing chemical (Sta-Bil), add the rest of the fuel to fill the entire tank with the gasoline. As I mentioned earlier, you will prevent rust from developing inside your fuel tank, and you won’t have to repair your fuel tank.
If you want to know How to Repair Your Motorcycle Fuel Tank, click on this link.
Return the gas cap on your motorcycle, start your bike and leave it idle for 5-10 minutes, so the stabilizing chemical gets to the entire motorcycle fuel system.
Step 4: Put Your Motorcycle to a Garage (Or any Other Storage Place)
Make sure you park your motorcycle in someplace safe, dry, and warm. If you have a garage, that will be the best place to winterize your bike; if not, ask some of your friends who have a garage if you can keep your bike there during the winter season.
Note: Motorcycles are far more sensitive to cold and harsh environments than cars.
Step 5: Protect Your Motorcycle Mufflers
To perform this step, you will need:
- Rubber bands and plastic bags (motorcycle exhaust plugs)
The winter season is that time of the year when all live species look for a warm and safe space where they will wait for beautiful spring days. That means that tiny insects can nest in your motorcycle mufflers since this is a safe and warm place for them to spend the winter season.
To prevent these tiny insects from getting into your mufflers and creating beautiful little nests for them, we will use motorcycle exhaust plugs and put them in mufflers.
Tip: If you don’t have any motorcycle exhaust plugs, you can place a plastic bag across the muffler, and to make it sealed, you will have to put rubber bands over that plastic bag to secure it.
Step 6: Take off the Battery
Removing the battery from your motorcycle during the winterizing process is considered one of the most important safety steps that need to be done.
To complete this step, you will need:
- A screwdriver
- A socket wrench set
- Your motorcycle manual
Detach your motorcycle seat and once the seat is off, take a screwdriver and use it to unscrew your battery connectors. Take the battery out of the battery case and return the seat on the bike.
CAUTION: Remember where each wire was connected (RED wire is POSITIVE).
Step 7: Charge Your Battery
Make sure that you have your battery fully charged, so when the spring comes and a new motorcycle season starts, the only thing you need to do is return the battery on your motorcycle.
To perform this step, you will need:
- A battery
- An electrical outlet
- A trickle charger
You need to connect the red clamp to the same spot from where you took off the red connector (you need to do this while the charger is not plugged).
Note: You can notice a”+” indicator which means POSITIVE or RED color, which also indicates POSITIVE.
Take the black clamp and connect it to the NEGATIVE side. Once you have done all of that, plug the charger in an electrical outlet and be careful all the time while performing this step.
CAUTION: Don’t combine the clamps because it could lead to electric shock or create sparks.
Step 8: Use a Motorcycle Cover to Cover the Motorcycle
To perform this step, you will need:
- A motorcycle cover
After you have completed all the previous steps and your motorcycle is clean and stored in a safe and warm garage, you will take a motorcycle cover and place it over your bike.
Note: If you don’t have a garage and you don’t have any friends with a garage, and the only solution for you to do is to keep your motorcycle outside, you MUST use a motorcycle cover to protect your bike from external conditions.
A motorcycle cover protects your bike from external conditions like ice, rain, snow, low temperature, dirt, and other elements that could damage your bike’s installations or paint and fairings.
If you winterize your bike in the garage, a cover will also give extra protection, and it is certainly one more benefit in winterizing process.
IMPORTANT TIP: If your motorcycle is stored for more than 3 months, it would be smart to return the battery and take off the muffler cover to ignite your bike, so it idles for a couple of minutes (10-15 minutes is enough). To clean the fuel, you should rev your motorcycle a couple of times since the fuel has been in the carburetors for a longer period.
Shut down the engine once you have done that and leave a bike to cool down. Repeat 5 to 8 steps to winterize your bike again.
Here is a great video that can help you with winterizing your bike:
Now that we have covered How to Winterize Your Motorcycle in a step-by-step guide, we will also show you what motorcycle parts you should give more attention to in this process.
Battery
Batteries are responsible for creating electricity that supplies your electrical motorcycle installations. They don’t store electrical energy but use the chemicals inside them to produce it. If you have a lead-acid battery and it is not used for a longer period, it will become discharged over time. Since the battery can get discharged, you need to detach it from your motorcycle and store it in some warm place to protect it from winter.
If you notice any problems with your battery and you need to repair or change it, click on this link as we will show you How to Fix a Motorcycle Battery.
Fuel Tank
A fuel tank can develop rust from the inside, and what we need to do to prevent this is fill it with the fuel to the top. Pour fuel stabilizers like Sta-Bil and fill the rest of the tank with gasoline. It is very important to prevent rust from developing since we don’t want any problems that could cost us time and money just at the beginning of the next moto season.
The Engine
When the bike is up and running, the oil protects the engine from any metal shavings and debris that can develop in these conditions. High temperature and extreme pressures that develop in the running engine would damage the engine if there were no oil. That is why the oil is a crucial lubricant that needs to be changed every year, usually at the end of one moto season and before the next one starts.
Carburetors
Since gasoline is made from many different components, some will evaporate, and some will stay on the carburetors. Carburetors consist of many tiny holes that can get clogged easily, which can get hard to clean. We don’t want any build-ups to develop, so we need to drain the float bowls because we wouldn’t like any damage to occur and force us to repair the unnecessary problems.
Tires
It is recommended to place your motorcycle on a stand or lift so the tires don’t sit on the same spot for an extended period. Inflating them to the maximum psi during the winterizing process would be wise.
Chassis
Winterizing your motorcycle is that time of the year when you can perform other maintenance like chassis lubrication and brake and clutch hydraulic fluid. Other than that, inspect your chain and the cables and make sure everything is in decent condition.
Tip: Use S100 Corrosion Protectant and spray the engine and other metal parts of your motorcycle with it for extra protection.
Cover your motorcycle with a motorcycle cover to protect it from grit and dust.
Final Thoughts
Your motorcycle should be your top priority to take care of, especially during the winter season because that is the time when most issues can develop on your bike. We want that our bike is 100% ready when the new riding season starts, which is usually at the beginning of spring, and we don’t want any unnecessary problems that would cost us additional time and money.