What do you do for Winter?

[insomniac]

Hi all
Hopefully a simple question, but I would imagine I'll get lots of different answers (some might even be helpful  )
I, like a lot of bikers, do not ride out in the winter, with the constant rain, salty roads or ice (like this morning).
So what do you do to keep you bike happy over winter? 

[Hondaman]

Oil it up & ride it

[SuzukiSte]

Deep clean bike & dry it in October, Treat Bike to some ACF50 all over, remove battery top up fuel tank and put on rear paddock stand, jack under engine to rise front wheel off the floor, cover with a good bike cover and leave till there is no salt on the roads. 

[mbpdavies]

Turn my heated grips on

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[Mark Shelley]

It was a beautifully crisp morning and the ride to work was a pleasure. If you don't want to mess up your bike, spend a grand on a shitter and make the most of it. It will also make you a better rider.

[SuzukiSte]

@Mark Shelley This is the first time in 39 years that I have not rode in winter agree there are some good days in winter but just getting a bit fed up of freezing to death on the way to work. Was going to do what you said, by a old bike and not bother but could not find one this time may do that next year, also the V-Strom is in mint condition only got it in may this year and want to upgrade to a 1000cc in spring, so this way it stays mint with very low miles on it ready for sale early next year.

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[Rusty Nuts]

OK, I've just -splashed out? - on one of these, how's it going to make me a better rider?






Let's not forget it was winter storage advice, not winter riding advice that the op came here for. I don't like riding in winter, not just for what it does to the machine, but because it's not as enjoyable as riding in drier warmer weather.


Go with what DLste said, our winter is neither too long or too deep.

[Rich:-)]

I'm a fair weather biker..., I put my nice clean road bikes away for the winter and then get my trail bike out and ride the green lanes of this fair land (while we still have them).

I service the bikes before putting them away, and then come early spring I do any of the more involved bike maintenance tasks (such as valve clearance checks) as there is no pressure to get it completed quickly but the riding season is then close enough to spur you on.

I also tend to spend more time on the PC, gaming...

[SuzukiSte]

Snap 
I also tend to spend more time on the PC, gaming...

[insomniac]

well thank you all for those lovely replies. 
I will happily ride in the cold (I've done enough scuba diving under ice for the cold not to bother me) but I just can't be bothered with the getting rain down my back, sitting on a wet seat, trying to see through the visor etc etc etc.
Plus once the roads are salted up then the corrosion starts, which is something I'd like to avoid if I can.
So far I have washed it and placed it on its centre stand on a mat and hooked the battery on the optimiser. I'll take it for a service in Feb/Mar time before the glorious summer comes (  if it ever does), but is there something that I should be doing before I sit in front of the TV hibernating with the gaming console?

[grumps]

I wait for dry days and ride a bike or two. I just dislike damp roads. salted roads and ice. About early afternoon things are great for a ride.

[Hondaman]

It's interesting to see the various takes on the subject and some wishing to keep a bike in good condition as a reason or part of reason for laying the bike up.

My take on it - with careful & thorough preperation a bike can be used year round without notable degradation to the metalwork, treat metalwork & fastners properly (acf50 waxoil even wd40 etc) & don't expect a clean sparkling bike for 4 or 5 months!

As for laying a bike up, if I do lay up a bike, I tend not to change oil beforehand (but I change it regularly anyway, I'd sooner change it before use in spring rather than having new oil stood there), then give it a decent wash, make sure the bike has a good hot run before laying up & brim with petrol, drain or run empty the carbs, spray round with wd40 to keep condensation at bay & park up.

Any maintenance is generally done over the winter.

In my experience, stuff like fuel going 'off' or gumming everything up, tyres flat spotting etc simply doesn't happen over a couple of month lay up.

If there may be mice around, DO take preventitive measures, the blighters do like chewing wiring & making nests in the airbox. No, seriously.

Before starting in Spring (and I only start if taking it for a decent run), the battery goes on charge the night before, tyres/fluids/bulbs & controls are checked & fuel pump/carbs primed (not an issue with fi).
I personally, don't like leaving batteries on trickle charge & prefer to leave them, giving one full charge before use.

As always, lots of often, conflicting opinions on it out there. Do what you feel happy with

[Robotstar5]

Quote removed

Back in the 70's my only form of transport was my bike so come the start of winter I would "paint" all the chromework with a mix of EP90/grease, after a couple of weeks it would be black, but come spring a good degrease and wash would see it sparkling again.

[Rusty Nuts]

We used to use Vaseline. Stop sniggering at the back.

[Apocalypse Ali]

I just leave the bike clean and covered in the garage with a good coating of acf50.  That way its ready to ride one of those good weather days over the winter.

[kwackboy]

No choice but to ride through the winter , been doing it for nearly 27 years. Besides , I'd rather ride to work b.u.t.t naked in winter rather than get London transport or sit in traffic packed like sardines.

[vstromspoon]

Ride on through just slow down abit.

I use gt85, is it similar to af50?

[highland strom]

Iam sort of in the fortunate position that I have a full car licence also.not that I have any interest in cars but comes in handy over the winter months travelling to work. I usually put the bike to rest around November time and buy a cheap car normally no more than £300 as long as it got enough MOT on it to get me into April and the heater works then sell it on & start biking again

[Rich:-)]

I use gt85, is it similar to af50?

Nope, GT85 is just more oily version of WD40.
ACF50 is supposedly an anti-corrosion treatment.
http://www.acf-50.co.uk/acf-50.htm

[Rich:-)]

As for laying a bike up, if I do lay up a bike, I tend not to change oil beforehand (but I change it regularly anyway, I'd sooner change it before use in spring rather than having new oil stood there)

Yeh, I use to do that also but then came to conclusion that if I'm going to change the oil annually anyway it might do more good to change it just before storage rather than afterwards. If you think about it, it's cutting down the amount of time that the engine is exposed to used oil.

Either-way is likely to be OK to be honest.
I'm sure the additives in the oil are still working just fine at the end of a typical riding season, modern oil is good stuff, and for most of us we do much less mileage than the manufacturer's service interval anyway.