DL650A L2 DE-Winterisation checklist

[Lemonwizard]

After SORNing my beloved motorised orange duck almost exactly 4 months ago I finally picked up the licence plate today. With a smile on my face like a child opening christmas presents I took off the cover and clicked the licence plate in place when it hit me that, oh crap, aren't there a bunch of things I have to do after 4 months of hibernation?

The winterisation checklist back then was very extensive I've been told... Well... Here I go again.

Basic checks (please complement if something's missing):

• Fluid levels
• Chain slack
• Lights and horn
• Tíre pressure (gotcha, forum software)
• Break pads
• Apply some WD40 to levers and other moving parts

Some other thoughts:

• Pretty much all metal parts (motor and exhaust too) are covered in anti corrosion spray. Leave it on or wash it off?
• The motor oil is about 8 to 9 months old now. I drove about 900 miles with it. Change it or keep it for now?

Thanks.

[Rixington43]

I'd leave the anti corrosion spray on certainly, my bike is acf50d all year round, maybe wipe away any excess if you were very liberal with it prior to storage.
Oil wise, people will all have their views, every vehicle I have ever owned has had oil changed every 12 months (I've never exceeded the mileage interval within the time interval). I do generally stretch or shorten my first service to get the annual repeat near the start of winter though so it's stored with fresh oil ready for next year. I do have the luxury of a nice warm garage though so winter storage isn't as major a consideration I guess.

[Lemonwizard]

I inspected the bike yesterday and all seemed to be fairly fine. However, I noticed the dust seals having little tears. Is this still okay for, say, 200 miles?

Full res images: https://imgur.com/a/JMzmCNW

[Mr Nick]

Those are just there to wipe the bulk of the dirt off the fork stanchion so little cracks there are not a worry. The actual sealing of the oil in the forks is done by the seals under those.

[UK_Vstrom650]

The good thing about that is when you change the dust seals, it's a lot less of a faff than having to change the oil seals.

If you do decide to refurb them, you may want to refresh the fork oil depending when it was last done & that would need new oil seals, so use OEM ones. I did mine using aftermarket oil seals (from a reputable supplier) and ended up redoing them within 12 months... 

[Lemonwizard]

I'm a lover of many things indeed. And not having to do maintenance tinkering because something's still good is definitely one of those things.

Think I'll change the fork oil and various seals next winter when it's hibernation time.

[Ianmc]

   Hello L.M. if you will take my advice you will use 7.5w oil in the front forks.I have recently done mine and I only needed 1 litre in total.It makes the front end much more comfortable especially when the weather is cooler.