Winter storing / starting

[Lord Ryan]

So my bike is sitting through the deep freeze. Fresh oil, stabilizer, full tank.... My question is, should I let it run a couple of times before spring? I know it will probably make my muffler rust. But I'm wondering if it may be good for the valves, rings, springs, etc. to move a bit instead of sitting in one postion for several months straight. Opinions?

[md86]

Re: Winter storing / starting

So my bike is sitting through the deep freeze. Fresh oil, stabilizer, full tank.... My question is, should I let it run a couple of times before spring?

No .

[Steveb]

If your concern is moving the moving parts, just pull the plugs and roll the engine over by hand.

[md86]

Not needed .

[The CyberPoet]

Unless you are going to run the bike all the way up to operating temp (and top off the fuel afterwards) -- such as to ride on a warmish day, don't start the bike at all. What you may want to do is rotate the wheels so the tires don't flatten out by sitting in the same spot -- but you can do that by hand and don't need to start the engine to do it.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[katman05]

Let her sit, it won't be too much longer.

[DreKat]

just let her sleep. but do turn the wheeles every now and then to avoid flat spotting.

[katman05]

My friend started his bike every couple of weeks last winter. He kept it in an unheated area. I warned him against it because he would never let the engine warm up fully and at the end of the winter when you looked through his sight glass at the oil all you saw was water.

[Lord Ryan]

Guess I'll leave it alone then. I have her up on the center stand. But I guess there would still be a bit of weight on the front tire. I'll give it a spin when I get home today.

[katman05]

I put a piece of rigid insulation under the front tire and give it a 1/4 turn once a month.

[The CyberPoet]

A couple cut-to-length bits of 2x4 under the forks will keep the front off the ground as well (as would a racing stand, or a strap through the steering head over a beam above the bike).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet