Winterising my bike

tjmouse · Dec 14, 2019

So this is the first winter I’m not riding the bike through and it’s going to sit in the garage. Other than sticking it on a charger what should I do to look after it and have it ready to ride in spring?

2009 R1200 GS
Just been serviced and cleaned and will be getting a dose of ACF50 as well

AberdeenAngus · Dec 14, 2019

Nothing.

JJH · Dec 14, 2019

Don’t stick it on a charger. 24 hours once a month will do. JJH

DrFarkoff · Dec 14, 2019

Add Fuel stabiliser then Fill the tank to the brim

Inflate the tyres to 55 psi and elevate them off the floor

Centre stand and an axle stand under front of the engine with a wee bit of wood stopping metal to paint contact

Tie centre stand to front wheel in case you bump it forward

And finally Give the battery a good charge and then once complete Disconnect the negative terminal on the battery and walk away (remove it and put it in the house if its very cold in the garage if you want?)

A note where ever the keys are about the disconnected battery and Higher tyre pressures is a good idea :rob

BOBAD · Dec 15, 2019

JJH said:
Don’t stick it on a charger........

Why not ? What harm can it do?

I'm asking because I leave my bike hooked up to an Optimate whenever I'm not using it in winter.

I ride it on average about 50 miles about once every couple of weeks in winter and unless it's left permanently on charge it just won't start; the battery is 2 years old.

,

JJH · Dec 15, 2019

I think that those chargers wreck batteries if left permanently attached. Their not as smart as they think they are. JJH

yoyo · Dec 15, 2019

My Mrs has gone from riding a bike to owning a bike, her Fazer has sat plugged into an Optimate for the past 3yrs without issue, starts on the button when I ride it for it trip to the MOT station and back.

Sent from my ELE-L29 using Tapatalk

leadfarmer · Dec 15, 2019

I use a CTek charger that I put for a week at a time on each bike over winter, did my lawn tractor too when I had it

Haven’t changed a battery in years

cpszx · Dec 15, 2019

i now just hook up a charger over a weekend once a month on any bike not being used

had a couple batteries fail when hooked up full time for months

Deleted account 220319001 · Dec 15, 2019

Never done a single thing in all the years.

Nutty · Dec 15, 2019

Cabby said:
Never done a single thing in all the years.

Same here.

Don’t do anything.

botus · Dec 15, 2019

JJH said:
I think that those chargers wreck batteries if left permanently attached. Their not as smart as they think they are. JJH

I don't think is true.. I've heard it and seen some bike on charge and other not all behave exactly the same....
if its a BMW battery they magically just go wrong one day (designed in failure if we want to tell the truth),
regardless of the brand you replace it with (so long as not a designed to die original) it will age and deteriorate until you need to replace it.

Alarms (even off), clocks and interesting electronics put a demand on the bike all the time, if you don't go for a 10 mile ride every 3 weeks you risk increasing the aging process

tjmouse · Dec 15, 2019

Thanks for all the tips / replies all. Love this forum for that.

It’s got a lithium battery on it, I’ve had it stand for 3 weeks last winter over Christmas and a snowy spell and it took a couple attempts to fire up but then was fine. I’ll stick it on charge once every few weeks to stop it from going flat and will drop some stabiliser in the fuel.

botus · Dec 15, 2019

Cabby said:
Never done a single thing in all the years.

The Nutty KTMer said:
Same here.

Don’t do anything.

if you abandon it for months, or put it away wet with a bit of salt expect issues, here's a few easy sensible ideas that will help it last longer with less agro in your life (the detailed one above is sensible but more for 2 years layup than 4 months)

wash clean and dry,
charge the battery now and then,
always use the centre stand,
tease back the brake pads now and then and pump the brakes once a month, bounce the suspension up and down and spin the wheels a few revolutions
put a few extra PSI in the tyres (if lucky it'll just means they are right when you take it out next)
put in esso super unleaded, (its full of sensible extras to help it last better - also from Jan 2019 UK were supposed to fill all petrol with 10% ethanol trash that breaks fuel down, absorbs and separates out water, damages rubber and aluminium... we actually went to 5% and its in all the pumps now and very bad news)

I once did 10 miles in 2 years on a TL 1000, did nothing, left on its side stand and it rode perfectly without doing anything at all (including not charging the battery or even pumping up the tyres)

bristolsaint · Dec 15, 2019

No need to over inflate the tyres and raise them from the ground. One or the other, or simply move the bike a small distance so the tyres don't flat spot. Mine's on an optimate all year round when not being ridden. Never had a battery problem.

Blackal · Dec 15, 2019

Push the brake pads back from the discs, and insert a thin piece of packaging plastic (the kind that rips your hands to shreds when you try to tear it) between disc faces and pads.

They will act as a barrier to galvanic action between discs and sintered pads. (you get pitted discs as a result)

Deleted account 210901001 · Dec 15, 2019

Walk out

Wait until March

Walk in

Fire up and go

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

DrFarkoff · Dec 15, 2019

bristolsaint said:
No need to over inflate the tyres and raise them from the ground. One or the other, or simply move the bike a small distance so the tyres don't flat spot. Mine's on an optimate all year round when not being ridden. Never had a battery problem.

Possibly lucky! Maybe I am just fussy "but" i have seen lots of weird stuff over the years in my workshop

Also We had to replace a couple of tyres on bikes in the dealership because they sat in the showroom for 6 months the tyres slightly deformed as they were at riding pressure and on the sidestand BM bikes are shipped in a packing crate at 55 to 65 psi in tyres and I think these days they go in some sort of display device

The OP asked what to do to "winterise" because he was not going to ride their bike The above is pretty what I would do and recommend anyone who can't/prefer not to use their bike for an extended period

G&T · Dec 15, 2019

Given my stints of years living & working overseas I did the following:
2009 Fazer: Left a minimal amount of petrol in the tank, disconnected battery and placed indoors. I have learned over the years battery’s do not like heat or cold. Charged battery and added fresh petrol when it was time to fire her up. Checked everything else and she would start and run perfectly.

2018 GSA: Once every couple of months connect the maintenance charger. That’s all. I have been told to run the bike through the gears whilst on the centre stand, so will add that as a to do. I did ask on this forum about taking the battery off as above, but it was mentioned this might mess up the bike’s electronics if left off for a long period. :nenau

Other than that always left them clean, acf’d and covered in a garage.

DrFarkoff · Dec 15, 2019

G&T said:
I have been told to run the bike through the gears whilst on the centre stand

Nope Do NOT run the bike Unless you intend for it to go to full working temperature!!!

There are a couple of schools of thought but the usual one is about the high possibility of condensation, as the "metal" does not really get "properly" through heated

In my own experience Its not as bad with a Carb engine as you control the mixture ratio with the choke Whereas an injected motor the ECU controls the fuel
When an injected motor is cold the ECU overfuels by about 30% (approx) That is why the 11XX series had a "fast Idle" lever.

Basically it opened the throttle just enough to allow enough air in to burn said excess fuel.

And if you don't get it burnt off i.e by riding the bike out and around until the engine is up to full working temperature? It can wreck the plugs!

You may have noticed if you can't operate the fast idle lever, you can achieve the result with a partially opened throttle, or it runs like a bag of bolts and stinks of partially burnt fuel?

G&T said:
Other than that always left them clean, acf’d and covered in a garage.

110% Agree with that plus post 4 above if laid yup for more than 2 months

Just a reminder its not a good idea to leave an not fan assisted water cooled machine idling on the fast idle!!!!

Because we all have so much schit in our lives we answer a call and we wander off and we remember about it an hour later
Usually before it catches fire but usually after the oil window melted and dumped oil over the floor and thankfully sometime about then the hall sensors melted and it stops running

I had to pick up two when I was at the dealership and bring them in for repair and had to collect another 3 or 4 with the same scenario over the years when I worked for myself

Winterising my bike

Active member

Registered user

Well-known member

Grumpy Ole Git!!!

Registered user

Well-known member

Active member

He / Him / That Fucker

Registered user

Registered user

Registered user

Registered user

Active member

Registered user

Well-known member

Registered user

Registered user

Grumpy Ole Git!!!

“OK sweet heart... just one last ride”

Grumpy Ole Git!!!

Similar threads