Packing the bike away for the winter.
 

At the moment it's just a thought.

Can't see many more nice days on the horizon and what with all the crap on the roads, do i even want to risk a 30 mile blip 'round Wales when I can stay in the warm and beat people up on Call of Duty 4 ?? hmmmm.. decisions..

What is required to 'pack a bike away' for an extended period of time??

• Stabiliser in the petrol ??
• Paddock stands to give the tyres abit of respite (ie: not stationary on the same patch of tyre continuously ??
• Grease up the chain nice..
• Let tyres down perhaps ??

Oh i don't know.. :confused:

Any suggestions welcome.

Its just something I am playing around with at the moment - it's not definite..

Re: Packing the bike away for the winter...
 

Dont do it :( why pay insurance and tax to not ride it 6 months of the year because its a little bit cold.

Take it out, hose the salt off with cold water, job done. You will feel better for it. And you wont feel like a fairweather nancy....no offence intended ;)

Re: Packing the bike away for the winter...
 

Oh but I am a nancy..

On a more serious note, I am not worried about the cost implications as it was only ever purchased to be a 'toy' so to speak. It won't really be 6mnths as due to global warming, isn't our summer around March time anyhow's?? That's 3 month and 2 weeks roughly..

Plus, it isn't so much the salt, its the fact that i desperately don't want to spill it so will i get my usual enjoyment out of riding when i am pooteling about like a remploy ??

..not to mention I can't afford warm biker clothing at the moment. Crappy leather jacket and jeans is all i got and I've asked Santa for other stuff ..

Re: Packing the bike away for the winter...
 

If your worried about binning it you will never enjoy it.

and

The best way not to bin it is to be out there learning on it.

Re: Packing the bike away for the winter...
 

The "putting the bike to sleep" stuff is all in the manual (near the back IIRC). There is absolutely loads you can do to it, but IMO, most of it's overkill unless the bike is going into storage for 6 months plus. Brimming the engine with oil, brimming the tank with fuel and whacking the battery on an optimate will be fine for 3 months or so on a new SV. If you have paddock stands, use them, if not, just roll it a foot forwards every 2 weeks or so. Just remember to drain/change the oil before you start it up (post it note over the ignition works for me)!

If you get stuck PM me as I'm fairly free this week and could pop over one evening to help.

Re: Packing the bike away for the winter...
 

I just pop mine in the shed plug it in to the optimate and get it on the abba stand. I start it up every 3 weeks or so just to get the oil round the engine. Done that the last 2 winters with no problems. oh and I do move the front tyre round a bit as well.

Re: Packing the bike away for the winter...
 

this is all i do with no problems at all.

Re: Packing the bike away for the winter...
 

i have to disagree with mr patterson...nothing to do with being a fairweather nancy,more common sense really as well as taking pride in youre machine.

ive always stored my bikes from nov/mar for preservation purposes ie.. salt corrosion,and who wants to hit black ice/frost and end up goin a**e over t*t and smashing up their pride and joy?

1fill petrol up to full{stops inside of tank rusting}then add a fuel stabilizer.
2drain oil put fresh in{just cheapo stuff as it wont be used}
3give a good wash n wax
4spray all over with acf-50{protect from corrosion}
5keep battery on charge
6stuff a rag in end of exaust{stops moisture build up}
7try and get both wheels off ground{so to avoid flat spots and cracking of tyres}
8kiss it goodnight and cover it up.

when spring arrives change oil again{good stuff this time}and put in new oil filter.

this is my way of doin things and has always served me well,but its each to their own i guess.

hope this helps anyway.

Re: Packing the bike away for the winter...
 

So because you dont pack you bike away means you dont take pride in your machine and your not bothered about corrosion, and black ice.

Corrosion - keep on top of it and wash the bike down with cold water to rid the bike of salt.

Black ice - Take it steady in conditions where there might be black ice.

I ride my bike in all conditions and take great pride in it ;).

There alot to be said for packing a vehicle of any description away for long periods without use.

I know someone who teaches all year round on a fazer 600 its 3 years old and done 50k+ ......its in better condition and running order than alot of 3 year old bikes that have been tucked away every winter by 'caring owners'

Whatever floats your boat though i guess

Re: Packing the bike away for the winter...
 

I'll be putting mine away for a bit but will probably want to use it if we get a spell of dry/warmer weather.. It won't go more than 2 or 3 weeks without being used (hopefully).. is it ok to leave it as it is? I mean, is it worth adding fuel stabiliser or anything like that? I don't keep it on an optimate as it's outside and nowhere to plug it in! It doesn't have an alarm and haven't had a problem with the battery so far.. Touch wood :-)

Re: Packing the bike away for the winter...
 

For me, with winter closing in fast I will ride but just not as much as I would in the summer.....

I will ride to work if I know the car park will be full, its a busy time on the roads its quicker. Other than I will drive, if I poke head outside and see its a bad weather day if I can drive I will.

But when there is a break in the weather I will go for a ride. I mean why not? I always find it gutting when I see the weather is clear and I'm work ect...

My advice would to do some advanced training. I got talking some bikers at work, they will put in touch with IAM guy, so to me thats a prioity, getting my skills up there, to improve my riding.

Other people might disagree but riding in the wet does make you smoother, was talking with this about a friend work we agreed it did. I will get a charger for my bike but I have no plans to take thunder off the road.

I really think even if its only an hour it will great, you will of course that there is leaves, mud ice ect all over the roads this time year. I slow down, alllow extra time for a ride ect...Wear your bike gear and layer up underneath, lost of thin layers works best in my experince of camping, working, walking outside in the winter.

Safe riding dude, and enjoy it when you can!

Re: Packing the bike away for the winter...
 

To ride quickly/safely in the wet requires you to exercise smooth throttle/brake control in conjunction with good obs.

I wouldn't automatically say that wet weather riding makes you a smoother rider. Its just common sense to back off a bit and give yourself some more time/room. Of course if you want to go quickly, then being smooth is the best option.

At the end of the day you'll be less keen to brake/accelerate like a lunatic, when conditions are not at their best.

So to reply to your initial statement, i guess wet weather riding could translate to smoother overall riding. However IMHO wet/dry riding styles are completely different and i approach them individually.

Re: Packing the bike away for the winter.
 

Yeah we all have own styles and systems, end of the day what works for me probally won't for you, everyone adates a tecnique and makes their own style.

Re: Packing the bike away for the winter...
 

this is true,


but


i planned on not using the sv over last winter, & TBH i was out almost every weekend, twas not much fun when it started to hammer down (& i do mean hammer down) with snow just past the story arms, twas about 2" deep, and you could see about 5ft in front of you. but twas all gone when we got to venny

Re: Packing the bike away for the winter.
 

I too will be putting mine away, I won't be going to too much trouble though. I have plugged the bike into a battery optimiser & put it on front & rear paddock stands. I am sure that the crap weather won't be with us for long (I Hope). If you do all the things that people are suggesting then taking it out for the odd good day of weather is going to be a nightmare.

Re: Packing the bike away for the winter.
 

thats because once its away for the winter,its away for the winter.

unless extreme circumstances dictate otherwise.

as for the odd good day,once winter properly kicks in this is fairly unlikely before march(after all most of us live in england;))

Re: Packing the bike away for the winter.
 

I'm struggling to get my head round this concept of having a bike that doesn't get ridden for 6 months of the year.

I don't lay any of mine up, I just use whatever one suits the conditions. SR for crappy weather days and general commuting, SV for other days/evenings and Triumph when I want to go long distance or have a hoon on dryish days.

Re: Packing the bike away for the winter.
 

I'm struggling to get my head around how you get to own 5 bikes.

It was almost bordering on too much effort just getting my 1 !!

Re: Packing the bike away for the winter.
 

Ill keep the petrol in mine topped up and the optimiser on just in case we get some good weather. Usually gets stripped in Jan for its winter clean anyway so can write off 3 weeks there

Re: Packing the bike away for the winter...
 

+1
Every time the weather turns to c**p I think "would I be happier in the car?" and the answer so far this year has been no. The cage is good for going to the shops though.
ACF 50, heated grips, good waterproofs and lots of tread in my tyres all help.