obligatory winterizing questions
 

Well its almost that time of the year and its going to be my first winter with the bike. I searched and went through the countless winterizing threads to figure out what i need to do but still have 2 questions that went unanswered.

1) When do all of you northeast riders winterize your bikes and pack it in? Being in nj we can have mild winters with plenty of days that would be nice for riding. Do all of you winterize that dont have harsh winters since you know youre going to be able to ride here and there throughout the season?

2) If I do winterize and ride it a few times afterwards would I just need to fill up the tank and add fuel stabilizer after each ride?

Side note: Im at school and going home for thanksgiving and planned to winterize it then and then maybe ride it a few times in december but it definitely will be sitting from january-march. Would you recommend waiting till december to do this? After thanksgiving itll only be maybe 2-3 weeks at most before ill ride again.

I'll put some stabilizer in the tank.. I'll run it through the carbs for a bit (you, of course, don't have that concern)... while I don't ride nearly as much in the winter, I will start it up now and again... maybe even ride around the neighborhood if I can so it doesn't sit..
either remove the battery altogether or at least put it on an auto shutoff trickle charger/maintainer... I will more than likely pull the battery out to sit inside... if I need to start it.. no biggie.. drop it in and start.... but I hate to have a battery sit out in the cold for longer than a few weeks...
If you have stands, I have been told to put it up if you can.. I've already asked Santa for a rear stand :)

Adam

yeah thats probably how its gonna go for me until i finally put her away in january until spring time. I guess i should probably write him a letter asking for one too. Maybe some winter gear as well.

I just put my bike on stands, add STA-BIL, hook up my Battery Tender Jr. That way I can still ride on those rare days the sun is shinning. All you got to do is unplug the battery tender and go have some fun.

i dont winterize my bike, and it snows a bit here and gets way cold. i do start it and ride it around the block once a month at least tho just to help the battery and try to not get flat spots. and ive never had any issues.

I'm in Texas not to much need for winterizing for me I Park it for the few cold days and ride the rest :d

+1 exactly how i do it

If you're gonna truly let it sit for 5 or 6 months you might want to throw some stabilizer in it. If you think you'll run it enough that the fuel only sits a couple months than don't worry about it....

Think most of us overdo the winterizing... except maybe the carbed bike owners :p

2 months down, the gas may go stale but it shouldn't turn to varnish that quickly. Biggest vulnerability will be the battery. Sitting unused in cold weather will affect it. Next biggest vulnerability will be the tires. Sitting in one spot, with the tires pressure lower and the tires harder, can cause the tires to deform.

Third biggest vulnerability will prolly be nesting rodents looking for shelter, depending on where you live ;)

Alright thanks I wont do anything to her till the middle or end of december then when its definitely gonna sit for 2-3 months so ill just throw a little stabilizer in there then i guess. I might store it in my livingroom seeing as how I dont have a garage and dont want to put it in the shed so if I leave it inside I wouldnt have to worry about my tires right? Ive got a battery charger so thats taken care of. Is there any difference in opinion over changing the oil before I winterize it or just waiting till the spring when I start riding again?