OK so this is my first time winterizing my 07RR. I changed the oil, cleaned the bike really good, put it on a rear stand, plugged the intake and exhaust. Did not do little minor things such as clean and lube the chain also spray wd-40 in all the little nuts and bolts are hear that is over excessive. My question is i took my battery out and put it on a tender i have had it on the battery tender for about 4 days straight have not taken it off. I read the manual and it says do not overcharge it. Is that overcharging it?? I have a battery tender plus and i have read it has a float/ storage system and it wont affect the battery. Am i doing the right thing?? My intentions is to keep it on the tender until im ready to ride around April/May. Has anyone just put it on the tender and left it without ever taking it off the tender till it was time to ride for a period of more than 5months??

 

Most, if not all battery tenders are automatic and shut off. I hook mine up every other week during the winter, but I leave the battery in the bike. My tender came with leads that have eyelets, so they are permanently connected to my cable ends. I ran the plug-in down under the battery box so that I don't have to take the seat off in the winter.

 

thats what i usually do i keep the lead on the bike, but unforntunately my bike is stored in a shack not a garage and has no electric outlets thats why i have to bring it in the house.

 

You should be able to leave it plugged in if it a batter tender, not a batter charger (there is a differance). I would also recommend you do your chain though, if its in a *shack* the moisture could leave you a bit rusty come spring. For the 5 minutes it takes i may be a good precaution. I dont think you need to spray all the bolts though.

 

I think it may be a little too late to clean my chain now since the battery is out and i cant start it to warm the chain. I dont want to clean it and have it look all white due to the chain lube. Any other suggestions for cleaning my chain without warming it up??

 

Just take a rag and apply a little wd40 to it, since its on the stand just pop it in neutral and spin the tire. Dont worry that its not warm, and you dont need to lube it. Just clean it to get any dirt and debris off, dirt and debris can hold moisture in and hold it against your chain.

 

I have heard using wd-40 will damage the O-rings should i still attempt to use it??

 

I would recommend not using WD-40 as it's a penetrant and not a lubricant. Get a can of what they call "Chain Wax" and put enough on there so that moisture won't affect the chain when the bike sits... I keep my bike on a tender all winter long, but I don't need to do half the stuff you did since I'm wrenching on it on the weekends and it's kept in my heated basement... I do need to give it an oil change and chain maintenance now though, maybe this weekend I can get that done...

When you get a new chain, it comes "white" because of all the lube they put on it so it doesn't rust/dry out on the shelf...

 

I am not refering to when buying a new chain it is white. I am refering to i had a bad experience with my f4i I did not heat up the chain properly just cleaned it and put the chain wax on it the chain stayed white forever even when i totaled it.. it still was white lolol. Soo if i do this to my bike thats sitting in my shack right now with the battery out and its on stands i dont want the chain to turn white maybe if i just leave it as is it wont build up any rust and i get lucky next spring

 

I think you guys go a little to far "winterizing" your bike. Just pull the thing out every week start it up and ride it around the block. As long as its not snowing its not going to kill you.