What if I don't winterize it...

[FLHX]

Buy a heated jacket and gloves, keep it on a Batt tender and take it for a good long ride at least once a month and you will be fine.

 

[S76]

I don't think winterizing is as much of a big deal with fuel injection. It's not like a carb that dries out and varnishes the jets.

To winterize my bike I remove the key. In the spring I put it back in.

It is stored in a heated basement though.

 

[wheatonFJR]

I don't think winterizing is as much of a big deal with fuel injection. It's not like a carb that dries out and varnishes the jets.
To winterize my bike I remove the key. In the spring I put it back in.

It is stored in a heated basement though.

Let us know how you make out in the spring...

no stabil?no battery tender?

 

[mdisher]

keithaba,

You are south of me by 100 miles

Get some heated gear and ride! A number of us will get together for a Polar Bear Ride on New Years Day. That will be your opportunity to put a fresh tank of gas in it.

Location to be determined but we'll more than likely hook-up somewhere in Northern KY, ride a bit then get a good meal somewhere.

-MD

 

[user 3386]

Winterizing? Real estate values are dropping a bit here in Southern California. I need more local FJR-riding buddies. (Ortega Highway ride two weekends ago, Mulholland Canyon this past Saturday.) Come on down! :clapping: (Barker just retired so he can't sue me for saying that.)

 

[Bluebullet]

I just ride it once week usually to work which is 35 min or so, I've had no trouble so far. Keep me posted on that Polar Bear New Years Day thing if its not snowing I'll be there with bells on.

 

[GreyGoose]

Change the oil...hook up the battery tender.....cover it........then forget about it untill your ready to start the next riding season. Then take it for a 1/2 ride, change the oil, and your good to go.

Why mess with it all winter just to bypass those 3 easy steps. starting that motor once in a while in the winter is not recommended. Just let it rest. if you ride till thankgiving, next years season will be on you in no time.

GreyGoose

 

[ionbeam]

Technically, your oil should get changed when you are ready to store your motorcycle. While you have been riding the oil has been accumulating combustion byproducts, traces of gasoline, particulates, moisture and oil/gas fractions plus the oil will have a PH change. Do you want your crank, bearings and metal parts stewing in this brew all winter? While it may not cause catastrophic failure next spring it has the potential to enhance metal and bearing pitting which is a war of slow attrition over time.

 

[Skippy]

Ride the bitch hard and hang her up wet...

After all, it is just a motorcycle, not a freaking trophy wife.

And yes, mine sits outside, all year round, rains sleet or snow, if we ever get any.

Some of you folks are just a little too freaking anal about these mechanical transportation devices.

Skippy

 

[C&C]

I like the term, posteriorly discrimative, and yes I like to keep my stuff nice.

 

[bmac]

I would always keep Sta-Bil in your gas and keep the tank full during the winter months if you are not riding enough to keep the gas fresh.
During the winter there is always a lot of moisture in the air.

The worst thing you can do is to start your motor and not run it long enough to get rid of the moisture.

Every time you start your motor, even for a couple of seconds, and shut it off it will draw in moisture as it cools. The motor not only needs to come up to temperature but needs to maintain that temperature long enough to get rid of that moisture. 10mi is not enough. Even 1/2 hr rides, if this is all the motor gets will do harm to your motor if you do not shorten your oil change intervals. You are better off to not start your motor at all or go for a longer ride (1hr or more). Letting your motor sit and idle really doesn't do a very good job of getting the oil up to temp. You need to put a load on the motor to really get the job done. My .02

Mostly true.

A stabilizer should be used because gas gets old. Seafoam is a nice alternative to Sta-bal and has some added benefits.

As the temperatures cool there is less moisture in the air. The colder the air the less capacity it has to hold water. This is the reason it is best to keep your gas tank full. If it is not full when it cools off the moisture in the remaining air will condensate inside the tank.

For those that cannot ride long enough for the oil to get truly hot it is better to not start it at all. Put Seafoam in the tank, fill it up, put on the battery tender and wait for the new riding season. For those of you that think starting it up in the garage and letting it run for awhile are really doing more harm than good.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Ride the bitch hard and hang her up wet...
After all, it is just a motorcycle, not a freaking trophy wife.

And yes, mine sits outside, all year round, rains sleet or snow, if we ever get any.

Some of you folks are just a little too freaking anal about these mechanical transportation devices.

Skippy

Hey Skippy,

Which part of winterizing: oil changing, gas stabization, or battery charge maintenance is "too freaking anal"?

Inquiring minds like to know. A little technical explanation why any one of these steps is "too freaking anal" is required to help us northern, snow bound FJR riders understand your point of view...

otherwise, your post is just a bunch of hoo-hah... B)

Also, how do you know my FJR is not my trophy wife?

 

[Groo]

Anybody who doesn't want to winterize their FJR, just bring it down to Houston, and I'll make sure to take it for a ride that will warm up all the parts every other week.

 

[PTP]

Ride the bitch hard and hang her up wet...
After all, it is just a motorcycle, not a freaking trophy wife.

And yes, mine sits outside, all year round, rains sleet or snow, if we ever get any.

Some of you folks are just a little too freaking anal about these mechanical transportation devices.

Skippy

+1 from a Minnesota rider.

 

[Toecutter]

I change the CB windscreen to the V-Stream.

 

[radman]

Then call me anal. Always have been, always will be, like it that way, they're my machines, my dough, my time. +1 on the Sea Foam, oil changin', no 10 minute weekly start-ups, battery chargin', and whatever else floats yer boat-after all, it's your ride, enjoy.

 

[warsw]

Ride the bitch hard and hang her up wet...
After all, it is just a motorcycle, not a freaking trophy wife.

And yes, mine sits outside, all year round, rains sleet or snow, if we ever get any.

Some of you folks are just a little too freaking anal about these mechanical transportation devices.

Skippy

I have a friend that had that same attitude as you. He is now in a wheel chair paralyzed from the neck down. His throttle stuck, he hit a curb, went over the bars and landed on his head breaking his neck. Just because he road it hard and put it away wet.

I think a peace of machinery, that you are going to trust your life to, even if it is "just a motorcycle" needs to get that extra care. If not, you may not end up where my friend is but I can hear you now. "Ok bitch, why did you quit on me now, out here in the middle of nowhere". You will be blaming your bike for letting you down when it was entirely your fault. After all it is "just a motorcycle".

I know for a fact, if given a second change, my friend would not be riding her hard and putting her away wet.

 

[RadioHowie]

Ride the bitch hard and hang her up wet...

After all, it is just a motorcycle, not a freaking trophy wife.

And yes, mine sits outside, all year round, rains sleet or snow, if we ever get any.

Some of you folks are just a little too freaking anal about these mechanical transportation devices.

Skippy

I have a friend that had that same attitude as you. He now is in a wheel chair paralyzed from the waist down. His throttle stuck, he hit a curb, went over the bars and landed on head breaking his neck. Just because he road it hard and put it away wet.

I think a peace of machinery, even if it is "just a motorcycle" that you are going to trust your life to needs to get that extra care. If not, you may not end up where my friend is but I can hear you now. Ok bitch, why did you quit on me now, out here in the middle of nowhere. You will be blaming your bike for letting you down when it was entirely your fault. After all it is "just a motorcycle".

I know, if given a second change, my friend would not be riding her hard and putting her away wet.

You mean this guy?

My Bullshit radar is beeping quietly, not yet in full alarm mode, over your post.

It's sad when anyone gets hurt in any kind of accident, but you are implying that something specifically your friend didn't do, from a maintenance point of view, caused his accident.

Was it a dirty throttle cable? Did a butterfly stick? Was it the throttle grip itself that jammed? Maybe a return spring broke? A mouse living in the airbox chewed through the airfilter, got sucked into a carb and stuck a slide wide open (don't laugh). There are simply too many things that can cause a stuck throttle on a motorcycle to blame the owner's maintenance routine for having caused the accident.

Was the bike disassembled by a motorcycle accident expert to determine the exact cause of the wreck and support your contention? Or was your friend just a little injudicious with his right hand?

Your anecdotal account of a tragic result smacks of pure hyperbole, used (rather unsuccessfully, I might add) to support your contention that less-than-anal attention to motorcycle maintenance results in deadly, or near-deadly results.

That radar is still in "pre-alert" mode, so don't make it any worse than it already is, okay?

 

[Mogambo]

I don't think that it is totally out of line to compare the maintenance care of a motorcycle to that of an aircraft. Both offer little buffer for equipment malfunction or failure due to lack of care.

Motorcycles are tremendous fun to ride but you have a heck of allot on the line. For me personally, I have more fun riding my bike knowing that I have done everything it needed when it needed it.

It's your baby, take care of it and it will take care of you.

Only my .02

 

[warsw]

Ride the bitch hard and hang her up wet...

After all, it is just a motorcycle, not a freaking trophy wife.

And yes, mine sits outside, all year round, rains sleet or snow, if we ever get any.

Some of you folks are just a little too freaking anal about these mechanical transportation devices.

Skippy

I have a friend that had that same attitude as you. He now is in a wheel chair paralyzed from the waist down. His throttle stuck, he hit a curb, went over the bars and landed on head breaking his neck. Just because he road it hard and put it away wet.

I think a peace of machinery, even if it is "just a motorcycle" that you are going to trust your life to needs to get that extra care. If not, you may not end up where my friend is but I can hear you now. Ok bitch, why did you quit on me now, out here in the middle of nowhere. You will be blaming your bike for letting you down when it was entirely your fault. After all it is "just a motorcycle".

I know, if given a second change, my friend would not be riding her hard and putting her away wet.

You mean this guy?

My Bullshit radar is beeping quietly, not yet in full alarm mode, over your post.

It's sad when anyone gets hurt in any kind of accident, but you are implying that something specifically your friend didn't do, from a maintenance point of view, caused his accident.

Was it a dirty throttle cable? Did a butterfly stick? Was it the throttle grip itself that jammed? Maybe a return spring broke? A mouse living in the airbox chewed through the airfilter, got sucked into a carb and stuck a slide wide open (don't laugh). There are simply too many things that can cause a stuck throttle on a motorcycle to blame the owner's maintenance routine for having caused the accident.

Was the bike disassembled by a motorcycle accident expert to determine the exact cause of the wreck and support your contention? Or was your friend just a little injudicious with his right hand?

Your anecdotal account of a tragic result smacks of pure hyperbole, used (rather unsuccessfully, I might add) to support your contention that less-than-anal attention to motorcycle maintenance results in deadly, or near-deadly results.

That radar is still in "pre-alert" mode, so don't make it any worse than it already is, okay?

If I thought you were serious and not just trying to be cute for your fans I would respond to your reply but I can see your reply is just an excuse for you to make accusations and is not worth a response.