Winter Maintenance

[Greb]

It is almost that time where in utah my bike becomes a giant paper weight so I'm compling an off season to do list....

1. Install brodie grounding harness

2. Check valves/replace CCT with new part number

3 Cap PAIR system

4. TBS sync

4. install techspec tank grips

5. rebuild forks

6. change brake and clutch DOT 4

7. Re-torque engine mount bolts

8. Repack steering head bearings

9. Final drive oil change with spline re-grease.

10. Swing arm bearings--- possibly--never done this

11. Service rear suspension/chassis lubrication points

12. Installing MCcruise control

13. Spark plugs

14. Radiator flush/possibly, just did it this summer

So should I change the oil at the end of winter? or change it at the beginning of winter?

I'm thinking you change it near the end so you don't have new oil sitting around in the pan.

What are you planning? maybe I'm forgetting something

 

[exharleyfan]

Actually you do want new oil in it if it is going to set for any length of time.

 

[Ian Stephens]

Might be obvious, but you probably want to do something with the battery too, especially if the bike will be sitting for a while. Take it out and keep it on a battery tender maybe?

Ian

Might be obvious, but you probably want to do something with the battery too, especially if the bike will be sitting for a while. Take it out and keep it on a battery tender maybe?

Ian

 

[RadioHowie]

Lube the dog bone bearings.

Or just ride the thing year-round like us Suthrin' Boyz do.

 

[Duster19]

13. Might as well change out spark plugs (you'll be that deep anyways)

14. You'll need to flush radiator as well.

15. If you haven't, you will want to think about doing anything that needs done with side plastic off. (sliders, fuzeblock of some kind)

 

[Greb]

thanks all,

Forgot to mention I've ordered a battery tender. Never needed one till I moved here last summer. First place I've lived where you can't ride year round. Bummer

and spark plugs, of course, how could I miss something so obvious.

The dog bone bearings is what I meant by rear shock bearings. I shall change that to servicing chassis/rear suspension

 

[dan]

Concerning the issue of battery maintenance....there are companies that produce charger/de-sulphating devices. Optimate is the only one that comes to mind but I purchased one from another company whose name escapes me at the present. These things work! They claim, and I believe it, to actually remove slag(deposits) from the plates. All I can say is research it for yourself. I know mine worked for me....Dan

 

[ionbeam]

Used motor oil is contaminated and may have acids in it so you want to change your oil before putting your FJR to bed.

I dunno about re-torquing the engine bolts. If you don't have objectionable vibration right now you may not want to mess with it, maybe just verify that they at spec. If you loosen the engine bolts you will need to torque them is a specific order per the FSM.

Wash 'n wax?

Fill the gas tank full and add a fuel stabilizer.

Periodically go sit on your FJR and make varoom, varoom noises but do not start it. It is bad to start and idle an engine then shut it off and let it steep for weeks/months without driving it and bringing it up to full temperature. Driving is different than idling.

(Pray for an early, mild spring.)

 

[Greb]

Used motor oil is contaminated and may have acids in it so you want to change your oil before putting your FJR to bed.

I dunno about re-torquing the engine bolts. If you don't have objectionable vibration right now you may not want to mess with it, maybe just verify that they at spec. If you loosen the engine bolts you will need to torque them is a specific order per the FSM.

Wash 'n wax?

Fill the gas tank full and add a fuel stabilizer.

Periodically go sit on your FJR and make varoom, varoom noises but do not start it. It is bad to start and idle an engine then shut it off and let it steep for weeks/months without driving it and bringing it up to full temperature. Driving is different than idling.

(Pray for an early, mild spring.)

I will change the oil and might forget the engine mounts, I'm really just looking for things to do since the winters here keep you locked up indoors for the most part.

I will most likely change out my CCT to the new design so I'll add that to my list.

Since I have some gopro vids of rides, maybe I'll stand my bike up in front of the big screen like a virtual reality ride. :lol:

 

[dsmack]

Concerning the issue of battery maintenance....there are companies that produce charger/de-sulphating devices. Optimate is the only one that comes to mind but I purchased one from another company whose name escapes me at the present. These things work! They claim, and I believe it, to actually remove slag(deposits) from the plates. All I can say is research it for yourself I know my worked for me....Dan

Dan, I think the company you are referring to might be VDC Electronics, who make the BatteryMinder line of float charger systems. Their product uses a square wave form output which purports to desulphate batteries while in the float charge mode after bringing the battery up to full charge.

I have no technical way to confirm their claims, other than personal experience... a very small data set, admittedly! I have had the BatteryMinder for about 8 years, alternating use between an aircraft battery, a snow blower battery, two motorcycle batteries and occasional use on various automobiles. In that length of time, I have never had a battery fail! The best example is the OEM battery (Delco) that was in my previous 1996 Pontiac Grand Am, which lasted until 2003 at which time I replaced it. The battery for my Piper Cherokee 180 is now 7 years old, and still tests as new on a load test, and cranks the plane like it did when new.

I feel I've recouped many times the original purchase price of about $30, as well as increased dependability and peace of mind! YMMV of course

Ride Safe!

Don

 

[Rory]

the past few years, (on other bikes) I have pulled the battery and put it in the basement for the winter.

The FJR has a centerstand. You can run the engine through the gears rather than let it just idle.

 

[RadioHowie]

The FJR has a centerstand. You can run the engine through the gears rather than let it just idle.

Why? It would serve the same purpose to just raise and lower the engine speed with the throttle without the possible hazards involved with having that heavy rear wheel/tire assembly spinning unfettered at several thousand RPM.

And do you just sit there, in your enclosed garage, running the bike long enough to get the temp up to 2-3 bars? Pretty pointless to even crank the sucker up unless you get it up to "normal" temp. Then you'd better add one of THESE to your tool box.

I personally can only think of ONE reason to run the FJR on the centerstand in gear --- to make sure the ABS warning light works.

 

[ionbeam]

...Then you'd better add one of THESE to your tool box.

I personally can only think of ONE reason to run the FJR on the centerstand in gear --- to make sure the ABS warning light works.

Back in the day, when there was primarily the UK Forum and the Yellow Board a couple of guys mentioned that in a garage with a side door open the engine would quit running after a few minutes. Dunno if that is by accident or design to keep the Darwin candidates from hurting themselves However, it might explain Newman...

 

[kpm]

Greb,

I dont do much. Winter here is mid-Nov to March.

I keep the battery charged with the aid of a pigtail that hangs out the fairing. I charge all of my bikes about an hour a week and check the voltage with a multimeter. Buy one. They can tell you the charge of your battery at an instant. I have heard if you keep the volts above 12.6 volts or so the battery will not sulphate. Heat kills battery's so a cool area is best.

Oil. I check it and that's it. I never start my bikes in the winter unless I plan to ride.

Upgrades; The fjr is fine as it is for me but taller windshield is nice for cooler temps.

Utah must be beautiful in the winter.

 

[DaveD]

About the oil change: I always change mine both before the winter nap and after.

At the end of the season I'll change the filter and fill up with some cheapo, but name brand, non-synthetic. Then in March, I'll run it a bit, drain and toss the cheap stuff and fill it back up with some nice synthetic Rotella or Yamalube. For the cost of 4 quarts of cheap oil (~10 bucks) I imagine I'm flushing the crankcase.

It might be big ol' waste, but I'm a little fanatical about oil.

 

[Checkswrecks]

The FJR has a centerstand. You can run the engine through the gears rather than let it just idle.

Why? It would serve the same purpose to just raise and lower the engine speed with the throttle without the possible hazards involved with having that heavy rear wheel/tire assembly spinning unfettered at several thousand RPM.

And do you just sit there, in your enclosed garage, running the bike long enough to get the temp up to 2-3 bars? Pretty pointless to even crank the sucker up unless you get it up to "normal" temp. Then you'd better add one of THESE to your tool box.

I personally can only think of ONE reason to run the FJR on the centerstand in gear --- to make sure the ABS warning light works.

The long-held reasons for running the engine are two-fold. To keep intact an oil film, and to prevent pitting where surfaces come together. Two examples of such contact points are where gear teeth mesh and where the piston rings sit on the cylinder bore. So there is a reason for running the transmission, but there is also danger to weigh with respect to how much hazard can come from spinning that big rear tire.

Running the engine is worse than pointless unless long enough that the temperature has been stable for a good 15+ minutes. The point of running the motor is to drive off any moisture condensate and acids carried by moisture. Since the mixture is rich when first started, acids are being created by the combustion process, and the net affect of shutting down early is an increase in the bad stuff in the engine. That's counterproductive.

All this said, people do just fine either way & we're not talking about the cast iron rings on the steel cylinder walls of your great grandfather's Oldsmobile, which is when these "best practices" were born.

Since the oil holds the acids from combustion, changing oil before a winter's nap is a good idea, whether you will run the bike or not.

 

[supertankerm60a3]

My winter maintenance regimen is a bit simpler.

1 Put on larger V-Stream windscreen.

2 Put on coat.

Summer prep, Reverse 1 and 2.

 

[blkredlinedrvr]

That's my preferred method also but at the same time you have to remember there are places up north and in some places in states like Utah where it's just not feasible for most sane folk to have the bikes out on snow covered or ice slicked roads. I'm not saying it's not possible but it may be out of some folks comfort zone.

 

[Greb]

I mean there may be a very small opportunity to run up and down the street this winter, but when the snow hits in front of my house it is there to stay till April/May time frame.

People on my street have two mailboxes, the permanent one in the ground and one you can stake in the snow drifts once your other one is buried.