To winterize or not to winterize?

[veerodder]

Once again we're having a typically crazy winter here in Cleveland and I have pepared my Rod the same way I have prepared all my bikes. That is to say I have done just about nothin'. I usually change the oil just before I know it's gonna get cold for the rest of the year, roll her into the garage, plug in the battery tender and put on the cover. I prefer to be able to fire the bike up at a moments notice, like I did New Years Eve when we hit nearly 50 degrees. My question is what do you guys do to winterize, and does anyone think I'm doing anything risky with this practice? I usually get a chance to fire it up and ride at least once a month thru the winter and I always let the engine idle a little longer than normal before I ride. I'm not sure I buy into the "oil accumulating water from condensation" durring the winter. There are a lot of people who garage their bikes for the entire winter, roll 'em out in spring and fire them right up without changing the oil. Where does all this non-compressible water go? And what about fuel stablizers? I have heard that's a waste with todays fuel additives. I'm interested in some other opinions and philosophies.

[OldMiC]

veerodder,
I do just about the same thing you do. Change the oil when it starts to turn cold, fill the tank with gas and I always keep the bike on a battery tender.

Regarding additives, products like Stabil are designed to reduce the amount of gum and varnish build-up over the winter. I put Sta-bil in every winter, and every Spring it starts with no problem. Maybe it's not necessary, but I feel it's cheap insurance.

Oh ya, depending where you live and where you store the bike, some folks I know stuff steel wool in the exhaust to keep "critters" from climbing in and building a nest.

And finally, I've heard recommendations to pull the plugs and spray an oil mist into the cylinders when it's not going to be ridden for several months. That's my .02 on the subject.

[tbag809]

If you ride or start the bike up at least once a month I wouldnt worry about it. My 03 is on its second winter with no issues except the battery. I bought a battery tender and fixed that problem.

[Scooter_D]

With the fuel injection, the local HD dealer specifically mentioned that the removal of the plugs and the injection of the oil was not necessary on the Revolution engine.

The oil change, battery tender and Stabil are all good maintenance actions, that and keeping tire pressure at the recommended level. Despite the manual stating otherwise, the "smart" tenders are fine to keep hooked up all winter long.

Starting the bike but not riding it was not recommended as the engine / exhaust may not heat up enough and condensation may result in an issue downstream, also, it does not do anything to help the battery - though with a tender it may not be a big deal.

My 2 cents -

May warm temps make their way back to New England soon!

[hippo888]

I too would not recommend starting the bike up for short periods. If you do start the bike, make sure to run it long enough that:

1) The cooling fans turn on. This means the engine has reached operating temperature. This helps burn off all the water from the incomplete combustion occuring with a cold engine (watch how much steam escapes from your car exhaust when it first starts compared to when the car is fully warm in the winter).

2) The complete exhaust system becomes too hot to touch. This ensures that any water vapor will quickly leave the exhaust system and not collect where it can rot the exhaust out from the inside.

This usually means idling the bike for 20-30 minutes. Not a good idea with air-cooled motors, but fine for most liquid cooled motors.

With fuel-injection, gumming up of the injectors isn't a problem over a relatively short period of time, such as winter. Those injectors will try to fire as long as you have sufficient battery power to crank the engine. I pour Stabil in my bikes just to make sure, but I've seen FI bikes run (very poorly, though) on diesel.

Definitely use a smart charger like the Deltran Battery Tender. The V-Rod, with its FI, alarm system and other electronics will always have a constant drain on the battery. That, plus the cold, plus running the starter a few times can kill a small bike battery.