what's the recommendation for a winterized bike in an unheated garage ?

Depending on who I talk to - I have been told to run the motor every several weeks for a few minutes, while others tell me this is not necessary.

What do you recommend ?

 

Unless your actully going to ride it and get it fully heated up don't start it, running a few minutes at idle will not fully recharge the battery and will leave a lot of moisture inside the engine to rust internal bits.
If your worried about the battery either get a tender or if you have no power in the garage take the battery off and bring it in the house for the winter.

 

I keep mine on a tender and don't put anything in the tank other than full of gas. I do get an opportunity to ride it from time to time over the winter but not often. It will sit in temps from 0 degrees up over the winter and it hasn't failed to start yet.

 

Tender and gas stabilizer. That's it. Every week or so roll it a few inches to avoid flat spots.

 

If you are going to start it up - ride for 20-30 minutes. Other than that - a tender is a good idea.

 

I use STA-BIL and a battery tender. As far as starting it goes that's debatable.
Fact is the combustion chambers are going to be very hot within a minute or two. Lets face it, it's a seriously fast moving and hot environment in there. If it runs for about 5 minutes there won't be any chance of rust in the heads. Where you stand to have a problem is in the exhaust where vapor can pool. If your using STA-BIL or some similar product you'll find they have a moisture absorbent and rust preventative in them, STA-BIL states to run the engine for 5 minutes after adding their product and put the bike away.
I wouldn't make a habit of starting it unnecessarily though. If it's properly prepped there is no reason to start it although the unexpected does happen. We had some beautiful weather in North Jersey right after Christmas. I went out to get the bike, fired it up and while I was putting on my helmet noticed an oil leak that was growing. So of course I shut it down. It had run for several minutes though and the heads were too hot to touch so I'm not worried about it. Think about the engine as you would a cast iron frying pan. Yes, I know the heads are aluminum, just stay with me. If you get that pan hot enough where you wouldn't dare touch it you can be sure there won't be any water in it to cause rust as it will evaporate.

 

The problem with condensation is not a case of burning moisture out of the cylinders but with moisture (condensation) that forms in the oil system when you heat and then cool the oil. It's the oil that requires ~30 minutes at operating temperature to dissipate the moisture.

 

Yup...and that stuff can build up over time and look real nasty. I always go by the 7 mile rule at least.

 

cHarley and Mandog are right about the condensation that can form if the oil doesn't get hot enough but my point was that sometimes it's unavoidable to start the engine. Like I said I wouldn't make a habit of running it unless it's going to be run properly but sometimes, as in my case, it was unavoidable and the amount of condensation from one short run won't amount to anything. In short, use a tender, some sort of stabilant and keep it dry.

 

To winterize mine, I take it out for an hour ride every time the temp gets around 35.