Don't start up your motorcycle every week or so in your garage in the mistaken idea that these short idling periods are doing it some good. Just the opposite is happening. First, cold-starting is the highest wear event on any engine. It generates the most by-products of combustion. Moisture, acids, and other things which are normally boiled off with prolonged running typically end up sitting in your oil and on your internal components when you so this. While idling in the garage, nobody gets the engine and oil temperatures high enough for long enough in order to burn off these damaging deposits.

Put the bike away with clean oil in the engine. Run the engine for a few minutes after changing the oil to coat engine parts with the clean oil. Next, add a fuel stabilizer to your gasoline. Gasoline evaporates over time, losing its highly volatile components first. Gasoline also loses its octane rating over time and that can lead to damaging detonation. Finally, gasoline leaves a varnish residue behind when it evaporates. This varnish can clog carburetor jets and fuel injectors. A good fuel stabilizer minimizes the chances of these occurring, saving you money and down-time. Make sure that you run your engine for 10 minutes after mixing the stabilizer in order to purge the fuel system of any untreated fuel.

Fill your tank to the top. This minimizes the amount of air space in your tank. The less air space, the less moist air to rust your exposed tank or condense into water and contaminate your fuel. The gasoline also protects the interior tank metal from rust.

Take precautions to preserve your tire life. First, check air pressure and, if necessary, inflate to the maximum recommended pressure. You might want to store the bike up on blocks, supporting the weight on the frame and not on the tires. This will prevent the tires from flat-spotting. Alternatively, roll the bike forward or backward about one eighth of a wheel revolution to put a different part of the tire in contact with the pavement. Once every 3-4 weeks should suffice. Check tire pressure before you ride off this spring and inspect the side walls for weather-checking and cracks which occur with age, not mileage.

You’ve already got a battery tender, so you have the battery issues covered.

 

Thanks for the tips everyone! coming from a motocross background I kinda knew a little about getting bikes winterized but didnt know if I should do anything special for the harley. appreciate the help. wish I was lucky enough to be able to ride year around. but guess thats why they made snowmachines

 

I wouldn't run carb dry that's for sure fuel is a lubricant as well. My storage is limited because i don't let it set all winter. I refuse to store my ride. I'm gonna ride it if the opportunity arrives in the middle of Dec, Jan, etc etc If it hits 30F i'm out for a spin. All i do is make sure to change the oils at the end of fall, add Seafoam or any fuel stabilizer to the tank and put old carpet rugs under the wheels as concrete dry's rubber out. Rubber doesn't flat spot by setting unless its a LONG time period. Ultimately i would love heated storage but don't have it and am sure as not going to put it where i can't get it out anytime i want.

Edit because: I keep it on a battery tender all winter long.

 

All the advice here is great. I live in Saskatchewan so we will have very similar temperatures. I store mine on a lift - keeps the tires off the ground plus the bike is upright and I can wheel it right into the corner of the garage where it takes up way less space than if it was on the sidestand. I leave my tender on all winter, no worries. Bike starts in spring like it does every day.

I do cover the exhaust tips with a plastic bag secured with rubber bands. When weather gets cold tiny critters look for places to spent the winter and I don't want them in my pipes.

Best thing about having hard winter is you get to uncover your bike in the spring - it's like a new bike every year. I have a whole ritual around getting the bike prepped for the road in the spring. I look forward to it for weeks, starting in about February.