Hi everyone,

This is my first winter with the bike (New England). I have some friends who "winter" their bikes at a local Harley dealer. I have the room in my garage to store my bike, and I can put on a trickle-charge. Is there anything else I should be doing if I'm not going to ride the bike for a few weeks?

I hope to get her out if the weather is nice enough, but once they start sanding the roads it can be tricky. Any standard operating procedures for winterizing a bike?

 

It may be a little much for some people but here is what I do: https://www.hdforums.com/forum/showt...2#post11948572

When I put my bike up for the winter it stays there for 3-4 months.

 

Just throw on more layers and keep her going.

 

Hi fellow New Englander,
The advice I got if you are in a garage is to fill up the tank and add the appropriate amount of stabilizer, if you are running radial tires add 12-15 lbs so there isn't a flat spot in the spring, some say add a trickle charger, others say don't bother, and finally throw a sheet over it to keep the dust off.....

 

Get her hot change fluids (oil, tranny, primary), top off the tank and add Seafoam (fuel additive of choice), put on battery tender, clean and cover.
Pull your hair out for 4 months.
Don't start the bike unless your going to ride it and get it up to temp. (your doing more harm than good if you just start it and shut it off). If you get an Indian Summer of a warm day take it out. Top off the tank, add the appropriate amount of additive, put back on tender, and cover.

 

Great information! Thanks everyone!

 

Your not going to flat spot you tires by keeping it in a garage all winter. If that's your worry just move it around monthly. The most important thing is to put fuel stabilizer in the tank ie Seafoam.. A trickle charger is a must imo. Less than 30 bucks. Starting it up and warming it up and shutting it off is not going to hurt anything other than waste your time and provide no benefit to you. Its important that the fuel tank remains full when not riding for awhile to eliminate any sort of tank corrosion. Oh if you have mice put some fabric softener sheets at the exhaust end, air cleaner and in the engine area to keep them at bay. It keeps them out of my lawnmower in the barn otherwise they like to set up shop in my engine bay.

 

Be certain that the, "trickle charger" is a smart one that tops the battery off then floats it at about 14.6 volts. Keeping it at 15.6 volts will boil off the electrolite.

 

Is there any advantage or disadvantage to taking the battery out for the winter? I too have a cold storage area and would worry about freezing (it gets to -20F for days around here...

 

I winterize my bike by putting on the detachable windshield, plug in the heated gloves and wrapping a scarf around my neck. With that done, I can pretty much ride most days until I have to springerize my bike.