Salt Spreaders wreck bikes!

Winter can serve up the occasional gorgeous biking day but when the annual ritual of salting our roads starts it’s enough to encourage most of us to tuck our precious GoldWings away until Spring.  And if we’re foolish we’ll simply park the bike in the garage as usual and maybe chuck an old bed sheet over it to keep the dust off.

Taking a bit of care to lay your bike up properly for winter storage will pay dividends in many ways and here are a few tips from Dave Partridge, who runs Awingaway mobile GoldWing servicing on how to do it.  Dave will of course come along and lay your bike up for you on request but failing that here’s how to do it properly yourself.

There are quite a few things to think about when you lay up your bike the first being to choose somewhere safe and dry to store it.  A proper, well-ventilated and weather-proof garage or shed is ideal but you can if necessary store a GoldWing under a car port or outdoors.

Use a proper bike cover

Shelter and Cover

Find a sheltered location and use  a properly designed bike cover, not an old bed sheet or tarpaulin.  Even in a dry garage an old bed sheet will attract and retain moisture which will be in contact with the bike and that will start rust.  A tarpaulin will prevent moisture falling on to the bike but will also prevent moisture getting out; if you haven’t got a car port to put the bike under and need to resort to a tarpaulin put it over a frame to keep it off the bike and put a proper bike cover on the bike underneath it.  Covering the bike properly will also protect it against unnecessary UV light which will fade the paint and plastic parts.

Best avoided

Change the oil and filter

Even if the oil is not due for a change, by-products of combustion produce acids in the oil which will harm the inner metal surfaces.  An extra engine oil and filter change is easy and inexpensive and it will benefit your engine considerably.

Full Fuel, empty carbs

Fill the fuel tank with fresh petrol but do not overfill, to leave room for the fuel to expand.  Shut off the fuel petcock and drain the carbs and fuel lines.  Add fuel stabilizer to the tank to prevent the fuel from going stale and prevent moisture accumulation.  Petrol goes stale because the lighter aromatics evaporate leaving a thicker, sour smelling liquid; if left long enough it will turn into a gum, plugging the jets in the carbs.

Check or change fluids

Oil the Cylinders

If the cylinder wall is left unprotected for a long period of time, it will rust and cause premature piston and ring wear.  If your bike is going to be stored for months remove the spark plugs and pour a tablespoon (5cc) of clean engine oil in each cylinder.  With the fuel cock off, crank the engine several revolutions and then reinstall the spark plugs.  Don’t put the plugs back in until after the engine has been cranked to prevent the oil you have poured into the cylinders causing a hydraulic lock.

Battery Storage

The bike’s battery must be removed or a least disconnected from the motorcycle while it is in storage.  Motorcycles draw a small current even when switched off and a discharged battery will sulphate.  With a conventional, liquid cell battery, top up the electrolyte with distilled water and then charge the battery.  Gel batteries don’t need topping up.  All lead acid batteries should be charged regularly while in storage, ideally every every 2 weeks.  Use a charger that has an output of 10% of the amp hour rating of the battery.  For example, if the battery is 20 amp hours, then the charge rate should not exceed 2 amps. Use an Optimiser if you have one.

Mouse nest

Fluid – Check or change

If the brake or clutch fluids have not been changed in the last 2 years or 12,000 miles, do it now.  These fluids are “hygroscopic” which means they absorb moisture.  The moisture in the fluid will cause corrosion of the brake pistons.  The bike’s coolant should also be changed every 2 years or 24,000 miles.

Final Preparation

Give the bike a good cleaning and dry it thoroughly.  Spray light oil (WD40) into the exhaust ends and drain holes.  Pump up the tyres to the specified pressure.  Put the bike on the centre stand.  Now cover the bike.

Protect against Mice

If your storage area is dryer and warmer than outside you may get unwanted visitors crawling inside your bike and chewing the wiring as a pastime.  Block any access holes into cosy little nesting areas as far as practical and set mouse traps and check them regularly.

Look forward to next season

Here’s looking forward to next year with both bike and rider coming out of hibernation and riding in glorious sunshine!