Motorcycle Maintenance for Winter

Let’s face it, motorcycle maintenance can be expensive if you don’t keep up on it. However, if you can change the oil in your family car, you can winterize your bike and save a great deal of money. Consider taking the initiative to spend a couple of hours to save yourself more money and time in the long run with these simple tips:

Change Oil

You certainly don’t want acid in your crankcase during the off season. Instead of having it eat away at expensive parts, take the extra time to change it as you prepare for winter storage. Supply your bike with a new filter and refill the crankcase with fresh oil to ensure a smooth ride for spring.

Fuel Stabilizer

Go ahead and add fresh fuel to the tank. Make sure that the station in which you buy from offers quality gas for your bike. We all know what low quality or the wrong fuel can do to a nice vehicle, and it will do the same to your bike. Be sure to add the stabilizer with fresh fuel since it works the best this way.

After filling up and incorporating the stabilizer make sure you drive the bike home. This will give your motorcycle the chance to have the fresh fuel and stabilizer running through your bike.

A Little Elbow Grease

Now many people think you might be taking it too far, but a little WD-40 has never hurt anyone. Consider adding a light coat of this over the entire bike. This will prevent your bike for any chance of corrosion. You might also find that fishermen do this to their boat as well as watersport enthusiasts do it to their jet skis and other watercrafts.

Performing this task not only keeps your bike in good shape, it makes your bike look great. Make sure that before riding you give the bike a nice wash in the spring. Your bike will look brand new. And, while you’re at it, be sure to get your chain if you’re running low on spray chain lube. This will keep rust from getting to your bike during storage.

Find a Safe Place

We all know what the harsh conditions of weather can do to any vehicle. Be sure to consider where you will be parking the bike. Make sure this location will keep your bike from any weather conditions that would harm the bike in any way. To consider an extra step, be sure to cover the bike, even though it may be already covered in your garage, aka the man cave.

Check Your Battery

Occasionally throughout the winter, it would be a good idea to routinely run the bike. This will let you know that the battery stays charged and the bike is running smoothly despite the harsh cold weather outside. A great way to keep this up is by utilizing a battery maintainer. This is a great way to keep your battery charged where needed without frying the battery altogether.

These tips are a sure way to keep your bike running in top shape even when you’re not riding. Consider to follow these tips to avoid any unfortunate situations of your bike running into any maintenance issues. Often, these issues can eventually lead to trouble on the road that could lead to a motorcycle accident. Act this winter and ensure the wellbeing of your bike and your safety.

What other tips do you find the most useful?