Winter storage

It's getting close to that time of the year again and I thought I would say a few words about putting your baby into hibernation.

The 2 most important things to do are stopping your battery from sulfating and prevent the carbs from getting gummed up. For the battery what you need to do is remove it from the bike and store indoors. Either hook up to a battery tender or once a month hook up a 12 volt light for a few minutes and then charge. Both ways will prevent sulfating. For the Carbs you need to drain the gas, for when it evaporates it leaves behind green sludge that plugs everything up and leads to an expensive carb overhaul in the spring. I like to add fuel stabilizer to a full gas tank and run a few minutes to work the stabilizer into the small passages in the carbs, then shut the gas off and idle till it stalls (a little choke gets the carbs even drier).

Other things to consider in your bikes hibernation is rust. For the engine a little storage spray down the carbs during cranking (kill switch off), or a tablespoon of oil in the spark plugs, or I have even heard of running transmission fluid in the gas, will prevent engine rust. For the gas tank, you should leave it full of gas with stabilizer or coat the inside with oil. For the rest of bike, you can put it away washed and waxed with the exhaust plugged and the entire bike covered and stored in a dry place.

Now you can relax and wait till spring, hopefully it's a short winter. Lynn