| Winter [message #448851] |
Sat, 24 September 2005 00:45 |
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Hello.
I plan to ride my bike (Suzuki Boulevard) well into November. Then, I hope
to take it at least around the block every couple weeks through the winter.
And start riding again regularly in early March. I will put a Battery
Tender on it for sure. Do I want to change the oil in the fall? Or wait and
start fresh in the spring?
Thanks,
eric
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| Re: Winter [message #448854 ] |
Sat, 24 September 2005 02:12 |
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I coulda sworn Eric Oden <erico49 [at] yahoo.com> typ'd:
>Hello.
>
>I plan to ride my bike (Suzuki Boulevard) well into November. Then, I hope
>to take it at least around the block every couple weeks through the winter.
>And start riding again regularly in early March. I will put a Battery
>Tender on it for sure. Do I want to change the oil in the fall? Or wait and
>start fresh in the spring?
Yes.
I would do both because the oil probably needs to be changed after the
summer riding season and after the abuse you're planning for it during
the winter it will *certainly* need to be changed.
My advice is to store it for the winter unless you can take it out for
at LEAST a ten-mile ride regularly and often. Otherwise you're
introducing contaminants that will ruin your engine prematurely.
-Don
--
"Ladies and gentlemen take my advice.
Pull down your pants and slide on the ice."
-- Sidney Freedman
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| Re: Winter [message #448857 ] |
Sat, 24 September 2005 05:08 |
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"Don Fearn" <pooder [at] charter.net> wrote in message
news:g869j1154e9eo7p7hmm1o2bg9q72tbir7s [at] 4ax.com...
>I coulda sworn Eric Oden <erico49 [at] yahoo.com> typ'd:
>
>>Hello.
>>
>>I plan to ride my bike (Suzuki Boulevard) well into November. Then, I hope
>>to take it at least around the block every couple weeks through the
>>winter.
>>And start riding again regularly in early March. I will put a Battery
>>Tender on it for sure. Do I want to change the oil in the fall? Or wait
>>and
>>start fresh in the spring?
>
> Yes.
>
> I would do both because the oil probably needs to be changed after the
> summer riding season and after the abuse you're planning for it during
> the winter it will *certainly* need to be changed.
>
> My advice is to store it for the winter unless you can take it out for
> at LEAST a ten-mile ride regularly and often. Otherwise you're
> introducing contaminants that will ruin your engine prematurely.
>
> -Don
I agree, but then in Minnesota, there usually isn't much sense in running a
bike in December-Feb except in extrordinary conditions. Since I don't run
the bike, I usually leave the old oil in until after I first get it running
in spring. This habit dates back to when I had older bikes and/or bikes
that took a bit of cranking to get them going in spring. That first
go-round can end up putting a lot of fuel in the oil if it doesn't fire
right up, not to mention whatever condensation accumulated over the winter.
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| Re: Winter [message #448858 ] |
Sat, 24 September 2005 05:48 |
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I coulda sworn "LJ" <laremoDELETE [at] yahoo.com> typ'd:
>I agree, but then in Minnesota, there usually isn't much sense in running a
>bike in December-Feb except in extrordinary conditions. Since I don't run
>the bike, I usually leave the old oil in until after I first get it running
>in spring. This habit dates back to when I had older bikes and/or bikes
>that took a bit of cranking to get them going in spring. That first
>go-round can end up putting a lot of fuel in the oil if it doesn't fire
>right up, not to mention whatever condensation accumulated over the winter.
That's a bad idea, storing a motorcycle with old oil in it. Any
condensation in new oil that accumulates over the winter would be
mostly pure water, mostly . . . as opposed to combustion by-products
AND added water that would be there in old oil. As for fuel in the
oil, if it takes that much cranking to get going, something is wrong
that should be fixed . . . .
Another option (one that I haven't used, but it might be a good one)
is to change into the CHEAPEST oil you can find for winter storage,
and then after the motorcycle is first started in spring, do a change
back to the good stuff for the riding season ahead.
As for running the motorcycle in Dec-Feb in MN, I often get a ride
somewhere in mid-Febrary, if conditions allow a nice long ride. If
that happens, I usually don't re-winterize the motorcycle, because I
know that mid-March there will usually be another thaw, leading into
pretty good riding by late March. I've been burned by this a couple of
times, though. Can't predict MN winters very accurately.
-Don
--
"Ladies and gentlemen take my advice.
Pull down your pants and slide on the ice."
-- Sidney Freedman
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| Re: Winter [message #448859 ] |
Sat, 24 September 2005 07:33 |
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"Don Fearn" <pooder [at] charter.net> wrote in message
news:sgi9j19ehgo2tb0bjffo53asumcfk6j2jf [at] 4ax.com...
>I coulda sworn "LJ" <laremoDELETE [at] yahoo.com> typ'd:
>
>
>>I agree, but then in Minnesota, there usually isn't much sense in running
>>a
>>bike in December-Feb except in extrordinary conditions. Since I don't run
>>the bike, I usually leave the old oil in until after I first get it
>>running
>>in spring. This habit dates back to when I had older bikes and/or bikes
>>that took a bit of cranking to get them going in spring. That first
>>go-round can end up putting a lot of fuel in the oil if it doesn't fire
>>right up, not to mention whatever condensation accumulated over the
>>winter.
>
> That's a bad idea, storing a motorcycle with old oil in it. Any
> condensation in new oil that accumulates over the winter would be
> mostly pure water, mostly . . . as opposed to combustion by-products
In a perfect world, I agree it is definitely best practice to change at the
end of the season and then again in spring, but the reality is that by the
time I give up on riding, it's usually too cold to change the oil. Most of
the oil sits in the sump, I have a dry cluch and I will likely trade every
three or four years. In addition, I don't let my oil get real bad to begin
with and even if I did change the oil, there's always going to be some
residual. Maybe it's just laziness. Anyhow, I've never had an oil
consumption issue resulting from this practice.
> AND added water that would be there in old oil. As for fuel in the
> oil, if it takes that much cranking to get going, something is wrong
> that should be fixed . . . .
as I said, old bike. JB weld on the tank, couldn't use stablizer so it
started hard and ran crappy until the 2nd tankful started working it's way
through. I also had a v-twin honda that jsut plain started hard 1st thing
in spring. Started and ran fine after that.
>
> Another option (one that I haven't used, but it might be a good one)
> is to change into the CHEAPEST oil you can find for winter storage,
> and then after the motorcycle is first started in spring, do a change
> back to the good stuff for the riding season ahead.
>
If I were to run my bike on opportune days in winter, and there are a few,
I'd be sure to run it for at least a half hour, but as it stands, my
insurance coverage has a 3-month layover so I don't even think about it.
> As for running the motorcycle in Dec-Feb in MN, I often get a ride
> somewhere in mid-Febrary, if conditions allow a nice long ride. If
> that happens, I usually don't re-winterize the motorcycle, because I
> know that mid-March there will usually be another thaw, leading into
> pretty good riding by late March. I've been burned by this a couple of
> times, though. Can't predict MN winters very accurately.
>
> -Don
> --
> "Ladies and gentlemen take my advice.
> Pull down your pants and slide on the ice."
>
> -- Sidney Freedman
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| Re: Winter [message #448878 ] |
Mon, 26 September 2005 05:14 |
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Don't run it unless you can get it thoroughly warmed up. A short run
will just put more water in the oil. Pickling with fogging oil is
probably desirable, but I have never seen any problem not doing it.
Just be sure the engine is good and warm when you shut it down before
putting it away. Goose the throttle on shutdown to purge the engine of
combustion products on shutdown.
Leave the battery in the bike, but charge it for an hour every couple
of weeks or put a trickle charger on it. Be sure it is full of
electrolyte. Keep the battery cold. Don't bother taking it out.
Internal battery corrosion is minimized by cold temps.
Put a gas stabilizer in the last tank of fuel. Drain the carb bowls if
you can so when you start it in the spring it will start like it was
run yesterday.
Why do insurance companies insure for a year (supposedly) and then
arbitrarily prohibit operation in the winter months? I agree there
are sometimes sunny days in Feb in MN.
My .02 cents worth......!
A MN engineer
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| Re: Winter [message #454961 ] |
Tue, 27 September 2005 00:22 |
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"nrp" <daneth1 [at] earthlink.net> wrote in news:1127704475.494862.320230
[at] f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:
> putting it away. Goose the throttle on shutdown to purge the engine of
> combustion products on shutdown.
>
> My .02 cents worth......!
> A MN engineer
Well, I'm not an engineer, but my daddy always told me NOT to goose it on
shutdown... you suck in an extra shot of gas, it doesn't get burned, and it
very effectively washes down your cylinders walls, eliminating the oil
film.
JMHO, but it makes sense to me.
--
'77-'90 Various Jap; '90-'03 1990 XLH (the Bitch; sold to brother 2003,
stolen 2005)
'03-now 2003 FLHT (Battlewagon)
"I'd rather be hated for what I am than to be loved for what I am not."
-who knows, saw it over a desk in Aviano, Italy
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| Re: Winter [message #454972 ] |
Tue, 27 September 2005 05:15 |
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"nrp" <daneth1 [at] earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:1127704475.494862.320230 [at] f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Don't run it unless you can get it thoroughly warmed up. A short run
> will just put more water in the oil. Pickling with fogging oil is
> probably desirable, but I have never seen any problem not doing it.
> Just be sure the engine is good and warm when you shut it down before
> putting it away. Goose the throttle on shutdown to purge the engine of
> combustion products on shutdown.
>
> Leave the battery in the bike, but charge it for an hour every couple
> of weeks or put a trickle charger on it. Be sure it is full of
> electrolyte. Keep the battery cold. Don't bother taking it out.
> Internal battery corrosion is minimized by cold temps.
>
> Put a gas stabilizer in the last tank of fuel. Drain the carb bowls if
> you can so when you start it in the spring it will start like it was
> run yesterday.
>
> Why do insurance companies insure for a year (supposedly) and then
> arbitrarily prohibit operation in the winter months? I agree there
> are sometimes sunny days in Feb in MN.
>
> My .02 cents worth......!
> A MN engineer
Not to mention nice days in January, but my agent arbitrarily set up the
policy that way to save me a few bucks. I didn't realize it until two years
later (having operated my bike on a few aforementioned days). By then, my
daughters had raised enough trauma with my insurer that I didn't want to
draw any attention by making a minor change in coverage, if you know what I
mean.
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| Re: Winter [message #454997 ] |
Wed, 28 September 2005 01:22 |
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"nrp" <daneth1 [at] earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:1127704475.494862.320230 [at] f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
snip
> Goose the throttle on shutdown to purge the engine of
> combustion products on shutdown.
snip
You were doing well until this came up. This is very poor practice on a
carbureted engine and completly useless on FI engines.
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| Re: Winter [message #455048 ] |
Thu, 29 September 2005 05:02 |
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"This is very poor practice on a
carbureted engine and completly useless on FI engines."
Please elaborate your contention. Why would it be useless on carb or
FI engines?
I'm not suggesting a big goose but instead trying to leave only
unburned hydrocarbons and air trapped in the cylinder. Otherwise the
water vapor left over from previous combustions can combine with the
nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides to make some pretty powerful acids.
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| Re: Winter [message #455052 ] |
Thu, 29 September 2005 07:25 |
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"Battleax" <unavailable [at] thistime.net> wrote in news:roidncEZ-5iCW6TeRVn-
ug [at] magma.ca:
>
> "nrp" <daneth1 [at] earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:1127704475.494862.320230 [at] f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>
> snip
>
>> Goose the throttle on shutdown to purge the engine of
>> combustion products on shutdown.
>
> snip
>
>
> You were doing well until this came up. This is very poor practice on a
> carbureted engine and completly useless on FI engines.
>
>
>
I agree.
If the carbs have accelerator pumps then you have a bunch of excess gas in
the cylinders. Suddenly goose the throttle on my bike and let it snap to
idle can kill the engine because there is too much fuel.
Fuel injected? You are going to be dumping fuel into the cylinders no
matter what.
The amount of gas that is trapped in the cyliders after a normal shutdown
is lost either by virtue of a valve being open or by ring leakage.
If it were me I would make sure the bike is up to normal operating temps
and do a normal shutdown. The heat will keep the gas as a vapor longer
allowing it to escape into the atmosphere as vapor and not condense into a
liquid.
pierce
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