Winter and our bikes

[NinjaHawk]

I am trying to prepare for the FREEZING cold Minnesota winter. I just pushed over 8000 miles and I will probably get an oil change, lower pressure in the tires and put a shipping blanket over it in the garage. I never thought of plugging the exhaust and intake, why would you do that? Just for dirt and such?? Would it be bad to just leave the battery in it, or should I take it out. If I do take it out should I just leave it in the house so it doesn't freeze? I am REALLY not looking forward to the winter, I really wish I could ride year round

[rrzxter]

Plugging the bike's mouth and ass will help keep moisture out and you can get a battery tender and leave the battery in the bike. You hook it to the battery, plug it in the wall and it will trickle charge when the voltage drops and shut off when it's charged. I picked one up from Harbor Freight for about $10.

[NinjaHawk]

sweet, I will have to check it out. Unfortunately I don't have an outlet in my garage...

[rrzxter]

No problem, pull it out and stick it in the basement or somewhere with the tender.

[Rodsct]

Originally Posted by BoatTrashBill

And during those winter months if you get to a point where you cant stand it and you just have to ride ,me personally , i would stick to the side/back roads. I found ice twice last year , and it was on the interstate , beneath the overpasses , i didnt find any on the back roads though. it was a little nipply when i left the house and i thought it was a light drizzle but it turned out to be sleet , i didnt notice really until the guy at the gas station pointed to all the ice on the front of my jacket.

Yep, the ice is what stops me from riding more than anything else, maybe my hands freezing in spite of the gloves too. It’s the ice you can’t see the one that can get you!
Interesting avatar, man!

[Rodsct]

Originally Posted by kawiforlife

I would trade you those few days for a nice ride on those country rodes in mid november. Man i miss the change and the excellent twisties on those country rodes. The way i have to practice down here is put my mini cones in a backpack and head to the fairgrounds parking lot and do a shitload of figure 8 until the police chase me away. It really sucks down here to ride. I have a trackday in november and a track school in dec. I havent rode my bike in 2 months. Its time to put some serious hours on the bike.

Thanks, man. It looks like the grass (roads) is always greener (better) on the other side of the fence (Stateline).
It’s been raining one hell lot in the few past weeks, and I haven’t been able to ride much.
And yes those twisted winding roads here are excellent for riding; they are very nice I’m even planning to take a picture of my bike in one exact spot I’ve thought about, to place as my avatar here.
I think you need a good place to ride!
Come up to NC any time!

[Rodsct]

Originally Posted by rrzxter

Plugging the bike's mouth and ass will help keep moisture out and you can get a battery tender and leave the battery in the bike. You hook it to the battery, plug it in the wall and it will trickle charge when the voltage drops and shut off when it's charged. I picked one up from Harbor Freight for about $10.

Is it really necessary to keep the battery connected to the tender all the time? Isn’t it enough to charge it once or twice a week?

[Rodsct]

Originally Posted by NinjaHawk

I am trying to prepare for the FREEZING cold Minnesota winter. I just pushed over 8000 miles and I will probably get an oil change, lower pressure in the tires and put a shipping blanket over it in the garage. I never thought of plugging the exhaust and intake, why would you do that? Just for dirt and such?? Would it be bad to just leave the battery in it, or should I take it out. If I do take it out should I just leave it in the house so it doesn't freeze? I am REALLY not looking forward to the winter, I really wish I could ride year round

Hi
I used to cover the intakes and exhaust of my bike, until rust started to appear last winter around the exhaust. I prefer to just check it from time to time assuming that the bike is indoors.
Nice place you live in! I lived there for a few years and I loved it, toughest winters I’ve felt in the US! I would still live there if my girl wouldn’t had the great idea of dying on me!
She was from your city. I still have many fun memories from there!

[rrzxter]

Originally Posted by Rodsct

Is it really necessary to keep the battery connected to the tender all the time? Isn’t it enough to charge it once or twice a week?

I'm sure either is sufficient. But the tender is a "set it and forget it" deal. Shuts itself off when the battery is charged.

[Rodsct]

Originally Posted by rrzxter

I'm sure either is sufficient. But the tender is a "set it and forget it" deal. Shuts itself off when the battery is charged.

I see, then it depends on the battery charger’s model and features. Mine does have a “float mode” but I think the little cooling ventilator would fail soon if I leave it on. It doesn’t shut itself off automatically .

[rrzxter]

There's this one:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42292

And this is the one I got, worked perfect last winter:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=99857

[Rodsct]

Originally Posted by rrzxter

There's this one:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42292

And this is the one I got, worked perfect last winter:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=99857

Interesting charger you got there, I see you can permanently install it on the vehicle, then you just have to connect it to the wall outlet. Cheap too!
Thanks

[zaneyzrex]

STA-BIL in the FULL tank,run for a few minutes to circulate the gas/stabil
battery on a tender or out
anti-freeze up to par
i would push mine outside 10x a winter (when i lived in PA. where i couldnt ride 350 days a year ha ha) and start it up and let it run till warmed up... helps burn off moisture but then mine was also stored in the basement which was kinda heated/dry
you can plug the exhaust/intake if youre worried about mice etc..