Outside Winter Storage Tips

[Guest]

What are the do's and dont's of storing a bike over te winter, its held outside and is totally at the mercy of all the elements the great british weather is going to throw at it so any advice would be great!

P.s.

My Dt125re seems to cut out when ging from neutral to 1st after its stood for a while, i have to leave it running and rev it a bit for ages before i will work, what is the problem ?

thanks guys/gals

[Ingah]

What are the do's and dont's of storing a bike over te winter, its held outside and is totally at the mercy of all the elements the great british weather is going to throw at it so any advice would be great!

P.s.

My Dt125re seems to cut out when ging from neutral to 1st after its stood for a while, i have to leave it running and rev it a bit for ages before i will work, what is the problem ?

thanks guys/gals

 

Get a cover. Minimum.

My CG did that yesterday, admittedly i hadn't been revving it for long first - i put it down to the freezing cold night (there was still a little frost/ice on the road...)

Possibly related: The engine in a CG125 takes a lot longer than you might think to warm up - i wouldn't be surprised if yours was similar

[Guest]

does it cut out as sson as you engage gear ?

if so it could be where its on the sidestand that the switch sticks and the bike thinks the stand is still down...

as fot storage try getting a cover ( even a patio table cover or tarpaulin ......) lube your chain often ....

[Guest]

thanks for the quick reply.

yes the 125 cuts out as soon as 1st is engaged, could the only problem be the auto side stand down cut out ? or could it be a problem with the engine?

Ok so i have a cover, (a soft sheet with a water proof cover ontop), my friend mentioned something about covering everything in wd40 to stop water build up.

Where do you not spray wd40, or can it go everywhere ? i'm thinking along the lines of all metal, can it go on the painted surfaces to ? like the tank?

do i leave petrol in the tank, and oil in ? could this cause any problem ?

thanks again

[Guest]

wd40 is ok for things but NOT THE BRAKES !!!!!!!!!!!!

and the stand switch is designed to cut the engine if the stand is still down when the gear is engaged .....how long you thiking of leaving the bike?

try wedging the bike up without stand and try it overnight and see what happens

[Ingah]

thanks for the quick reply.

yes the 125 cuts out as soon as 1st is engaged, could the only problem be the auto side stand down cut out ? or could it be a problem with the engine?

Ok so i have a cover, (a soft sheet with a water proof cover ontop), my friend mentioned something about covering everything in wd40 to stop water build up.

Where do you not spray wd40, or can it go everywhere ? i'm thinking along the lines of all metal, can it go on the painted surfaces to ? like the tank?

do i leave petrol in the tank, and oil in ? could this cause any problem ?

thanks again

 

Petrol-wise: Depends on how long you'll be leaving it for unused. If you do not want to drain the tank though, i would fill it up because apparently this is better. Petrol can go "off" if left in your tank for a period of many months.

WD40 (water dispersant): I do this too, whenever i feel like it. As with TimR though - Not anywhere near the brakes - but otherwise i tend to use it absolutely everywhere there is metal to rust. I can't see the need to spray onto painted areas though.

Oil: I've never heard of anyone removing the engine oil over winter.

Disclaimer: I'm not an experienced rider. I read a lot though

[Guest]

wd40 is ok for things but NOT THE BRAKES !!!!!!!!!!!!

and the stand switch is designed to cut the engine if the stand is still down when the gear is engaged .....how long you thiking of leaving the bike?

try wedging the bike up without stand and try it overnight and see what happens

 

ok so the wd40 wont eat anything ? i'll certainly not spray the old brakes ; ).

i'll do what you reccomend about the stand, but is that the only possible problem, just to stop me from worrying about a possible nackered bike .

The other bike is going to be left probably till feb/march when hopefully the roads arent icy so i can do my test again

cheers

[Guest]

as said how long you leaving it for

Petrol .... If two stroke ... fill with neat petrol ...... as if left with oil in it petrol will evaporate and the oil will absorb moisture and cake up and block things

Or drain it fully but you do run the risk of it rusting the tank up

four stroke drain or fill

Oil in engine .... again it can abosrd moisture over time and mayonaisse up but if the engine is started and left to run for a short period of time regulary ( at least once a week) thenm no issues this also keeps the battery topped up

wd40 on painted surfaces just gives it an oily residue

try the stand issue first and then if that dont work we can go from there

eliminate one possible and then trouble shoot onwards

[Guest]

ps welcome and stick a hello up innewbies if your staying to give the other resident nutters someone to talk to

[kwakkwak]

get some of this:

http://londonbikers.com/news/2990/acf50-anti-corrosion-formula-for-motorbikes

Even if you're not riding it over the winter it will protect it. 1 can will do 2 coverings of a Virago 535 to give you an idea. I've used it for the last 2 years for both bikes and it really does work.

You can get it from Busters. http://www.busters-accessories.co.uk/searchResults.aspx?style=0&kw=ACF-50

[Guest]

wd40 is ok for things but NOT THE BRAKES !!!!!!!!!!!!

and the stand switch is designed to cut the engine if the stand is still down when the gear is engaged .....how long you thiking of leaving the bike?

try wedging the bike up without stand and try it overnight and see what happens

 

ok so the wd40 wont eat anything ? i'll certainly not spray the old brakes ; ).

i'll do what you reccomend about the stand, but is that the only possible problem, just to stop me from worrying about a possible nackered bike .

The other bike is going to be left probably till feb/march when hopefully the roads arent icy so i can do my test again

cheers

 

if you spray the bike in WD40, the tank/plastics will look a little oily, but will clear once you give a wash when you bring it out of storage, you may get a little smoke off the engine and exhaust, as they burn the wd40 off, i did after leaving an ER-5 whilst aboroad for a 4 month tour... thought the bike was on fire, til i remembered i'd covered it in WD...

get some chain wax and spray the chain, making sure you've covered the full length, not just what you can see, also the side and centre stand pivots.. this stuff drys hard, and white, so you can see where you've done and won't fly all over your back wheel.

and if you can access electricity outside, connect up an "optimate" charger to keep the battery in top condition, otherwise you may have a flat battery in spring, but only if the bike is out of the wet..

[Guest]

Or you could get yourself a "Handy tent", therefore being able to do jobs in winter, like a pop up shed...