The rains and snow are coming and although for a few this does not prevent them from going out on the weekends with the motorcycle (in fact, we actively look for snow and mud, for example) there are many others who they leave it parked until the sun arrives and the mild temperatures in your area. Both equally respectable options, I’m more of coating myself in the snow and mud with the motorcycle during the winter, but who doesn’t like it, because it will be so comfortable while I go through the odd hardship.
What many do not imagine is that the motorcycle, even if it is not used it needs maintenance In other words, prepare it to spend several months without moving. That then come the disappointments and the cranes when we return in the spring for her on a Saturday morning and it does not start, the wheels are deformed and another series of questions that we will see now.
If, on the other hand, you are one of mine and you are not going to stop riding a motorcycle for a single weekend, come what may, here is an article on how to face the cold winter with the greatest possible warmth in the body!
Before I begin, I want to make a small note. To carry out some of the advice, it might be necessary to buy material or accessories, but think that if we have to invest €100 in keeping our motorcycle well stored with its winter storage done, that can save us a bill of between €200 and €400 (if not more) easily at the turn of spring.
Cleaning
Motorcycles, like any vehicle in this world, acquire dirt while they roll on our roads or paths, Although we usually “give the motorcycle a water” there are often dozens of places on our motorcycle that do not receive the cleaning that we think and above all, they do not receive the cleaning that they really need.
This is the first critical point (although it may seem silly) for our motorcycle to enjoy good health in the winter in human terms. Washing it in great detail and care is essential,wash the entire motorcycle, the rims, the tires, the forks, the plastics, the seat, the wheel arches, the suspension anchors, the swingarm… in short, it is understood where I am going, right? wash it allSponge and neutral soap, toothbrush for the nooks and crannies, and a cloth to thoroughly dry the entire motorcycle. But be careful, pressure washing can harm the motorcycle if we do it wrong, it is always recommended to wash the motorcycle with a normal hose (like the one in the garden) and neutral soaps (there are specific ones for motorcycles and cars).
Well let’s think that we already have the motorcycle fully washed, before drying it, we can do one more step and thus we save drying twice. Wash the chain.
Why do I say washing the chain separately? Because this part of the motorcycle needs special care because if we don’t do it right, it will rust inside during the winter and we will find ourselves with a necessary change of drive kit in spring (if we realize its bad condition) or with a possible accident caused by a broken chain (if we don’t realize its bad state).
My recommendation to leave it nickel-plated for the winter is the following, it is how I do it with every offroad outing on my Trail and I can say that I have extended the life of my chain a lot. What we have already removed the thickest dirt with the first wash, what I usually do is give it 3in1 or clean chains (whatever is closest to hand) to dissolve the globs of fat that usually form, I wait a few minutes and hit it with water and a brush, I repeat the process until I am happy with the cleanliness. Once I’ve done that, I usually give it abundant 3in1 so that it penetrates well through all the joints. This liquid “displaces moisture” so by doing this and waiting for it to dry we will have a chain with very little moisture inside, well cleaned and lubricated. The last step that I usually do is already the obvious one, add plenty of chain grease. What this fat will do is keep moisture out for the rest of the winter.
tires
The next point I want to address is one that very few people do, if you do, congratulations, there aren’t many like you. This point is tire care. I am sure that like everything in life, there will be those who think that this is nonsense, but I recommend doing it. In this point I will give three levels of carestarting with the maximum and going up to what I consider “the least you can do” for your wheels. (Small note, the tire is what binds you to the ground and saves your life by having them in good condition)
Level 1 buy a tire protection fluidleave the tires as clean as we can before applying it and once dry, apply the liquid. Regarding the tire pressures, check them so that it is in the proper pressure and leave the motorcycle raised on the stand, with both wheels in the air is the best. Finally, the covered motorcycle including tires to avoid as much contact with light as possible.
Level 2 This level for me is the same as 1 but without the protective liquid.
Level 3 If we are too lazy and we are not going to do all of the above, at least maintain adequate pressureneither more nor less in the tires, if we have an easel, use it if not, move the bike a few cm as often as possible to avoid deformations in the tire (this is not a myth, it happens and it is dangerous and annoying).
The important things are, that the tire is in a place clean and drywith the less contact with the ground possible as well as a proper pressure constant so that it does not deform (if it has contact, move the motorcycle), get as little direct sunlight as possible and if we give them the protective liquid we do them a favor. All this will encourage the tire to lose its adherent qualities at a much lower rate, so that it does not suffer and does not deform. Actually, we do ourselves a favor.
Drums
Not using a motorcycle viciously kills your battery. Using it regularly keeps it alive for many years. But there are other things that help kill the battery fast and they are cold and humidity. If we have the bike on the street, go ahead the ideal is to disassemble the battery and store it at home, where it will be used exactly the same as on the street, but it will also be warmer and drier. If in addition to that we put a battery maintainerwe’ll make sure that when we reassemble her, she has plenty of power and health to give us another spring and summer of enjoyment.
If we have the motorcycle in a garage, we can mount the battery maintainer directly while riding the motorcycle. Starting it from time to time and having it idle for a few minutes does more damage to the battery than anything else, because it spends more energy to start the engine than it manages to charge with the alternator. If we want to start it from time to time (which is good for the motorcycle) let it be for a little spin, for example, to check pressures at the gas station. And so we kill 2 birds with one stone.
Where to store the motorcycle
Obviously the answer is logical for anyone. In the garage a thousand times better than on the street. Basically due to the issue of cold and humidity. I do not develop this point further because I have already been giving reasons during the previous ones, so, I move on to the next one.
Grease mechanisms well
The brake cables, clutch, joints, bearings, hub, shock absorber anchors, electrical connections… there are endless places on the motorcycle apart from the chain that does not hurt clean well and re-grease with the appropriate grease for each thing. If we do this, we will be able to extend the useful life of these mechanisms, which will save us money in the long run and, above all, it will save us something that hurts me more than money, and that is getting stuck on a road or having an accident. Doing it regularly will also make us aware of the state of the motorcycle and we will be able to prioritize and anticipate repairs.
3 in 1
I discovered this not long ago, but I want to pass it on to those who don’t know because over time if we do this the bike will have a much better birthday than if we don’t.
Basically what I do is smear the entire motorcycle with lubricant spray type WD40. First I spray it all over and then I “dry” it with a rag to remove the excess. The film that remains will protect the plastics of the motorcycle, the rubbers and the wiring for a while and also leaves the bike beautiful and shiny. There are other products that I have tried, such as the car dashboard cleaner that, in addition to moisturizing plastics and rubber.They leave the bike smelling nice (although it doesn’t help that it smells good). Lately I have become more fond of the dashboard cleaner, but both conventional products have the same effect.
cover the bike
If we can, we should have the motorcycle covered whether it is outdoors or indoors. Go ahead, if it is out in the open, covering it should be one of the actions that we have as obligatory. Not covering it on the street means that in a short time we will have a motorbike that looks and mechanically aged.. But hey, the fact of the matter is that if we cover it in the garage, we prevent dust from settling in it, if a product is spilled without us noticing, the damage will be assumed by the canvas and not the motorcycle, if there are birds , we avoid acid depositions that damage paint and other materials.
And lastly, although it has nothing to do with being covered, if we keep the motorcycle in an area with a field, it is worth placing mouse traps. As an anecdote, I tell you that last week in the official Yamaha service they released half a kilo of dog food from the air filter box of the Ténéré 700 from a relative That mouse already had reserves for several winters… So, be careful with those things too.
