Winterize a B400

[Craig806]

Hello All, I'm about to put my dear B400 away for the winter in my parents garage. This is my first bike and my first winter with one. Can anyone provide a link to a good checklist and any b400 specific pointers?  Also point out anything I may have to do in the springtime to not blow it up. 

[canyonbreeze]

Put Sta-Bil or similar in the tank, run it a bit, top off the tank, drain the carb bowls.  Make sure everything is lubed to prevent corrosion.  Keep the battery charged. 

Being in Southern California winterizing is not an issue.  But medical issues have kept me from riding for a few months now.  The gas evaporates so you may need to top it off occasionally to avoid rust in the tank. 

[interfuse]

Here's a pretty good list of things you may want to do.

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/winter-storage.html

Personally, I only put stabil in the tank, get the tires up off the ground to avoid flat spotting and periodically charge the battery. But I usually sneak the bike out on a few of the nicer days during the winter.

[Craig806]

Great Checklist. It gets COLD in the mountains of PA where the bike will be stored so this little guy is gonna sit tight till the warm days of spring. Its a darned shame i sprained my ankle badly a few weeks ago... between that and an over extended stay at the mechanic my first riding season was incredibly short....

[canyonbreeze]

Nice list.  I didn't know about fogging oil.

[pmackie]

This thread had a bunch of opinions and routines...

http://forums.banditalley.net/index.php?topic=3391.15

[HD]

Fuel additives aren't really neccesary.

Just top the tank up to prevent it rusting, which it shouldn't really but its all precaution.

Then as said, drain the carb bowls, get the tyres off the floor and keep the battery topped up. Otherwise, maybe a startup every week or two for 10 mins may help keep the oil's viscosity?

[pmackie]

[quotemaybe a startup every week or two for 10 mins may help keep the oil's viscosity?][/quote]

Hey HD

Generally, I don't recommend starting your bike in the winter months, unless you can give it a good, long run...say an hour or so, and you can put it under load...so basically, take it for a ride.

In Short, no load start ups have the potential to do more harm than good. Almost 70% of engine wear occurs at start up. You need to get the oil circulating fully to all parts before the aggressive wear is reduced. Cold starts also tend to cause more soot and unburned fuel to build up in the oil. Unburned fuel can cause a reduction in the quantity and quality of lube oil left on the cylinder walls, etc., Short winter starts tend to hurt the lube oil and engine, not help it.

In dry, cold climates (like here in Cranbrook...already going to -17C this weekend) it's better to leave the old girl alone, once you've it put to bed for the winter. See the comments in this thread for more details.

http://forums.banditalley.net/index.php?topic=3391.15

[HD]

Some good points in that thread. Thanks for the heads up. Thats why I put the question mark, cos I wasn't too sure.

Thanks :up: