Winter storage

Living in the Great White North, eh, I'm looking for tips and advice on storage. I did a search on winter aand storage but came up empty.

Storing yourself:

What is required in terms of preparing the Swing for storage? Battery, Oil, Gas, etc. ? I hope to ride to near the end of November and start up again in April. I would also be able to start and run it periodically if this is advisable?

What should I look for if I decide to store it at a shop instead of on my own?

Thanks!

Chris

Nothing from me.

365 day riding period normally for me! Ice stops me but normally only for a day or three!

Gloating - not too helpful

Trust me, you wouldn't be winter riding here!

I forgot to add that My garage is not heated but is attached to the house so does not get quite as cold as outdoors - garage temp could go down to minus 20 C or minus 5 or 10 F

Waspie wrote:

Nothing from me.

365 day riding period normally for me! Ice stops me but normally only for a day or three!

x

Running now and then not good idea, unless you go for 25 mile ride.

Follow BigBird-----in additional I would change oil on day I store, spring run 100 miles or so and change oil again. These modern batteries hold a charge a long time......disconnected from bike. I am from far north.....when living there never put bike up, as there are days/times you can use. Salt=BAD.

Thanks bigbird, I figured you have the answers for this one. What about anti freeze? My Swing is 2006 - 5,000 Kms - I don't believe anti freeze has been changed

Thanks

bigbird wrote:

cjuzda wrote:

What is required in terms of preparing the Swing for storage? Battery, Oil, Gas, etc. ? I hope to ride to near the end of November and start up again in April. I would also be able to start and run it periodically if this is advisable?

What should I look for if I decide to store it at a shop instead of on my own?

Hi Chris. I have a similar setup as yours with an unheated attached garage.

Here's what I do.
On the last riding day of the season, fill up the Swing with fresh gas, add some SeaFoam or StaBil to the gas, and go for a long enough ride to get the oil warm.
Put the bike on its centre stand, change the oil and filter, start the engine to let the new oil circulate for about 1 minute, and shut the engine off.
Remove the battery, leave it in a cool spot in the house, and put it on a battery tender type device once a month over the storage period.
Leave the Swing on the centre stand and sit on it occasionally in the winter to remind yourself what a ridiculous climate we live in.
Next spring, pop in the battery, cycle the ignition 2-3 times before starting to bring up the fuel pressure, and away you go. Don't forget to bring your tire pressures back up to spec.

If you don't have to, don't store it at a shop. It costs too much, they say they'll keep the battery on a tender, and they won't.

I'm guessing we're not talking "far north" of the same country !

john grinsel wrote:

Running now and then not good idea, unless you go for 25 mile ride.

Follow BigBird-----in additional I would change oil on day I store, spring run 100 miles or so and change oil again. These modern batteries hold a charge a long time......disconnected from bike. I am from far north.....when living there never put bike up, as there are days/times you can use. Salt=BAD.

Just to clarify what cjuzda said, that i agree with completely - The reason you want to change your oil is so the old oil that is full of corrosive deposits won't have a chance to damage the rubber seals nor cause varnish to build up. I would definitely use sta-bil, not sure of seafoam has the properties needed to keep the fuel from breaking down.

x

I am from northern WI---bikes can be still used in winter. Hondas do start when real cold, have always ridden all winter, lived in Germany/Japan/Korea/Italy/US. In south now and it sucks----dangerous to ride anyday.....and then there are the dirty bathrooms and really horrible fast food.

I am from northern WI---bikes can be still used in winter. Hondas do start when real cold, have always ridden all winter, lived in Germany/Japan/Korea/Italy/US. In south now and it sucks----dangerous to ride anyday.....and then there are the dirty bathrooms and really horrible fast food.

Thanks bigbird!

[quote="bigbird"][quote="cjuzda"]What about anti freeze? My Swing is 2006 - 5,000 Kms - I don't believe anti freeze has been changed

Thanks

cjuzda wrote:

The owner's manual says to change antifreeze every 2 years. Yours is definitely due.
Use the Honda Type 2 premix (blue). It may be cheaper at a Honda auto dealership than at a Powersports. Or not. It's the same stuff.
Follow the service manual exactly for the procedure to get rid of any trapped air. It's easy to do.

I'm familiar with Wisconsin weather. In Ontario, the problem is very low temps plus a highly fluctuating temperature, so yes, on some days it can warm up enough to ride but side streets are almost always covered with snow/ice and main roads are absolutely covered in pure salt/salt water running in the streets. NOBODY rides here in Dec, Jan, Feb. The odd person will get their bike out if the weather holds for a couple of days and the roads finally dry out but to me it's not worth it if I just have to store it again for another month.

Come on Global Warming!

john grinsel wrote:

I am from northern WI---bikes can be still used in winter. Hondas do start when real cold, have always ridden all winter, lived in Germany/Japan/Korea/Italy/US. In south now and it sucks----dangerous to ride anyday.....and then there are the dirty bathrooms and really horrible fast food.

What I read on BurgmanUSA is that rodents have a tendency to like openings on scooters that aren't used in the winter. They make nice cozy homes once filled with straw and grass. I'm not sure if that's a problem on a Silverwing, or not.

Chris

Based on my experience with rodents (mice) I doubt they are concerned about the brand!

Daboo wrote:

What I read on BurgmanUSA is that rodents have a tendency to like openings on scooters that aren't used in the winter. They make nice cozy homes once filled with straw and grass. I'm not sure if that's a problem on a Silverwing, or not.

Chris