Motorcycle Winter Storage Checklist

21 items · Lifestyle · Medium difficulty · 2 hours

Store a motorcycle for winter: treat the fuel, change the oil, keep the battery charged, protect the tires and keep mice out of the exhaust.

• Add fuel stabilizer and fill the tank with fresh fuel on your last ride

  A full tank leaves little room for moist air, which helps keep a steel tank from rusting inside.

• Ride a few more minutes so the treated fuel reaches the carburetor or injectors

  The ride home from the gas station is usually enough.

• Drain the carburetor float bowls if your manual says to
• Change the oil and filter while the engine is still warm

  Used oil carries acids and moisture that would otherwise sit inside the engine all winter.

• Wash the bike and let it dry completely

  Road salt, bug residue and bird droppings keep eating into paint and chrome while the bike sits.

• Clean and lube the chain, if your bike has one
• Wax the paint and wipe a protectant onto bare metal and chrome
• Test the coolant's freeze protection on a liquid-cooled bike

  A cheap coolant tester shows the lowest temperature it is good for. Compare it with the coldest night where the bike will sit.

• Fog the cylinders if the manual recommends it for long storage
• Park it away from water heaters, furnaces and anything with a pilot light

  Fuel vapor and an open flame in the same garage is a fire risk.

• Inflate the tires to the pressure in the manual or on the frame sticker
• Put the bike on stands so the tires are off the floor

  Without stands, roll it a little every few weeks so the tires do not rest on the same spot all winter.

• Connect a battery maintainer, or take the battery out and keep it indoors

  Use a charger made for your battery type. Lithium batteries need one that supports lithium.

• Clean the battery terminals before you hook up the maintainer
• Plug the exhaust outlet and the air intake to keep mice out

  A wad of steel wool or a rubber plug works. Hang a bright tag on the handlebar so you remember to pull them.

• Cover it with a breathable motorcycle cover

  A plastic tarp traps moisture against the paint and metal.

• Lock it, especially in a shared garage or storage unit
• Ask your insurer what storage coverage makes sense

  Theft, fire and a falling shelf can all damage a bike that never leaves the garage.

• Don't start the bike just to idle it for a minute over the winter

  A short idle never gets the engine hot enough to drive off the moisture that combustion leaves inside.

• List the repairs and parts you want done before spring

  Winter is when parts arrive without costing you riding days.

• Tape a spring start-up note to the seat

  List the exhaust and intake plugs to pull, the battery to reconnect and the tire pressure to check, so nothing gets missed before the first ride.

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