Some Wintertime Bike Care Tips if You Ride

[skuuter]

Since I ride year round, and have done it for decades, here are a few Tips I have ended up with over the years......

* Wipe Your Wheels down with WD-40 on a cloth before ridin' on Salted Roads...it will help repel salt damage

* Armour All is good on Seats and Rubber Parts, but They really need to be kept sprayed with Silicone

* Check Your Tire Pressure religiously....Cold Temps will cup a tire that's under-inflated really quickly

* Your Trike will fair better the less times You pull it in and out of a warm place each day. Sitting out all day affects it less than the Temp changes

* Make sure Your Trike was waxed heavily before Winter, and Honda Polish, Plexxus, etc. is Your Winter Friend

* Keep Your Windshield and Lights clean....UV Rays love to attack through Winter grit

* Rinse Your Trike as often as Temps will allow...including underneath

* Keep snaps on Fender Bras, etc. smeared with grease, and remove the accumulated debri from behind them often

* I ride a lot of miles regardless of weather or season, and I change my oil about 1000 miles sooner in Winter...pulling in and out of Garages into the cold adds extra condensation

* Let Your engine warm to almost normal operating temp before heading out...also cuts down on unwanted internal engine condensation, and on some Trikes, easier on the Trans

Hope a Few of These Tips help.....Feel Free to add more....."Never Too Much Knowledge"........ThumbUp:wtg:

 

[skuuter]

Anyone got any others....???.....ThumbUp

 

[Lunchbox1983]

keep your battery tender hooked up between rides

 

[skuuter]

keep your battery tender hooked up between rides

Yep, Good One.....ThumbUp....in my case I am the Battery Tender...ride so much, I've never needed one.....:laugh:

 

[Ozarkryder]

If you ride on dry salted roads or, especially, in the slop, make sure you give your trike a very good wash before you leave it in a heated area. If you can't get to it quickly, it is best to leave it out in the cold. Salt will attack your ride less if it is suspended ice rather than in water, or if it is dry salt dust a cold trike and warm air will equal condensation, and when combined with the salt dust will lead to rust.

When we lived in snow country where salt was used I put the bike and trike away for the season, and didn't put it on the road until rain had washed the roads a few times in the spring. Seems no matter how well I thought I cleaned, in a few years I could always find signs of "the creeping crud" from salt.

 

[Saltywheels]

Skuuter: Great tips...even if I don't have to 'winterize' out here in the Los Angeles area. Ride year round of course.

 

[skuuter]

Skuuter: Great tips...even if I don't have to 'winterize' out here in the Los Angeles area. Ride year round of course.

Didn't Ya'll just get a "teensy-tiny" bit of Snow recently....???

 

[ronchi]

also when riding in cold temps,especially in early morning i use an anti fog spray on my glasses, face sheild and windsheild. lot,s of products out there. be safe ride safe enjoy !!

 

[Saltywheels]

Didn't Ya'll just get a "teensy-tiny" bit of Snow recently....???

Yeah Skuut, but I was enjoying lots 'n' lots of snow in UK & Europe at the time! And no surprise, I saw quite a number of 2-w still happily (?) moving along!:Biker:

 

[skuuter]

Yeah Skuut, but I was enjoying lots 'n' lots of snow in UK & Europe at the time! And no surprise, I saw quite a number of 2-w still happily (?) moving along!:Biker:

I bet the "True LAers" were havin' difficulties.....

 

[Juju]

Thanks for the tips, Skuuter! We generally ride year-round here in northwest Florida too, but we have had ONE COLD SEASON already! (Oh yeah, also, I'm a cold-weather wimp :blush Hoping for more good riding days soon!

 

[skuuter]

Thanks for the tips, Skuuter! We generally ride year-round here in northwest Florida too, but we have had ONE COLD SEASON already! (Oh yeah, also, I'm a cold-weather wimp :blush Hoping for more good riding days soon!

Explain a "Florida Cold Season" Girl.......:laugh:

 

[tomg]

That would be anything below 70 !!!!!

 

[skuuter]

That would be anything below 70 !!!!!

..........:laugh::laugh::laugh:

 

[Gorilla]

..........:laugh::laugh::laugh:

Stuuker we are SERIOUS we freeze at 60.

 

[sarge7882]

The lack of snow and ice is one reason I love living in Mississippi. We seldom get any ice or snow. However, this weekend, they are predicting 8 inches of snow for us. If you want to see some crazy driving, watch the news Sunday night or Monday morning. If we get this snow, I promise they will be showing our lack of driving skills on the news.

 

[Gorilla]

The lack of snow and ice is one reason I love living in Mississippi. We seldom get any ice or snow. However, this weekend, they are predicting 8 inches of snow for us. If you want to see some crazy driving, watch the news Sunday night or Monday morning. If we get this snow, I promise they will be showing our lack of driving skills on the news.

I bet they will. The biggest problem is the governments do not have the equipment to deal with the snow, because it hardly happens. Good luck sounds like a few days to stay home.

 

[sarge7882]

I wish I could stay home... I live close enough to walk to work and as long as at least one more person can make it we will be partially open for business. I'm not suppose to go in until noon Monday, but I'm sure I will have to go in at 6am due to this upcoming weather. It looks like it will be here in a couple of more hours. Wish us good luck.

 

[dmjtax]

Cold riding??

That would be anything below 70 !!!!!

Live in a suburb of Denver. Last Thursday it got to 55 and I had to run the Wife's trike to the bank. Chilly on the face but it felt good to be in the saddle again.

Dave

 

[rhino 2]

Went on my coffee run at 6:30 Am....19*....Only 3 miles, At noon the temps were at 30* And i had to let out my Sons Dogs, And a little shopping that was about 15 miles on that ride and it wasn't bad at all... Use the proper Heated gear and fear no cold.....

My personal record was 180 miles on my Suzuki Sv650....Started out in the single digits came back in the 20's....Won't do that again but then that was back in 1999, I was more stupider then' Then i am now..:xzqxz:....

 

[Phu Cat]

Let Your engine warm to almost normal operating temp before heading out...also cuts down on unwanted internal engine condensation, and on some Trikes, easier on the Trans

I've always felt letting your engine 'warm-up' (slop the oil around) for 30 seconds even in warm weather is a good idea. But your engine will generate less condensate the sooner it reaches normal operating temperature rather than just letting it idle. Riding easily for the first several miles is the best way to accomplish this. A "loaded" engine warms up faster than one idling or "no load".

What is "normal operating temperature"? Is it different for every bike? The answer to that question is "No". When I worked at the refinery I had access to lube oil engineers and they all agreed on this: That it takes at least 160 degrees F oil temperature to just START dehydrating your oil. Any termperature lower than that and you're accumulating moisture in your oil. But it takes keeping your oil at 160 degrees, or more, long enough to get completely dehydrated. That's why you may have heard "short trips are hard on a car" (or any internal combustion engine for that matter). Personally, I limit my engine load to 1/2 of redline for those first several miles.

PC

 

[Burnerboy]

These are great tips-Thank you!

my bikes put away for the season, BUT it's in a very cold garage.....I did change oil/filter, waxed entire bike, air in tires, and have lifted trike up off the wheels, stabilizer in fuel, tender on battery, and then pulled out my snow skies and hope to enjoy myself on the slopes this season...........

Ronnie