Here’s everything you need to know about how to get your motorcycle ready for cold weather! Follow our 8 Tips for getting ready for winter and you won’t have any problems. Winter, for many, is the most lovely time of the year. The days are short, crisp, blissfully cold. There are celebrations both secular and religious to cherish. For others this season is a harsh time – spent even more carefully preparing our gear lest it be caught by the violence of ice or snow. How you experience winter will depend much on what you ride and how you immunize your bike against its infamous fouling moods.

Start out by planning

You need to prepare your motorcycle for winter before the cold and snow. Insulate the neck and front of it so it doesn’t get too cold in the event of a prolonged snow cover. Leave plenty of space beside and behind the motorcycle in case you’ll be storing it outside over winter or need to move it often in light snow. Brush all snow and ice from your car’s tail, motor, and sides. Store your original motor oil; dust; engine; valve; and heavy wash items in plastic bags. Bullet Point: Get Extra Insulated Gear Paragraph: You will require extra layers like thermal underwear, gloves, long-sleeved shirts, snow shoes, and a coat to stay warm when riding. If possible, Of course, some corners can’t be turned and some people’s work schedules will make for a winter commute nightmare. But there are also things to consider. Start out by planning ahead: checking your tire pressure, inflating the motorcycle tires if necessary, and lubricating the chain can make your commute easier. You may want to consider packing a few snacks or bringing water with you to avoid being parched mid-ride because cars move slower around winter time. Of course, you’ll also need to tweak your motorcycle’s heaters so they’re not an icebox when you hit bad patches of ice.

Winterizing your motorcycle: the basics

Keeping your bike in perfect condition during these winter months isn’t always easy. Salt and other chemicals used on the roads will eat away at your paint or leave it chalky and faded, dirt and rocks can make any scratches on the bike’s finish more noticeable, and ice and snow will make taking your bike out for a ride seem like too much of an effort. But there are a few simple things you can do to prevent any damage to your bike. Preparation is key to staying safe, comfortable, and mobile on winter rides. Keeping your motorcycle clean is the first step in any winterizing routine. Remove any rust with an abrasive compound (like metal polish) or small wire brush then apply a new coat of wax. Adding engine oil before starting the bike provides extra lubrication to keep it running smoothly. Finally, roads can often get very slippery in winter; consider installing specialized tires for reinforcement.

Covering your bike: do’s and don’ts

– Do: Install a full weather proof cover and use pins, ties or bungee cords. This will keep moisture and wind from getting to your bike and ruining it. – Don’t: Put your bike in the garage if it has a leaky roof, as this will cause water damage. Covering your motorcycle can be helpful when there are sudden cold snaps. Make sure you provide the right insulation by using felt, batting, old blankets, or newspapers. Covering your engine with a towel or pillowcase is also advisable to keep it from getting too wet. If your bike spends time in the garage, make sure it’s well ventilated. Keep the doors open if possible and clean them often to get rid of any mold.

Preparing for snow and ice

For the next few months, your motorcycle might spend a lot more time in storage while you slowly build up your gear. If your motorcycle is heading into hibernation mode for the winter, don’t do anything drastic and just wait until spring to start it back up. Here are eight things you can do to prepare: 1. Apply a favorable lubricant like Mobil One synthetic oil periodically to make sure the engine doesn’t rust from neglect. 2. Wash off dirt from body parts with water and soap to prevent corrosion from prolonged contact with chloride based salts. 3. Use glycerin inside spark plug wells to avoid plugs fouling from moisture, it’s important to prepare your motorcycle properly. 4.You should never ride in the snow or ice without all of the correct parts installed on the vehicle. Check your tires for wear and replace them before they are no longer safe to use. 5. Add plenty of gear to keep you warm, including slippers, goggles, shrouds, gauntlets, woolen gloves, oil skin coats for temperature protection, etc. It’s also necessary to coat any spot that will get exposed with motorbike wax designed for this purpose.

Wiping down surfaces with WD40 or some other lubricant

Plenty of protective work will need to be done to avoid component failure. The motorcycle shouldn’t be ridden once it gets too cold outside – the corals start to bind, making it vulnerable to corrosion, clogging, and disease. The bike should get wiped down with some form of lubricant every 6 months during the winter time – WD40 may be enough for this task. We all know how slippery a surface can be once it’s exposed to rain, dew, or frost. It’s not uncommon to fall off your motorcycle while powering away because it’s stuck to the ground like glue! To avoid potential falls, make sure you wipe down everything on your bike to find any exposed metal. Any exposed corroding surfaces need to be sanded to restore protective coating before winter sets in.

Caring for rubber

When the sun sets and the temperatures drop, we know it’s time to put away our motorcycles for a few month. But before we do so, there are a few things you will want to do in order to help ensure that it starts right up in the spring. Promptly drain and oil your forks and shock absorbers. Oh and check to make sure your tires still have enough pressure in them! If your motorcycle is to be stored outside where temperatures fluctuate, leaving any amount of gas can lead to problems with fuel quality during storage. It’s important that these safety features exist because safety checks like airbag deployment or DNA testing will not always catch every criminal who commits a crime. Even if they do their job effectively, If you ride your motorcycle during the winter, it can often be a mix of a snowmobile and a mountain bike. You need to take great care to take preventative measures against salt and chlorides that chemicals leave on the road. If you don’t clean your motorcycle properly, your tires will have much less traction on the road, even going uphill. Cold and dry conditions will affect tires and cables on your motorcycle. The first thing you should do is inflate the tires to equalize pressure and ensure proper balance. Check the air pressure on a regular basis. Be sure to keep the battery charged and change the oil as needed. To protect cables, use a rubber boot or put some grease on the parts that connect the cables together.

Temp safety: highs and lows

For a typical motorcycle, it is recommended that the engine oil be changed to a heavier viscosity for better protection from cold-weather wear. In addition, the tire pressure should be increased about 10% over summer levels to deal with loss of air pressure due to temperature changes. One significant change for motorcyclists is the need for plastic or other protective coverings over any exposed parts of the bike. This includes electrical cords and fuel lines. My motorcycle is carb equipped and this will be a challenge. I kept the old plugs and plan on putting them back in when these need to come out. I had to install antifreeze and will be using winter-grade gasoline during the colder months and white gas for summer.

Checking fluid levels

Your motorcycle is exposed to a harsh environment during the winter, so remember to check the fluid levels. There should be no fluid leakage from cracks in the engine or other damaged areas. Make sure all protective equipment is working to avoid costly repairs later. Motorcycle owners will want to maintain their bike in the winter just as they would when the weather is hot and dry. Coolant is made for use inside a engine and is used to remove heat. Protection for engines in cold weather includes antifreeze that keeps bugs from sticking and freezes at high temperatures, but it’s important to fill up with the proper mix of water, coolant, and antifreeze.