Winterizing

@Peter_IND I use the triumph cover but there are loads out there. Tickle chargers the same again i use the Oxford optimiser. my fuel i drop in a stabilizer or even a cap of two stroke.

 

An independent dealer told me just to use a cotton sheet, so that's what I do. Indoors of course.

I now fill the tank with E5 petrol rather than E10, but don't use any other additives. Never had a problem.

My battery tender is a Dr.Bike badged one which looks exactly like an Oxford unit. Used it for years despite being a "budget" unit.

Other than that it gets a good clean, polish, lube and spray significant parts with ACF50.

 

Loads of covers available but choose one that is both water proof (if stored outside) and breathable.
If it is stored outdoors then ACF50 treatment (or something similar) is a must IMO.

I use a CTek charger but there are some other good makes. Prior to that I used a cheap unknown branded one which didn’t last a year.

Putoline stabiliser for me, simply because it’s available locally and E5 fuel which is 5% ethanol here in the UK.

 

Where are you storing it, unheated garage for example and what's the weather like over the winter, cold, damp etc?

 

I've just put my bike away for the winter.

I drained the tank and put the petrol in my car, come spring I'll just get some fresh fuel and put it in. Fuel stabiliser here in the UK is not far off the cost of a tank of fuel so seems a waste of money unless you have no other option. If you are going to leave fuel in it the handbook for my bike says to fill the tank to the brim before laying up.

As has been said previous if you're just covering the bike use cotton sheets which allows the bike to breath, rather than trap any condensation.

I spray my bike with a rust inhibitor after making sure it's clean. Because I don't ride in winter I use a product called FS365, which is an emulsified oil. You simply spray in on using the spray bottle it comes in, the water suspension evaporates off, leaving a thin coat of oil behind to protect the bike. Others use stuff like ACF50 or XCP but I prefer FS365 as it comes off with just a normal wash in the spring.

Here in the UK we get very varied weather through the winter almost on a daily basis ranging from below zero temperatures when there's a high pressure, through low pressure systems off the Atlantic giving us snow which normally only lasts a few days at most or relatively mild spells with rain when the air has a lot of moisture depending on the temperature. This means the bike will often get wet from condensation as the weather changes when warmer moist air comes into contact with a cold bike, so I put my bike in a sealed vac bag with a small 12v dehumidifier inside running off a timer to keep the bike dry no matter what the weather is doing.

For the battery I use a proper motorcycle battery tender which monitors the battery and tops it up as necessary and leave it plugged in all the time. Mine's an Optimate 4 and I have a SAE fused lead connected direct to the battery that came with it. The leads for both the Optimate and dehumidifier just feed through the open end of the vac bag, which I then seal up using a budgie chord. She'll stay here until spring.

 

What AJC said, I use cotton valanced bed sheets, super king size. Always use E5 fuel.
Oxford oximiser 900. This applies to both bikes, Bonnie and Aragon 900.
Both bikes ready to use, salt and weather permitting.

 

I also used two cotton bed sheets to make a bespoke cover for the ZZR as it sleeps on the Skylift. I’m fortunate in having a garage attached to the house and while it’s not actually heated it houses the CH boiler so it never gets below 4 or 5 deg even in the coldest spells and condensation isn’t a problem. The Triumph and Husaberg get used all year round so don’t require covers.

I bought a bottle of stabiliser for under £10 and add it to a tank full of E5. I also make sure the treated fuel gets through to the injectors by running the engine after adding it. It’s cheap insurance IMO.

What is a “proper” motorcycle battery tender? The CTeK I use can handle anything from a small 7ah bike battery to the 190ah batteries on the SUV, wet, sealed or gel LA batteries with smart charging covering normal, maintenance and deep cycle recovery if required but admittedly they’re not the cheapest option.

 

The OP asked about using a trickle charger, which covers a whole range of products so I was just suggesting he gets a motorcycle specific battery tender to be on the safe side. It's also important to get one that's suitable for the battery you intend using it on, especially now that lithium batteries seem to be getting more common?

 

Direct replacement Lithium batteries (should) have a built in BMS so they can be charged by the vehicles charging system but the important thing to remember is NOT to use a smart/intelligent charger designed for LA batteries as they have desulphation modes that use higher voltages and pulse charging.
Having recently suffered a small house fire, due to a Li Ion battery igniting whilst on charge, which thankfully was caught just in time I won’t be going anywhere near a Lithium replacement for any of the bikes no matter how much weight they save.

 

Same here, so I don't go mad with covering the bike and not totally covering it lets the air circulate. In fact, the sheet is probably more for keeping the dust off!

This works for me - door to kitchen is on the right, and yes, the stop sign is to help park the car! It's probably the only garage in the area actually used for a car!!