Who hasn't put their bike to bed yet?

Up here in Vermont, the motorcycle parking spots are pretty empty. Today, there are only 2 bikes out there at work and one of them is mine. During the summer there are a dozen or more.

Who's still riding in the northern areas? When are you planning to put it to bed for the winter? For me, the windshield helps. I'm going to keep riding as long as I can.

mikeg

 

Still riding in Mi here. I don't have a set date when the roads start to get icy and unsafe then I will put it away for the winter. Even then if we get a warm up to 50's or better and things clear up I will probably take it for a spin.

 

I haven't winterized mine yet, though I will be soon. The weather's supposed to be pretty nice (relatively speaking) the latter half of this week in this part of Minnesota, so I'll probably ride on those days. After that, it's unlikely it'll be much above freezing in the mornings again until March.

In the peak of the riding season of summer, we have about 7 or 8 people who ride bikes in to the office. Now, we're down to just two on the days it's not raining - myself and one other guy who also has less than a 10 mile commute to the office.

Both of us ride Yamaha's. All the Harleys and other big cruisers seem to have been put to bed early 8)

 

I probably won't winterize mine since I belong to BACA and we ride year round (unless the roads are too bad).

 

My Norton is put away. The '83 is undergoing surgery, won't really "need" winterizing. My daily rider ('81 550 Seca) is still operational and will be until temps regularly drop below freezing. Supposed to be 56 (Detroit area) later this week, I'll probably get to ride to work a few more times yet this season.

 

Bravo,

What is BACA?

mikeg

 

A good cause if ever there was... http://www.bacausa.com/ or is there a DIFFERENT BACA?

 

I'll never put my bike to bed. For the past 14 years, I've lived in climates that allow year round riding. Although, the winter months require some decent cold weather gear, I'll still ride it. The only things that keep me from riding my bike is the chance of freezing rain and heavy snow. But where I lived in NC and now in NV, there is not much of a heavy chance of it.

 

BACA is Bikers Against Child Abuse which is a very good cause. It is worth checking out the nation web site.

 

i won't put mine up for good. i'm 30 miles from the canadian border in ny. but i pull it out during winter when able.

 

i still have my honda out, rode it to work today. I ride year round whenever there isnt ice on the roads. but the yamaha is undegoing serious reconstructive surgury.

 

I was out yesterday.

dave

 

We're still riding here in Minnesota. I don't really ever put my bikes "away". Just run a little Seafoam thru the carbs and put'm on a float charger. That way they are always ready to ride.

 

that's what i've been doing for a couple of years too

 

I'm glad to hear from the die-hards! I just got my bike six weeks ago, and it has been in the shop after the first two rides on days one and two of ownership. Broken extractor in the master cylinder and a kind mechanic who moves at his own pace.

Anyway, I'm hoping for one or two more rides before I put my new toy to bed for the winter. Ordered a bunch of parts from Chacal to keep me busy with winter projects when the time comes.

Looking at heated grips for next season to ride as much as possible.

Thanks for the motivation to keep riding.

 

I haven't put mine away yet . today its 37°f Gonna get the garage heater rolling . waiting for a warnm sunny day to ride it again. I will most likely have it in the cocoon by december 1st for sure.

 

heated grips are overated in my opinion, but if they made a heated seat id be all up on that!

 

You can get the seat fitted with a heater.

http://www.checkcorp.com/seat-heater/sp ... rcycle.asp

 

I'll wait until the first snow. Once the salt is on the pavement then it's time to hibernate

 

I live in South Carolina so putting mine to bed never happens. (what ever happened to global warming? hehe) There are days I won't ride when if its too cold. For me, 45 degrees or below is rough, mainly because I don't have good riding clothes and am cold blooded by nature.

The good thing is that in this part of the country the riding season is long and we don't generally have to worry about snow.

 

Yeah pretty much ditto here.
Y'all think going out and starting her up for a few minutes once a week, on the weeks I don't ride, is sufficient to keep her happy and ready?

 

Still riding mine. At least I'm trying to. She wouldn't start this morning. Had to have the wife give me a ride to work. When I got home she started right up. I guess it was just too cold. I wonder if I've got cracks on my carb boots that are getting worse in the cold. Can someone tell me if I have the procedure correct for checking for boot leaks with propane correct: With the bike running I blow propane around the boot. If there is a leak the engine will rev up? So, everything else the same a bike with leaks at the intake boots will idle rough whereas the same bike w/o the leaks will idle higher/better?

 

I live outside of Philly and ride 45 miles to work and so far its been as cold as 32 for the morning commute. I have some cold weather gear and would like to extend the season but I dont have a windshield for it although I'm considering getting one if I can find one. If I do find one I'm good into the 20's,also I need to find a solution to keeping my hands warm. Any suggestions on fairings or gloves?

 

Yes, but there are other factors. Badly worn throttle shaft seals can disguise themselves as a leaky boot. Those stupid rubber plugs that block off the vacuum ports can dry out and crack, too. Blowing propane at it won't detect throttle shaft seal issues unless they're real bad. Plus these things are a bit cranky in the cold, my 550 is in a good state of tune and it wants to be difficult on cold mornings too. Also, the petcock can be "lazier" on cold mornings, try it on "PRI."

 

The 750 starts right up in the cold... 2/3 choke, warm up for a minute, and it's good to go. I noticed that fuel mileage dropped a bit. But... it runs great when it's 35F outside!

Gas hit $2.09/gallon this morning, so dusting off the cage sounds pretty tempting... But I'll resist the temptation as long as I can, or until the weather goes nuts.

:mrgreen:

 

It's calling snow for tomorow, but I think we will have a few more warm days before the real snow flys. Besides, I want to put another 400 Km on her, so to start the new year off with the 36,000 even.

 

The PO spent the better part of a summer a few years back completely rebuilding the carbs. The only rubber he didn't replace was the diaphragms. My petcock is bad, I'm always on PRI. I'm going to hope its something some liquid electrical tape or black RTV can fix.

 

Ice, snow, or heavy rain will dampen my enthusiasm for riding. Cold mornings don't stop me, as long as the roads are dry. I just gear up and go.
Weather was not an issue today, however. Sunshine and 60 degrees! I was off work today due to the Boeing strike, (I work for a supplier) so I went on a ride with my friend from church (a striking machinist) on his K1200GT. Today's trek rivaled some of the nicest summer rides I've done! Tomorrow's forecast is similar to today, so I will likely ride to work.
I tried "winterizing" the bike the first year I had it. After a while I decided it wasn't worth it, because I kept finding opportunities to get out and ride a little here and there. The battery is only a year old, and she usually starts on the first crank with full choke. If not, a quick prime does the trick. So she sits in the garage waiting patiently, but usually not for long.

 

I live close to jdpesz (Vancouver, WA) I too ride all year. My commute is about 6 miles so unless it is snowing, or there is ice or snow on the streets I ride. Rain! Who cares. I have a one piece rain suit that keeps me abundantly dry. The temps here are usually quite moderate. A cold day is in the 40's. However, when the east winds blow from the east side of the state the temps can dip into the high teens but usuallythe 20's or 30's. I don't ride if the temp is going into the low 30's.

 

If I told you guys what the weather's like here in Adelaide at the moment, I think you'd probably raise a lynch mob and come looking for me!

 

i've just been waiting for a reason to move there. i think i might of found it.

 

Rode Friday and Sunday.
58 degrees and sunny.
Forcast is for 8" to 16" by this evening so looks like the season maybe over.
I ran a tank of Seafoam through HER already in prep for winter.
The tank is full, Seafoam in place.
I'll leave the battery in for awhile just incase, you never know.
When the battery comes out I'll change the oil and wait for the snow to melt.
More time to wrench.

 

Well, a week ago i though i was going to put her away!!!
Then the sun came out, i took her out.
Then i thought, 'Hey, i know i'll put that rear seat pad on'.
1 day later i had to test the seat pad, so took the wife out for a ride (only a few miles).
Then today, woke up and it looked cold and frosty. "What better day to test for that 'cold-starting' issue i used to have before cleaning the carbs".
And so here i am still riding her.
Hmmm maybe next week.

 

Baltimore/DC here. Last week the XJ650 had a cold no-start day.
Friday is supposed to be 66 degrees so will give it a try.

I have already filled up and used fuel stable.

I use a trickle charger every couple of weeks.

Carbs are off the parts bike awaiting re-build.

 

I had a real good ride last week. Cold, but good. Pretty much ditto on what HalfCentury said. I have a full tank and am debating on truly winterizing. I may just take the battery in and charge every so often. (no electricity in the barn where the bike is) and put some fuel stabilizer in.

All that said, I'll ride down into the low 40's but that's it. I can take the cold, but I sure can't take the ice.

 

I heard that stabil when in the carbs is bad so if you use it make sure you empty the bowls, and in the spring empty the tank and use the gas for the lawn mower or car, an article by paul glaves ( a BMW tech) states that stabil gunks up as its being burned in the spring causing issues

I will try to find the article for you

Dam its 26°f out right now maybe I'll go start mine up for a few started fine @ 37°f lets see how low she will go before mine won't start. heaters not in the garage yet.

Found this video on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G77BXjI5mcc

 

Frost on the ground this morning in Grand Rapids, MI. Good bikers ride until there's ice on the parking lot at work.

 

since I havent rode my xj yet, I will keep working in the garage thru the weather changes and whenever I finish the only thing stopping me from riding is going to be rain or snow....but then again might be spring b4 im done anyhow sigh....

 

Still have some driving left here in Nova Scotia...don't know for how much longer. I just came back from Quebec last weekend, they had a foot and a half of snow where I was..YUK! not ready for that yet!! But If the heavy rains slow down should get almost another month!
Cheers Mac

 

Going to be mid 60's and sunny this weekend and nearly 75 on Monday and Sunday here in Kentucky. Not quite done for the season just yet. However, the weather has been cold since this past Friday (was 70 on Thursday and went for a 200 mile ride). Gave me a chance to take the tank off, strip it down and paint it. She'll be riding a with a new deep metallic red look this weekend.

 

Same here,if the rain ever stops,I'll ride until I see ice.Weather's supposed to be good tomorrow.I'm looking forward to riding to work!

 

The more I read all those post above the Mason-Dixon Line the more I love NC...I ride nearly all year long with a minimum of cold weather gear. Neck and finger tips get a little cold sometimes but not unbearable.

 

Well - I hadn't gotten around to putting the Maxim in storage mode for the winter yet (lazy), but looks like I don't have a lot of choice anymore...

Snowing outside right now in London, Ontario -- they say we could get 15cm worth of snow squalls tonight.

Okay, now I know it's not going to stick around all that long... Southern Ontario doesn't get REAL snow until December usually... but still -- good enough a sign for me *sigh*

Well - not so much as putting her away, as a chance to get started on the winter projects! :wink:

 

Riverside Ca. Today it was 95 degrees, Nope I'm not even thinking of putting the XJ to bed. I do need to start thinking of changing the oil, Its been a few months and I have been out dirt riding on the turbo. The only snow the bike see's is when I go up to the mountains.


Sean

 

Snowing here in Central New York, but i got some new winter gloves in the mail today so I at least have to get one more ride in before i'm ready to start cleanup!

 

amen dino! it's great to be in california! the only time i'm chilly on the bike is during those morning commutes. i'm trying to find a decently priced windshield for the two "cold" months we see around here.

 

Not yet, was out for a while again today. Winter still staying away here in the Great White North. I'm getting on a plane to Maui in the morning, though, and by the time I get back in 2 weeks, I suspect the tarp will go on. One never knows, because we've had times when the snow stayed away until mid-December, so if the gods are smiling, I'll get my first ever November ride when I get back.

 

I'm putting mine to bed this weekend. I don't mind riding in the cold, actually I do, but until I get some riding pants or chaps the morning commute is getting to be a bit too cold for me.

 

nope i ant puttin mine to to bed at all it my everyday driver, although i dont really like to drive in the cold ither

 

I'm with Mac, still riding in Nova Scotia.....

Left her home 1 day last week, ice on the van windshield and wet roads...
figured there were still a few pockets of ice waiting for me....

Should be good for a couple of more weeks, keeping an eye on morning temps, got a few bad spots on my commute that can ice up... don't want to repeat last years black ice incdent