Things to do before first run of the year.....

What do you guys recommend doing prior to the first run of the year after a long winter storage?

 

change oil and filter....absolute must.

check all fluids and lubricants...make sure chain is clean and lubed and hasn't collected all kinds of dirt and dust sitting around...

check all electrical system items (headlight, signals, horn, etc.)

verify brake functionality and tire pressures...

just off the top of my head.

 

All good things. Thanks for the reply!

 

Personally I think you should change the oil and filter BEFORE you put it up for the winter. Better to let fresh oil sit in your motor all winter than dirty old oil. JMHO

Phil

 

Yes, but after sitting all winter, the oil that is in there will have been broken down as well, so it has to be changed.

 

Polish it up real nice. Pay attention to everything as you go. Watch for leaks and loose fastners. I was personally in danger of losing the sidestand switch and the RH shock.

 

It breaks down just sitting there? So the motor oil that's been sitting unopened in my garage since last year is no good anymore?

 

Oil doesn't break down sitting, it breaks down from being used, going up to high temps and back down threw use, being pressed threw the oiling system cleaning particulates and keeping things lubed. Synthedic's mineral level's don't break down as easily and that's why they're much better in engines. You just don't want to break in a new engine with Synthedic, you need the rings to seat in.
So you should be more concerned by the mileage the oil has been used. If you only have 1500 miles on your last oil change and the bike is going to sit 5 months or so, it should be fine to continue using until needing change.

My biggest recommendation is to not let the engine sit that long without running it . Your biggest concern with sitting is that thin film of oil keeping a coating on your moving parts will slowly settle off the parts, leaving you with a closer condition of metal to metal rubbing on startup after so much time, (not good.) This will really shorten your bikes life.

Firing it up for awhile at least every few weeks will also keep varnish buildup from happening in your carbs and keep those needle and seats from sticking and all things working better and the petcocks.
Even when I lived in Colorado I never really "put my bike up" for a long winter of not running.

 

By the way, nice looking XJ1100 ya got there, I call mine Big Hoss, after Hoss from Bonanza, Big Powerful, yet Subtle, but don't cross him as he can surprize you.
My engine, Kerker 4 into 1, K&N's
[/img]

 

Thanks, Russ.

I was hoping that PghXJ would respond, though. So I could get the reasons why oil breaks down by just sitting there. I'm pretty curious. :?:

 

sitting in a sealed container it doesn't break down, but if it is run and then sits, it does. This is why they say 3000 miles or 3 months for automotive oil changes. It matters not, do what you wish. My friend who works at Valvoline will continue to give me oil at cost, so it doesn't matter much to me. I change it when it has been ridden a lot, or if it has been in the engine for 3 months or longer.

 

Condensation:

Because the engine isn't sealed there will be condensation from temperature and humidity changes.

When the engine is run often it cooks the condensation off. When it sit, water ends up in the oil.

If you run the engine there will be contaminants in the oil. Add the water from condensation will form acids which attack things.

On the other hand - if you run the engine a lot the additives in the oil get depleted and it gets loaded up with combustion products making it a less effective lubricant.

Hence the 3 months/ 3000 mile rule of thumb.

 

Ding , ding , ding we have a winner ! This is the most harmful reason why you should start with fresh oil in northern climate or after the bike has sat for extended periods . Hot weather , very cold weather are not too bad for things , it's the ups and downs with the moisture involved in the time you store your bike to the month or so before you awaken the beast that are bad for your oil

 

thank you gentlemen for clearing that up. I actually came on here to explain it better and mention that the humidity and temperature changes cause condensation and moisture in the oil...

but you both did it for me.

Thank you.

 

Check your tire preasures.

I had mine out. I started it and rode it around the block to see how she felt. Dangerously low tire preasures to the point it was VERY difficult to drive.

Inflated tires, and she was ready to go...

Last night it was 2 C, sunny, and I had to get out... was out for maybe a bit over an hour. Had an absolute blast. She loves this cool dense air.

Woot.

 

PghXJ,

Since when does oil have a SELL BY date? Sounds like a total waste of fresh oil to me.

Phil

 

So I don't have to throw away the oil I bought a year ago and haven't used yet. Well, that's good. 8)

 

it's not a sell by date. As long as it is sealed in the container it is fine. As soon as you expose it to the air, it begins to degrade. Being in the engine will degrade it's protection properties. The moisture in the air reacts with the oil and will break it down over time. That is why they give a recommended time interval as well.

 

Oil is hydrophobic. Water and oil really don't do too much together. Add in the bi-products of burning fuel and you can get an acid.

If you change your oil and park the bike the levels of these biproducts will be low (rediduals not removed by the oil change). IF then you can't create much of an acid. No problems there.

If you ride your bike on fresh oil you add biproducts to the oil mix and start the clock ticking on the 3 month game.

IMHO? Change the oil in the fall - ride 3000 miles and change it. Nothing wrong with the oil itself.

 

See, now that makes sense to me as well, to say it'll gain moisture and break down is too general, it's really a variable. Where do you live? Does the bike sit outside for 6 months facing getting snowed & rained on etc?
Or in a garage?

For all intense and purposes you have an enclosed engine casing, everything coated with oil and without fresh air breathing on anything. Your certainly not going to get much transistion of air through the case breather or an open intake valve. It takes air to build moisture, and everything's coated in oil, so a very mi-nute moisture if generated isn't going to penetrate oil. But obviously this is within a reasonable amount of time.

As I mentioned earlier of not letting it sit too long because that thin film will eventually drop to near nothing, then yes moisture could then get to the metal surfaces. So it depends on the oil thickness you use, and it's drop off rate of metal surfaces. (I don't know what that is for a given thickness) it's also how, where and how long it's stored. But I've pulled apart an engine that sat for a year, and everything still had oil all over it.

But yes, I would say if your bike sits 5 months, in weather, I also would put fresh oil in it before bringing it back to the street. By then the tires can get dry rott cracks too.

Now here's a topic I know will stirr a lot of you up, is the 3000 mile oil change. That's a myth that has been generated in unison by the oil company's and manufactures to get the consumer to spend more unnecessarily. 2 reason's of what has told me this is.

About 2 years ago I saw a special about oil changes being a requirement at 3000 miles. The motorsports journelist showed comments from several top mechanics and owners of performance shops, as well as remarks from 2 Nascar Shops crew cheif's and at Don Schumacher Racing NHRA teams speaking with Lee Beard, and all agree'd oil doesn't really need to be changed at 3000 in street cars, one mechanic even said 12,000 miles, which I wouldn't do, but most said from 5 to 7,000miles for regular oil's, synthedic's can easily do 10,000 and more.

The second reason is my father was a mechanic throughout the 50's and 60's and he did oil changes around 5000, and taught me the same, that was the general synopsys back then. In my first car a 1966 Elcamino, I always did them around 5000, sometimes I've gone to 7500miles, and my car went over 200K before needing a rebuild, and that was because old leaded fuel became unavailable.

In the modern world they have purified process' etc and oil is better today then 40 years ago. Plus machining is much more accurate and cleaner, tolerances are smaller today, and pathways for oil galley's and bushings less restricted. So with all these things better, why would you need to change oils more often then 40 years ago??

I've dragraced many bikes for over 20 years, and run them at least 5000 miles between changes, and have never had a problem oil related. But I do run nothing but synthedic's in my bikes.

You have to understand that the biggest thing company's have learned to rape more money out of people in this day and age is the consumable. That's why you can buy a PC printer dirt cheap, they get you buy wanting $35. dollars for a cartridge, which of course will run out after printing 30 times. It's true with cars, cell phones and drug company's, they want you to take a pill the rest of your life.

But then again I'm synical as hell, I used to know an old guy who partner owned a couple oil rigs in Texas and he said that whole oil embargo BS around 1973 was all made up. There is no shortage, and I think it's BS today. I met a guy who's neighbor's son came back from Iraq, he said oil is equal to like 40 cents US a gallon. We are getting raped. I believe the push to change is because of polution and global warming is becoming serious.

 

Agreed, in most instances the 3,000 mile interval is a crock. Most automobile manufacturers recommend 5-7.5 K miles except for extreme duty (read dirt and dust) circumstances.

Also, highway miles are a lot easier on everything than city miles which are about the worst you can do.

I do my cages at 3 months. Always have, always will. Rationale is that at 3 months if they haven't got a lot of miles they have a lot of stop and go and need it even more so.

I do the power tools (lawnmower, chipper and snowblower) annually.

Only time I ever had a problem related to oil is when a seal failed on an oil cooler and my former wife slowed down to 75 because it "sounded funny".

 

Don't forget the credit card companies...there are a lot of people who will pay the minimum payment every month for the rest of their lives.

 

I usually warm up the engine a little before changing the oil. I take it this should be avoided for the first oil change of the season?

 

Two reasons to warm up a bit before changing oil:

1) get the debris mixed into the oil so it comes out instead of sitting in the pan - waiting to mix into your new oil.

2) warm the oil so it thins and you don't have to wait a week for it to run out the drain hole.

Both especially true for that 1st oil change when all the crap has had all winter to settle out and it's cool enough that the oil flows like tar unless you warm it up.