Last ride of the season?

A few pictures from a short ride today. I think this may be it until next year.





Notice in this one I have the bars turned to the right. I did this to show my friend with a Street Glide that this bike won't tip over. Last week he was cleaning his bike and when he turned the bars all the way to the right on the side stand it tipped over. He was a bit upset. When he told the dealer what happened the dealer said "yeah, Street Glides will do that". That might have been some nice information to have. He was told Harley makes a kit you can buy that modifies the side stand so it won't tip. Just another reason I don't want a Harley.

 

I'm not giving up yet. We're still due some sort of "Indian Summer."

 

If that comes the Maxim is ready at a moments notice. I leave the battery in it since it's an AGM. I hope you're right Fitz.

 

I guess it's time to pull my Leathers out ??

 

You can leave the battery in it or not; you should still change the oil (don't over-winter with old oil) fog or oil the cylinders, and blow some penetrating oil into the mufflers (including through their drip holes) then plug the exhaust outlets. I use an oiled-up paper shop towel folded multiple times then rolled into a plug. Keeps the mud daubers (and mice) out.

I always do a compression check when I pull the plugs out to fog the cylinders (before I fog them.)

But I'm holding off. And planning to play hookey when we get a couple of nice days.

 

I want to keep them in the dining room but my wife frowns upon that. She says it would be awkward when we have guest over.

 

That, and you don't want anybody dripping chip dip on your paint.

I would recommend the living room or "den" if you have one.

My tiny rented house sports a tiny attached garage which has become a cozy, heatable man-cave. Plus, with four ex-wives, I kind of find the whole thing to be a tad overrated.

My Norton has outlasted all of them.

 

Whew, I feel for you guys....I was born and raised in upstate NY, moved to Texas with the Air Force when I was 17 and have never lived where it snowed again. That has been 38 years now. I visit, but that's it. The Northern States are sure beautiful, just not my type of living any more. I ride pretty much year round, but in the summer it can feel like riding in an oven and we get these little surprise rain showers. the summer weather forecast each day is "hot, partly cloudy with a chance of spotty showers"...hopefully the weather will be nice and it will be a short winter....

 

Great pics as usual Brad.

I'm holding out for a couple more weeks of riding. Then I move towards the Church of Clean.

 

Insulated bibs, gloves, and coat. I'll be riding until the snow sticks. A heated visor may be an investment for next year, but the RainX anti-fog works for now.

 

I'm not giving up yet, Biggs! Love how your XJ matches the leaves.

 

I find Bob Heath anti-fog spray really good, never seen a heated visor before but sounds like it could be a nice luxury. Where have you seen them?

I'll be riding throughout the winter again as per normal, though I'll try to limit bad weather trips to essential doctors/shopping etc as it's not great fun riding with numb fingers, visor coated in salt residue & slush/grit/sheet ice under the wheels. I wonder, how many of us ride year round &/or have bikes as our only transport?

 

me too

 

Most popular models of helmet have an accessory option for visors.

You can change from a clear shield, to a tinted shield, to a double shield (anti-fog). They also make heated shields, mainly for snowmobile riders.

If you check out motorcyclesuperstore.com and search for "bell revolver" (the helmet I've been looking at, I purchase a new one every 3 or 4 years, which is the reason I won't be buying the shield this year). You will see a myriad of accessories.

 

Ahh right, maybe they just don't have them in the shops so much over here then. I tend to buy helmets in person rather than online & the only visors I've seen in the UK are the clear/tinted/mirror ones...

Either we don't have as many snowmobile riders here (lol) or more likely we just have a nation of fair-weather bikers now so the local shops don't stock real winter gear :s

 

Same here. Colorado is the Rocky Mtn/ski state but our little secret is the 300+ sunny days per year. And half the state is part of the great plains - not the mountains - also where the major cities are, and me.

I manage to ride to work without needing weather-proof gear at least twice a month all winter.

Biggs: I really like that paint job. I have seen the yellow on some other maxims, but the detail in the trim is great.

Fall color rides are excellent. Looks like a good one.

 

Ride year round unless ice on the road.

 

As long as it is dry i will ride !! My seca loves the cold crisp mountain air here and runs strong !

 

I haven't had my girl out in a month. Looks like next weekend i'll put her to bed for sure.

Sucky riding season this year.

 

yea... I'm done for the year.... I got some work to do.....

 

I rode yesterday

 

As long as it's above 30° and dry I'll ride. Actually rode home from work this morning in a flurry of snow. It's supposed to be in the 20's the next couple of nights so I guess I'll take the truck. :'(

 

I'm holding out. It's supposed to get back up into the 50's by Saturday with some actual sun (before it gets even warmer yet Sunday with rain.)

 

I'm planning to ride over 100 miles this weekend. It's going to be warm! I have rain gear but with my current gear riding under 35 degrees isn't fun. I saw a guy riding a ninja yesterday when the snow was coming down at a pretty good clip. Crazy.
When I'm done riding I'm tearing the bike down for paint so I'm holding out as long as possible. There could still be some warm days..I hope.

Fitz, you recommend changing the oil before storing it for the winter?

 

Ahh sorry to say guys, summer is starting to kick in here in NZ around 20 degree's C Bring it on!

 

I'm 100% sure Fitz's answer would be definitely, yes... And so is mine. Highly recommended, otherwise all the crap that's in the oil has all winter to settle into a nice sludge on the bottom of your cases. And I believe used engine oil has acidic properties too so it's best not left. :wink:

Oh and z32800... You utter b£^%&*d! :lol:

 

You are correct. I always put my bikes up for the winter with fresh oil in them.

 

Fitz, I changed my oil about 350 miles ago... still change it?

 

Hmmm.

The "danger" in used oil is the condensation from/caused by incomplete combustion. If, in that 350 miles, the bike was warmed up FULLY so as to burn off any condensation then I would think it should be fine. if all you've done in that 350 miles is a bunch of "short hops" then I'd change it again just to be sure.

 

What if i ride it off and on all winter 25 to 50 miles each time

 

If "on and off" means at least once every oh, three weeks or so, and you do actually ride it at least 25 ~ 30 miles so that it's completely warmed up, it should be fine. (I've done that myself in the past.) But if you're going to be riding in sustained cold temps, then you'd want to change the oil to 10W30 and then change it back to 20W40 or 20W50 in the spring. Seriously (and I'm not being snide) check your owner's manual for the oil temp range overlap. If neither of your bikes came with an owner's manual, get on eBay and find one. They are GEMS that include some things that aren't in the FSM even.

Problems most commonly occur in plain-bearing motors that get parked with nasty old oil in them. Or that people start up and run in the garage for a few minutes every month. (That one's a sure-fire muffler-ruster if there ever was.)

We have plain-bearing motors. And big sexy hollow mufflers.

 

Amen!!

 

I'm riding as long as I can. Good thing our winters are short.

 

I rode yesterday after i changed my oil . I put about 70 miles on it . I bought 2 extra filters and drain plug crush washers . I will probably change it several times over the winter .

Apparently i want to avoid the garage start up though as i love my big sexy mufflers . Thanks fitz !!

 

I'm shocked how many people still believe honestly that this is good for their engines... The points you mentioned are compounded by the fact that most engine wear occurs during cold starts, so they're effectively taking sandpaper to their bearings & bores when they do this!

Going to ride today, the CB500 has a thick layer of frost on the seat at the moment though :?

 

22F, windy, snowing....and a 34 mile trip today. Not sure if old man winter will be letting me ride to look at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve this year though.

 

Took a nice half hour ride today. 33 degrees but roads were dry.
I store the bike outside with a bike cover and it had been sitting a week.
Fired right up on second blip of the starter.

Maz43

 

Great minds think alike. 2 hour ride today in 38 degrees F. Stopped half way though to warm up my hands on the motor, made it easier to open up my beer, just 1 though so dont get too excited.

Weather in Pa looking good next week high 40's low 50's one day and I'm going to try and keep riding as long as I can.

I'm convinced that riding is my therapy

 

Last ride today.
Topped off tank added a shot of Stabil.
Changed the oil and new filter. . . There is a definite gas smell in the old oil! :x
Planning on doing the crabs this winter - are neglected carbs the reason for gas getting in the oil???

Battery is on the trickle charger.

4 wheels until the Frozen Snot Ride next spring.

 

Paul, gas in the oil is a combination of possibly two problems. Your petcock leaks and so does at least one of your float needles. Or you left your petcock on PRI and you have a leaky float needle/needles.

Nothing too difficult to fix.

Hope you had a good Thanksgiving!

 

Feel for you guys, 1st official day of summer here in NZ today; time to ride!

 

Yep. Well, sticky floats are anyway. Even if the petcock is working fine, a stuck or balky float or two can dump enough fuel while the bike is running to begin to pollute the oil.

 

Took my last ride today. Nice 45 minute ride then over to storage (a block away, darn convenient). I'll need to visit the storage this week to install the centerstand, per her up, pull the battery, and put on the cover. I installed a basic on-off-res petcock this year so that gets set to off whenever I shut down.

 

Thanks Brad and Fitz.

Looking forward to exploring the wonderful world of carbs . . . .

 

Was wondering how many people are taking the extra effort to buy "REAL" gas from a marina (no ethanol) and using Sta-Bil or SeaFoam to preserve the gas/carbs ??

 

I buy no ethanol gas for both bikes. It's usually only available in premium at the gas stations that do have it. I've been using Sta-bil for years.

 

thankfully we can get ethanol free gas all over the place here, so i only use that no matter the season. she's topped off with ethanol free and stabil right now waiting for spring. the snow sure is flying here.

 

Where about are you from? There's a decent handful of cheeseheads around here 8)

 

I think that was Tuesday and yesterday for me in the Ohio valley. Put on 125 miles just for 'fun and because I knew bad weather was headed our way. This "ice storm" the media is talking about lately is getting annoying to hear, but yeah this might have done it for me this year depending on how cold it gets in a few days. Unfortunately I didn't reach the mileage for the end of year I wanted to get but I'll just make up for it next time the weather holds out for a nice day of riding again! Anyone else still riding in December, where the weather is usually too cold?

 

My last ride went too late into the evening and found me coming home to a temperature around 28F. The day was beautiful when I left at 10am and I just went too far before turning around to come home. It was one of those days when if you were in the sun, you were warm but when you ventured into the shade of a hill, it got chilly fast. Really glad for a hot shower that day!

After some early season snow that had the salt crews doing their thing, I put up my bike right after Thanksgiving. It was never warm enough to ride after that anyway.

There was one year that I rode at least once all 12 months. Even here in Vermont we get an occasional 50 degree day in January and February. I used the tractor to chip away the snow bank, liberated my bike from the garage, and went for a spin around town. Definitely the only one on two wheels that day.