winter storage

[tmc55]

I live in pittsburgh and we are in our winter months now and i was just wondering what is the best way to store my yz426f is it best to drain all the gas out of it or should i leave some in it.

[buggs bunny]

drain all gas out,a lot easier than cleaning out dried out sticky old gas or under octane non runnable gas.

[qwik12beat]

Ride it:ride: If you can ride in snow you can ride in anything:smirk:

[grayracer513]

It is better to store the bike with fuel in it that without, as O-rings, and such can shrink if they have been exposed to fuel for a long time and are then left dry. Drain the float bowl once every 3-4 weeks, then turn the fuel on just for 20 seconds or so to wet the carb with gas from the tank.

Do definitely add a fuel stabilizer like Sta-Bil to the gas, however.

Change the oil just prior to storing and run the engine long enough (actually ride it) to evaporate the fuel from the cold start, but not so long as to beat up the oil. Fresh oil has a greater ability to prevent corrosion in the crankcase.

[gtxkid]

I know a guy who washed his bike and then in the summer he went to go ride it and the steering bearings locked up from water rusting.

[motojoe_23]

Who winterizes dirt bikes ????

I winterize my roadrace bikes, but the dirtcycle gets ridden all year ?

[grayracer513]

Everyone's different. Around here, we put them away for a couple of months during the summer. ?

[642MX]

I just winterized my new toy, now its time to ride. ?

I normally can't ride between December thru late February. I almost always, remove my carb, clean it and leave it dry until I can ride again.

[motojoe_23]

Not trying to be a dick, but why cant you. I seriously cant understand? Snow?.... sounds like a blast to me, Ice? Even more fun.

We just get boring cold rain and cold icy mud ?. No fun, just misserable, but challenging. Last year that I raced, my last race, it was 34* and raining..... it SUCKED

[02WR426Cali]

I lived near pittsburgh for 3 years. I never winterized my bike at all and it just sat down in the basement most of the winter. I never drained the carb once. I would start it up every once in a while but not very often. My 426 never had a problem when I brought it out and it still runs great to this day.

[grayracer513]

Not trying to be a dick, but why cant you. I seriously cant understand? Snow?.... sounds like a blast to me, Ice? Even more fun.

Snow's OK if it's cold enough for it to be fairy dry, and it's not so deep that your tires don't reach the ground. At that point, there simply isn't the traction to climb even slight grades.

We just get boring cold rain and cold icy mud . No fun, just misserable, but challenging. Last year that I raced, my last race, it was 34* and raining..... it SUCKED

Rain's not fun. It's OK for a while, until you can't feel your toes, and your shorts get squishy. ?

[642MX]

Riding in snow sucks. I'll ride in the rain, no problem.... It rained about 1/2 the day here Saturday and we rode all day.

[Ogener]

When I winterize my stuff I make sure it has fairly fresh oil, and then I put SeaFoam in the gas (heard bad things about StaBil), usually a little more than recamended just to be safe. Then I run the machine for a little bit to make sure the SeaFoam reaches the carb. This should keep the gas fresh until its warm again. It also doesnt hurt to go out and start it up once a month or so. I live in Iowa and it seems to work. The SeaFoam keeps the gas in my snowmobile fresh for quite along time, I've never had gas go bad yet.

[grayracer513]

...heard bad things about StaBil

Like what?

[Hughes]

Winter storage for my bike is tearing down of the bike. Our winters here in Georgia are not that bad but I take December through February to take the bike down and replace any worn items and perform maintenance. First is fork/shock service, then all pivot bearings in the suspension, cables, tires, chains/sprockets, top end if needed, clutch items, you get the picture. I don't have time for much of this stuff during the riding season so I make sure I cover everything over the winter months. A brand new bike might need this much attention. When you can't ride performing maintenance or just working on the bike is the best next thing. For most cases a properly cleaned bike would be the first place to start. Completely dry bike with compressed air. Coat engine parts with something like wd-40 and any bare metal parts. Lube cables and chain/sprockets. I coat all plastic parts with a silicone spray. Changing engine oil and filter. I would perfer to drain all fuel from tank and carb (maybe remove tank from bike and wash it out,same for carb) and then re-install on bike. Maybe grease and lube controls pivot points. Running fogging oil through the engine would be a very good idea if the engine would sit for a month or two without running the bike (coats all internal engine parts mostly just the top end on four strokes and keeps them from rusting due to mositure in the air).

[Ogener]

I've been told and have seen some of the people I know experience that StaBil doesn't keep gas fresh for nearly as long as Sea Foam.

[642MX]

I've been told and have seen some of the people I know experience that StaBil doesn't keep gas fresh for nearly as long as Sea Foam.

Lets hope not. I just used Stabil in my boat....?

[tmc55]

where do you buy the sea foam at

[husqy360]

lol winter riding is fun only if around 0c.

wana see somone ride in -20 with 5 feet of snow. snowmobile only.

i wish for few days of -5 so i can ride alittle. probebly wont happen tho ?.

here it will be -20 to -40c for about 4 month, so bike is in the basment geting new piston. seals. clutch. timing and lots of grease. all for the first time since new.

maybe you guys know whats the size of the steering tube nut?

yes it a disaster zone for now:p

[grayracer513]

maybe you guys know whats the size of the steering tube nut?

32mm.