If you're like most bike owners, your bike is your baby. When the time of the year comes when you are forced to part with your little darling, you want to take the best care of it that you can. Before you start, here are some of the things that you'll need to pick up to winterize your bike.
First of all and foremost, you'll need a place to store your bike. You'll really do great to store your bike inside if possible, rather than just covering it up with a bike tarp. You want to keep the bike in a place out of any extreme temperatures and out of the elements. It's best not to keep your bike in an area that has a lot of chemical fumes because the rubber on the bike can get dried out. Motors and electric heaters will cause the same kinds of damage to your bike, so take care to avoid keeping your bike in that type of storage area as well.
The next step in finding the perfect, cozy, winter home for your bike is to make sure that it is somewhere that it is sure not to get knocked over. Somewhere with a level and smooth ground is the ideal flooring for your bike, and, if you must put your bike in where it will be sharing the place with people at any given time, try to find the most out-of-the-way area in which to keep it.
When you are seeking an area for your bike, keep in mind that dirt isn't the greatest surface to keep the bike on. This is due to the fact that moisture will come up from the surface and get under the bike tarp that you'll be placing on your bike.
What you'll need to buy at the auto parts store to get yourself started winterizing your bike (after procuring the perfect bike haven for the winter) are just a few items:
Enough oil to change the oil in your bike
1. Your favorite brands of cleaning and waxing solutions for your bike
2. Fuel Stabilizing solution
3. An oil filter
4. Any tools that you don't already have for the body work, spark plugs, gas tank and windscreen
With a proper storage area for your bike and the aforementioned list of items for your bike, you'll be well on your way to properly winterizing your bike.
