WINTER HYBERNATION
Winter months are long and gruelling… so how should you take care of your bike?
For most of us track riders a UK winter can feel like an eternity, with British circuits generally closing to motorcycles for about four months, meaning it could be up to six months between the last race of this season and the first race of next season. So, for some of you, your bike could be stood still for just as many months as when you’re thrashing it around the track. With that in mind, it’s worth doing a bit of winter preparation before all the Christmas parties kick in and you forget about your beloved bike – it becomes too easy to say you’ll do it next week, then the next week and before you know it, it’s March, the battery is flat, there’s a coolant leak coming from the cylinder head and your first track day is just days away.
Ok, the example given is to the extreme, but just a few hours in the workshop now, could save days in the workshop next season. I’m a fully qualified motorcycle mechanic myself and what I highlight in this article is based on my own experience. I made some costly mistakes when I started racing and I’ve witnessed some expensive mistakes made by experienced teams and technicians, so I hope this helps. Everybody knows that batteries go flat, water in the cooling system could freeze (expanding ice can damage radiators and fundamental engine components), and that petrol could start to turn bad after six months stored in the same container, but there’s a bit more to winter preparing your bike and I’ve broke it down into sections. First of all though, give your bike a good clean with a power wash. Spray on a recognised motorcycle pre-wash and then jet wash it down, getting into the confined areas and blasting off the dirt, grease and general build-up of sticky grime, tar and rubber.
Engine
This would be the most expensive repair due to poor preparation or neglect, so my priority would be to add some anti-freeze or other similar additive to the cooling system. I personally wouldn’t drain the water completely, I’d much prefer to have a high concentrate of quality additive that will prevent any deterioration of the metal and obviously prevent any water in the system from freezing and causing damage. If a pipe can freeze in your centrally heated house, then it’s very likely that water in your cooling system could freeze in a garage without any heating. If it does happen, you might be lucky and get away with just popping one of the core plugs, but in most cases it will be the cylinder block or cylinder head that will crack. Other than that, I don’t see any need to change oil and filter for winter, I’d rather just leave the oil as is and start with brand new oil out of the container next year. I would also avoid starting the bike up for short periods of time as this can cause unnecessary wear, just leave it until you have changed the oil next year. Also, remove the front sprocket cover and clean out the build-up of excess chain lubricant.
Chassis
Other than treating the frame and swing arm with a silicone spray, you might not think that there’s a great deal of preparation for the chassis, but there’re two points I would clean and grease before parking up, and that’s your headstock bearings and swing arm pivot bearings. Both will take a fair amount of time to do and could
possibly be more work than you or your toolbox is capable of, but if you ride in all conditions then you should really find a way to get the job done. Supporting the chassis safely is the hard part, but borrow some axle stands and they will provide enough support at the footpegs for doing the swing arm pivot. You will need the axle stands again for doing the front end and possibly a steel bar when it comes to removing the head stock. You might think this is overkill, but it doesn’t take much grit and dirt to stiffen up the headstock. The smallest amount of restriction will feel 10 times worse through the handlebars, which is when probably start looking for a suspension problem that doesn’t exist. It’s the same at the pivot point. Once the shock is removed, movement should be silky smooth with no notchy feeling or drag. Re-grease now and it will get you through the next season.
Now that you’ve jet washed the bike, it’s worth giving all the electrical connectors a good once over with your chosen brand of spray lubricant. After that, you should fit an Optimate lead to the battery and then plan to have that plugged into the mains throughout winter. It will keep your battery in good condition and it should hopefully last a few more seasons if maintained this way.
Wheels and Tyres
This is your opportunity to give the wheels a good clean and remove all the excess wheel weight adhesive that builds after constant tyre changes. This stuff is strong and the more you let it build, the less motivated you are to clean it off. Unless you have the right cleaning product, this job can take hours, so find a tar remover type product (I use Naked Bikes cleaner) and it won’t be such an ordeal. Tyre-wise, I would just leave old tyres on the bike and maybe over inflate in case you might need to move the bike around. I don’t see any point in fitting new tyres and then letting them go through various temperature changes for the next four to six months, just wait until the season is about to start and buy fresh rubber.
Fuel
As with your cooling system, you can actually buy an additive specifically formulated to help maintain the fuel system over long periods of storage. I’m sure there’s a number of brands who offer it, but the last time I bought this type of product it was from Silkolene. I’m sure you just add X amount of additive to Y amount of fuel and then run the bike up to get the additive in and around all of the fuel system components. Ideally you would only want to add a few litres in the tank and then fill up with fresh Super Unleaded next year. Before running this through, it would be worth checking and cleaning the fuel gauze/filter that’s in the fuel tank on most bikes. Over time this picks up sediment from the tank and now is the time to clear it out.
Riding Kit
Nothing worse than putting your head into a damp and smelly crash helmet six months after you last rode, so spend a bit of time cleaning your kit and then store it all in a warm, dry place. Remove the inner lining of your helmet and providing it’s not part of the EPS like an Arai (White Polystyrene looking, do not wash this part), you can either wash by hand or a gentle machine wash to freshen up. Make sure it’s fully dry before re-assembling. Remove the visor and wash with warm water and mild soap, rinse thoroughly with warm water and let the visor dry naturally, buff the outside with a microfibre cloth and put back together. Leathers can be cleaned with a leather cleaner to remove flies and dirt, then immediately treat with a leather food to get the goodness and water-proofness back into the leather; you can use the same products on boots and gloves. I also spray my kit with a freshener designed for leathers and helmets. I suppose it’s a Febreze for bikers.
For those of you that are hardcore and still riding in Blighty on the very few last No Limits trackdays of the year, kudos – but it’s important to remember to be careful out there! Firstly, make sure you get those tyres bloody toasty. With most race and track tyres operating temps being over 80 degrees, you need to consider how you will keep them up so high in the colder months. A different tyre away from a BSB spec Diablo Superbike Slick may be a better choice. A Supercorsa SP or a Diablo Rosso Corsa II may be easier to get and then keep the heat in…
For those of you that are just looking to pack things up though, it’s worth remembering to take good care of your rubber – especially if you’re running race tyres, as they can be damaged as a result of poor storage conditions. The main thing is not to stack them on top of each other or add weight on top of them, to keep the tyres dry and away from the blistering cold, as this could cause cold cracking, which renders the tyre dangerous when heat and pressure is pumped back through. They’re made to work at 80 degrees and above, and really don’t like getting cold, so try and keep them above the five/ten degree mark. A good way of doing this is keeping them up high, wrapped in blankets, possibility in a heated loft or garage – just make sure they’re out of direct sunlight as well. If you’ve got a good set of rubber on wheels, it’s best to keep them on stands and off the floor if it’s cold and keep them inflated – this will reduce the risk of any issues. Also, if you’re handy at changing tyres at home, never do it when the temperature is around the zero mark; putting rubber on is a bit brutish at the best of times and the tyres don’t like it when things are that cold. Damage can occur instantly with the wrong amount of pressure applied to a tyre… or it may be damaged internally and then show itself when you use them first time out next year!
Saying that though, for those on the hunt for rubber, winter can be the best time of year; with us anyway, as we always look to put on deals over winter to keep the ball rolling, and coming direct means you’ll get the best deals. Treat yourself!