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Winter Storage with No Center Stand

12K views 46 replies 25 participants last post by  FrankieACE 
#1 ·
I know it is a bit premature but I'm starting to put everything together for the winter and storing the bike so I have it all ready in advance. The only step I am stuck on is to raise the rear wheel to avoid flat spots.

My 1995 Shadow VT1100C does not have a center stand and obviously no possibility for spools. As I google it I also know jacking it up in general is not easy due to the oil pan and various other stuff in the way.

I see Harbor Freight has an adjustable back wheel stand but I have no idea where that would lift up on my bike.

Do those in colder climates raise the back wheel or is a plush carpet and moving the bike every couple of weeks more than sufficient? I have an attached garage with the bike near the inside wall although it still gets pretty cold.
 
#2 ·
This how the VLX spends it's 'free time' year round, not only in winter. A front wheel chock/stand and a small scissor lift under the swingarm. Steady as a rock, and makes it easy to work on. I do put a piece of rubber backed carpet under the rear tire to keep it off the damp floor in winter. While it does sit for long periods of time in winter, my bikes are ready to ride 365 days a year, unless I'm working on something.

 
#6 ·
Leave the bike sit on the ground. There is NO good reason to lift it for the short few months of off season storage.

I've been storing wheeled seasonal toys (motorcycles, quads, Jeeps, sand rails, etc) in the Michigan winters, for over 40 years. The only tires that have ever flat spotted were the big low pressure tires on an older quad.

As was said above....Stabil in the gas, leave the battery in the bike and put a tender on it, air up the tires, cover it up and forget about it until it's time to ride again.

Some people worry way too much about dumb sh!t....
 
#7 ·
Leave the bike sit on the ground. There is NO good reason to lift it for the short few months of off season storage.

I've been storing wheeled seasonal toys (motorcycles, quads, Jeeps, sand rails, etc) in the Michigan winters, for over 40 years. The only tires that have ever flat spotted were the big low pressure tires on an older quad.

As was said above....Stabil in the gas, leave the battery in the bike and put a tender on it, air up the tires, cover it up and forget about it until it's time to ride again.

Some people worry way too much about dumb sh!t....
Reverend!
 
#9 ·
I Ride all year :D:D:D:D


I`m glad I ain`t worrying over this storage thing...
Mine is parked on the carpeted ground of the pole barn though...




Tough it out, Ride in the winter,
D
 
#10 ·
You all have no idea how happy I am to read this thread! I wintered my Virago without doing anything special and didn't have any problems, but I was worried about doing the wrong thing with the Shadow. I've got Stabil and a brand new cover, I plan on having the oil changed and whatever else needs changed in mid-October, then plan on riding it until I can't anymore. We have a brand new garage that they are going to live in for the winter and I'll be able to see her every day. Other than that, I'll just keep my fingers crossed. :)
 
#11 ·
its got a kick stand yeah? then let it sit on that. You're over thinking it. Slap on a cover and plug in a battery tender if you wish.

If you do get a flat spot, it will most likely be unnoticeable and "run- out" within the first two miles.

Since I've ridden on-road motorcycles I've never winterized one, not even a cover or use of a battery tender. Dealership gave me a battery tender with my bike and I have used solely for the slow charging of my trolling motor battery. But I am getting a cover for my bike this year for the times it will sit for 2 weeks at a time, mainly to keep some sun and dust off my bike, and be an additional measure against an accidental bump since my garage is a high foot traffic area. I ride every chance I get, so my bike gets ridden 12 months a year.




We store my tractor (John Deere 4050) used for mowing hay, raking hay, and brush hogging from November to March or April and it will have some noticeable flat spots as the rear tires are at 12psi, but still in a half mile of road the spots get run out. Heck before last year it even used to sit on dirt before we got a concrete floor in the barn. And it weighs 12,000lbs, so roughly 4,000lbs of weight is stored on each rear tire, and 2,000lbs on each front tire, much more than even the total weight of a motorcycle on each tire.
 
#13 ·
Sad? Really?

I fully support your right to do whatever you think is best for your scooter and your situation. I also support my right to think what you do is an unnecessary waste of time.

Everybody gets to have an opinion....even when they're wrong. :grin2:>:)
 
#15 · (Edited)
It ain`t cold enough to worry about storing these Bikes, IS IT???


Lets Ride



EDIT==>
My Bike has sat since LAST Sunday...
Do I need to start storage precautions??
 
#16 ·
It ain`t cold enough to worry about storing these Bikes, IS IT???

Lets Ride
YUP! ....Read this, and have to agree.. It's almost like.. C'mon guys.. Now's not the time to worry about this stuff.. Now's the time to flay the tar snakes off the roads.

I ain't much one for poetry.. Most of it bewilders me.. But this one rattles around my head on such occasions..

Dylan Thomas, 1914 - 1953

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

So.. Like the man says... C'mon Everybody!! ..Live a Little! :wink2:
 
#18 ·
During all of my years of owning and storing my bikes over the years in MN winters, I've never experienced tire problems, flat spots, etc. Just make sure the tires are inflated to proper psi. One tip I found helpful last year and made sense was to inflate the tires to the rated max psi before cold weather storage. The extra psi allows more headroom allowance for tire pressure loss in the colder temps. It's now part of my winter storage regime at zero cost.
 
#19 · (Edited)
We typically don't get truly cold weather in the winter. Usually lows in the 20s to teens. Very rarely 0 degrees before wind chill. Some years we only have snow for a couple days all winter. The only time I have had a tire off the ground during winter is if the bike has a center stand then only the back tire. I just make sure the tires are full, tell everyone to stay away from my bike and every 2 weeks to a month make sure nobody knocked into it, it is still upright, no puddles, and the tires are not flat. It has worked fine so far for several years and multiple bikes.
 
#20 · (Edited)
I know it is a bit premature but I'm starting to put everything together for the winter and storing the bike so I have it all ready in advance. The only step I am stuck on is to raise the rear wheel to avoid flat spots.

My 1995 Shadow VT1100C does not have a center stand and obviously no possibility for spools. As I google it I also know jacking it up in general is not easy due to the oil pan and various other stuff in the way.

I see Harbor Freight has an adjustable back wheel stand but I have no idea where that would lift up on my bike.

Do those in colder climates raise the back wheel or is a plush carpet and moving the bike every couple of weeks more than sufficient? I have an attached garage with the bike near the inside wall although it still gets pretty cold.

Why just the rear? The front wheel won't get a flat spot?

Neither wheel will get flat spots over the course of a few months of storage. Pump in a few extra psi, change the oil, add some Stabil and wait out the winter. No need to lift it up.....
 
#23 ·
The Mistress has spent winters in a enclosed garage, and out in an open parking garage. She has never been lifted, never taken the battery out, never had stabil put in her, never a trickle charger attached and you know what?
Each year she hits the road running on the same battery she has had in her since 2004 when I bought her, each year gas flows freely through her carbs, each year the tires turn without any flat spots... this winterizing thing is bogus.
 
#24 ·
I might suggest, IF I were to store mine for winter months, which would be January and February = >


Lift the Bike onto the coffee table in the living room..
Remove the gas tank, fenders, sidecovers and anything else I want painted...
Remove wire harness, clean frame, wire connections, and all other parts which are hidden from washing...
Reinstall these along with them freshly painted parts...
Remove from storage last week of February, ride to Daytona Bike Week for a week of showing off my accomplishments...


No flat spots in them tires, thattaway,
D
 
#26 ·
I might suggest, IF I were to store mine for winter months, which would be January and February = >


Lift the Bike onto the coffee table in the living room..
Remove the gas tank, fenders, sidecovers and anything else I want painted...
Remove wire harness, clean frame, wire connections, and all other parts which are hidden from washing...
Reinstall these along with them freshly painted parts...
Remove from storage last week of February, ride to Daytona Bike Week for a week of showing off my accomplishments...


No flat spots in them tires, thattaway,
D
:neutral: ... All joking aside.. I think all youse lots are missing something really important here.. This year is expected to be an El Nino year.. That means - In the Eng-a-lish.. That Winter ain't gonna be over until Punxsutawney Phil says it is..

And that might take some time..

'Cause he's gotta learn to talk first.. :crying:

RIGHT! Now, what did I do with my sunblock?
 
#33 · (Edited)
About the only winterizing or storage I do for the bike is turn off the gas petcock and run the carbs outa gas, and put some stabilizer in whatever's left in the tank...
Plus, either remove the battery or hit it with a charger/maintainer once a month or so.
It's always worked pretty well for me, both bikes and boats usually fire up easily when its time to get em out again.
 
#34 ·
A big part of my business is winterizing boats, but I've never even thought about doing anything with my motorcycles for winter. Well, sometimes I turn off the fuel petcock if I think of it. Never used a battery tender, not sure they're really doing any good for you battery anyhow.
I've seen many batteries cooked on boats from automatic battery chargers that stopped being automatic. My advice would be to store it on the kickstand, preferably inside or at least under cover. And if you do get a day in the 50's go for a ride.
 
#41 ·
Stored it in its shed on side stand, ck;d tire pressures , full tank w/ StaBil. Run the engine with the petcock off until it cuts off and then drain the little bit left in the carbs manually. Connect Batt Tender.

Go check the generator ....
 
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