{"id":2880,"date":"2013-10-12T11:03:43","date_gmt":"2013-10-12T15:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/?p=2880"},"modified":"2017-11-09T08:50:32","modified_gmt":"2017-11-09T14:50:32","slug":"how-to-winterize-your-motorcycle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/how-to-winterize-your-motorcycle\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Winterize Your Motorcycle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ve seen them out there: hard-core Maine riders who hop on their motorcycles in the rain and the cold and hit the road late into the season. Plenty of others limit their road time to warmer weather. After all, riding is about enjoying yourself.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-2889\" style=\"margin: 10px 20px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/safeco-bike-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"motorcycle rider from Safeco TV commercial\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Eventually, a Maine winter forces even the hardiest riders to put their bikes up for the season. These tips will help ensure your ride is ready to go when our days get longer and the weather warms up.<\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>\nK<b style=\"font-size: 1em;\">eep it Covered<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>If you can&#8217;t\u00a0store your motorcycle in a garage or shed,\u00a0make sure you protect it properly from the elements.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><strong>DO:\u00a0<\/strong>use a breathable cover designed for motorcycles .<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><strong>DON&#8217;T:\u00a0<\/strong>use a tarp or a cotton sheet<strong>; <\/strong>they trap moisture, which can lead to mildew or rust.<\/p>\n<h2>\u00a0<b>Check the Fluids<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>The <a title=\"American Motorcyclist Association\" href=\"http:\/\/www.americanmotorcyclist.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">American Motorcyclist Association<\/a> recommends that you:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Top off the gas tank and add a fuel stabilizer, then run the engine for a few minutes to spread the stabilizer through the system.<\/li>\n<li>Check your coolant to ensure your bike is protected against freezing weather.<\/li>\n<li>Change the engine oil either before you put the bike away, or before you take your first ride in the spring.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Power Up<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>If your motorcycle has an alarm system or other features that can drain the battery, invest in a charger to keep the battery alive. Otherwise, the AMA says, make sure it has a full charge when you put it away and recharge it once a month. You can also maintain a trickle current to keep the battery charged.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Keep it Clean<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Both Honda and the AMA say you should clean your motorcycle thoroughly before putting it into storage. Special treatments are available to help avoid oxidation, fading and keep your bike looking sharp.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Maintenance and How-to Tips from Honda\" href=\"http:\/\/powersports.honda.com\/street\/getting-started\/know-your-honda\/090111c080a518fe\/maintenance-and-how-to-tips-the-basics.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Honda<\/a> recommends that you:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Change your brake and clutch fluids every couple years;<\/li>\n<li>Clean the area around the outside of the spark plugs to ensure debris does not get into the cylinders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A little preparation before and during storage will ensure that when it\u2019s time to ride in the spring, you won\u2019t have anything to worry about &#8211; except where to go! How about the Lakes Region or the White Mountains? Spring can\u2019t get here soon enough, can it?<\/p>\n<h2><b>Tune Up Your Insurance<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>While you\u2019re taking a break from riding this fall and winter, why not come in to Noyes Hall &amp; Allen Insurance and talk about your <a title=\"Portland Maine Motorcycle Insurance | Noyes Hall &amp; Allen\" href=\"http:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/personal-insurance-landing\/motorcycle-insurance\/\">Maine motorcycle insurance<\/a> coverage options? If it\u2019s been a while since we\u2019ve done a review for you, let\u2019s talk about how we can help you performance-tune your motorcycle insurance &#8211; and <a title=\"Portland Maine Personal Insurance from Noyes Hall &amp; Allen \" href=\"http:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/personal-insurance-landing\/\">Maine home and auto insurance<\/a>, too. Just <a title=\"Contact Noyes Hall &amp; Allen Insurance | South Portland Maine\" href=\"http:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/contact-us\/\">contact Noyes Hall &amp; Allen<\/a> at 207-799-5541. We\u2019re independent and committed to you.<\/p>\n<p>(Thanks to our friends at <a title=\"Safeco Motorcycle Insurance Ad \" href=\"http:\/\/www.ispot.tv\/ad\/7VjW\/safeco-insurance-motorcycle-daredevil\" target=\"_blank\">Safeco Insurance<\/a> for providing some of this content.)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; You\u2019ve seen them out there: hard-core Maine riders who hop on their motorcycles in the rain and the cold and hit the road late into the season. Plenty of others limit their road time to warmer weather. After all, riding is about enjoying yourself. Eventually, a Maine winter forces even the hardiest riders to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[29,17],"class_list":["post-2880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-motorcycle-insurance","tag-fall","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2880"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4668,"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2880\/revisions\/4668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noyeshallallen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}