Motorcycle Winter Storage: How To Keep Your Bike Pristine

Motorcycle winter storage isn’t difficult but does take a little effort. Follow the tips below to cut that effort in half.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Choose a Storage Facility that Can Protect Your Motorcycle

If your motorcycle is worth storing, it’s worth being kept safe. That makes where to store your motorcycle a vital question. The best storage facilities provide:

  • 24/7 Security Cameras
  • On-Site Managers
  • Keypad-Controlled Front Gates

Clean Your Motorcycle’s Exterior Well

Cleaning any oil, grease, and other caustic liquids off of your motorcycle will keep those liquids from causing damage to your cycle’s paint. Bug guts and tree sap, too, as they’re acidic-the cleaner your bike, the better off its paint will be.

Motorcycle Winter Storage: How To Keep Your Bike Pristine

Wax Your Motorcycle Well

A nice coat of wax will protect your bike’s paint job better than any cover. It also keeps water (condensation) from causing any problems, especially if you store your cycle long-term. Before motorcycle winter storage, give your bike a good wax!

Lubricate All of Your Bike’s Moving Parts

Metal motorcycle parts will eventually rust. Lubricating them before storage will slow the rusting process down, extending the life of your cycle significantly. Also, when you take it out of storage, it will start and run like a champ!

Top Off the Fuel Tank and Add Fuel Stabilizer

If you haven’t guessed it already, water is the bane of motorcycles. Over the long run, it can cause damage to the exterior and interior, even inside the engine. That’s why topping off your fuel tank is vital, as it will prevent water from condensing in the tank. Adding a fuel stabilizer is also essential. Doing both will prevent the tank lining from corroding (i.e., rusting) while in storage. This will prevent rust particles from damaging your engine or causing problems for your bike’s fuel-delivery system.

Motorcycle Winter Storage: How To Keep Your Bike Pristine

Change the Oil During Motorcyle Winter Storage

As with the fuel and lubrication, changing your motorcycle’s oil and replacing the filter is essential. Fresh oil will keep the engine well protected and prevent damaging corrosion while it’s in storage. That’s especially true during winter motorcycle storage.

Remove the Battery and Hook it Up to a Trickle Charger

Motorcycle batteries tend to fail if they aren’t used or charged frequently. If you can, starting your cycle once every few weeks is a great idea. If not, removing it and hooking it up to a trickle charger is best. One caveat; most storage units don’t have an electrical power source. That means you’ll need to remove it and put it somewhere you can safely charge it. (Your home’s garage, mud-room, or basement will all work.)

Raise Your Motorcyle During Winter Storage

Motorcycle winter storage can affect its tires, also, and usually sees them lose air and even deteriorate. To prevent this, or at least slow it down, raise your bike off the tires. There are motorcycle stands made expressly for this purpose.

Motorcycle Winter Storage: How To Keep Your Bike Pristine

Stuff the Air Intake and Exhaust Pipes With Muffler Plugs

It may sound silly, but bugs and rodents love crawling into small crevices and spaces. That includes your motorcycle’s exhaust pipes! To prevent this, stuff them with muffler plugs. Clean rags will do in a pinch, and even plastic bags.

DON'T FORGET Remove the plugs after your motorcycle winter storage has ended.

Need More Info on Motorcycle Winter Storage?

Making a plan and ensuring your motorcycle stays safe while in storage is always a good idea. If you need more info on how to keep your bike pristine this winter, give us a call! Taking these steps will make your first ride a lot more enjoyable when the weather gets nice again. If you have other tips you want to share about how you store your motorcycle, please share them in the comments below.

More storage tips from the Pros at Moove In Self Storage:

We originally published this post on 11/7/2018 and we updated it on 8/30/21.