Posted on 07/14/2025 | 5 min to read
Bike enthusiasts often take their bikes on long trips during the summer. Unfortunately, during winter, bikers’ communities face tough challenges from cold weather, especially in the USA and Canada, where unexpected snowfall leaves no option but to winterize the motorcycle. Those willing to ride in winter must stay alert for the upcoming challenges they may face, such as harsh weather and slippery roads, which increase the risk of accidents. If you are the proud owner of one or multiple bikes, keeping your bike indoors during winter is always a best practice.
This blog provides a detailed guide and tips on how to correctly winterize your bike, ensuring a seamless ride after the winter season ends.
Additionally, there are several precautions to consider when preparing your bike for winter storage, which can be completed in just a few hours.
Bike enthusiasts often love to enjoy a long ride before storing their bikes for the winter season. To maintain and enjoy the same experience after winter ends, there are a few precautions and steps to follow. Here is a brief checklist and precautionary measures to keep in mind while storing your bike for winter. Let’s move forward with the checklists.
The first important thing that most people usually ignore is choosing an appropriate location for storing bikes over the winter months.
People often choose to store their bikes in open garages, which can lead to exposure to moist and harsh weather that may cause electric component failure and corrosion.
If you don't have a dedicated storage spot for your bike, choose an indoor spot that is easily accessible to you and has a dry environment protected from moisture and corrosion, allowing the bike to avoid corrosion and damage.
By utilizing indoor space for storage, the risk of bike theft is reduced, and you can be confident in your bike's condition. The report reveals that more than 25% of thefts occur during winter, so it is always best to protect bikes from thieves.
In winter, people often use bike transport services from various companies to move their bikes to nearby cities with better weather, allowing them to continue enjoying riding even during the cold months. However, there are many places where you can store your motorbikes.
The winter season is the perfect time to take advantage of these spaces to protect your valuable bike.
Before storing your bike for a couple of months during winter, please ensure it has been thoroughly cleaned. Even if you're only planning to store your bike in a dry place for a few days, it’s a smart move to clean it properly.
Typically, bikers ride their bikes before winter, when bike parts are exposed to dust, wet mud, and salt minerals that often stick to the bike and can cause damage and corrosion to the frame.
One of the easiest and most effective ways to prevent it in winter is to wash each component properly.
Once followed by the deep cleaning process, leave enough time for all parts to dry out thoroughly. If you are doing a deep cleaning of your motorcycle, then make sure to follow a few steps to ensure a thorough cleaning of the bike:
Start the cleaning process with the dirtiest parts, including the mudguard and engine, which are mostly exposed to dirt. Give detailed attention to the chain, as it may have rough soil attached to it, which can affect the lubrication. Clean the motorbike chain with a special chain cleaner and brush, and apply lubrication spray to protect it from corrosion.
Clean the sensitive parts with a special microfiber cloth properly, including headlights, plastic paint parts, cooling fins, and digital meters, which may sometimes be damaged if not cleaned with care.
Clean the bike and apply the wax on every part of the motorcycle body. Utilize the best available paint protection products to add an extra layer of protection.
Give proper attention to drying all the exterior parts of the motorbikes. Make sure there is no moisture or water droplets left in small gaps; otherwise, this moisture could cause erosion in specific parts of the motorcycle if not cleaned out properly.
Finally, once you have thoroughly cleaned your motorbike, follow these next steps. Now, after washing your motorbike, the next step may or may not be necessary for all bikers. If you decide to store the bike for a couple of months, you should disconnect the power supply by removing the battery from the motorcycle.
After the cleaning process is completed, the next task is to follow the maintenance guidelines. Before it gets very late, it is necessary to check for component maintenance and current condition to avoid future conflicts.
Inspect the bike to identify if there are any damages or maintenance issues, including checking the engine oil, spark plugs, headlight bulb, brake fluid, and other essential components.
By a brief inspection of the components, ensure each one is fully operational and in the proper condition for winter storage.
To achieve your bike's best performance after winter storage, please make sure that you change the engine oil; dirty oil can affect engine shelf life and the filtration system.
These essential precautions help ensure the bike is in good condition, both externally and internally.
Keeping the fuel tank empty for months, moisture starts to pass through the tank's sealed fuel cap.
Typically, a metal tank is easily affected by erosion due to the presence of moisture. To prevent corrosion, the best practice is to fill the motorcycle's fuel tank and add fuel stabilizer to the tank.
Using fuel stabilizers is an effective method, especially when storing your bike for a few months.
The petrol likely loses octane, and its components often separate into layers, leaving varnish in the gas tank that can harm injectors and carburetors.
Additionally, it's good to start the engine once a week to supply fuel to all injection components and the stabilizer.
Another common practice is to drain all the fuel by riding the bike, which helps prevent clogs in the fuel system. Usually, professional bikers store their bikes in dry places and cover them with a protective cover.
While setting up a bike for winter storage for a long time, it is also important to get an appropriate stand to free up the tires from the bike's weight; otherwise, it can cause flat spots on the tires. An ordinary side stand is mainly used for the quick parking of motorcycles.
Using a side stand causes uneven tire weight distribution, leading to wear and tear on the tires and creating flat spots, which necessitate replacement.
Additionally, if you top up your fuel tank, then there is a risk of fuel leakage if the bike is not in a balanced standing position. Several affordable bike center stands are available on the market.
A center stand is one of the best options you can use off-season or for winter storage. It keeps the bike in a balanced standing position.
Moreover, if you frequently inspect your bike's maintenance, including chain lubrication, tire changes, and oil changes, then the center stand is the best option, as it provides ease in all of these tasks.
If you don’t want to invest in center stands, the best practice is to move your motorbike regularly, at least once a week, to avoid flat spots on the tires.
The most important step to winterize a bike is to maintain the battery properly. Here, we aim to check the battery's charge, as it often discharges quickly in cold temperatures.
The chemical reactions used in batteries store charge for a longer period, but the battery loses its ability to hold charge in winter due to slower chemical reactions.
Keeping the battery connected to the motorbike doesn't harm the bike's components, but it causes the battery to drain during winter storage, which can be frustrating when trying to start the bike. To prevent battery drainage during winter storage, there are two options.
The first is to disconnect the battery and store it in a warm, dry place. The second option is to use trickle chargers that provide a constant float charge with low voltage, maintaining the battery's condition for a longer period without the risk of overcharging.
Leaving your bikes parked for an extended period increases the risk of damage to electrical wiring and air filters. These small gaps can become potential homes for rodents and insects, which are always searching for holes to build their shelters.
You can prevent this by taking a few simple steps that take only 5-10 minutes. Look for small holes, as every bike has a different design and shape.
Ensure you cover the engine compartment, exhaust pipe, and air intake. As mentioned earlier, each motorcycle has a unique design, so manually check the possible entry points and cover each one with pieces of cloth.
Be sure to place rodent traps near your bike to prevent damage to the electric components. Also, remove the cloth or item used to plug the entrances before riding the bike.
Last but not least, be sure to cover your bike with the right materials, such as waterproof, breathable, and UV-resistant covers, to prevent your bike's paint from fading over time due to sunlight exposure.
The cover isn't just for winter; it protects motorbikes in nearly every weather condition. Ensure the bike cover shields each part and none of the components are left exposed to elements that can cause damage.
ASTSAT has you covered. With a vast experience in shipping everything from motorcycles to heavy vehicles, we guarantee safe and efficient delivery anywhere and anytime. Should you have any further inquiries, call us at +1 (800)-550-1515 for assistance.