How to Winterize & Store Your Motorcycle

Stashing your bike for the winter isn’t just about parking it in the garage—it’s about making sure it’s ready to fire up without a hitch when riding season returns. Skipping proper prep can mean sluggish starts, costly repairs, or worse, a bike that won’t start up at all come spring. In this guide, you’ll discover how to choose the best storage solution for your ride and the essential steps to keep it protected, primed, and road ready.

Why Winterizing a Motorcycle Is Important

Neglecting motorcycle winterization doesn’t just mean you’ll have a dusty bike come spring – it can open the door to costly repairs. Freezing temperatures, hidden condensation, and months of inactivity all conspire to corrode parts, drain batteries, and gum up your fuel system. To show just how much damage “doing nothing” can cause, here are some of the most common issues riders face when they skip proper winter prep:

• Corrosion and Rust: Moisture clings to metal surfaces, leading to rust.
• Dead Battery: A battery left connected and ignored will slowly drain away its capacity and it might not ever fully recover.
• Gunked-Up Fuel System: Old fuel can turn into a sticky mess, leaving varnish and deposits that clog up carburetors and fuel injectors.
• Cracked Tires: Tires can develop performance-impacting flat spots and even cracks from sitting in one position under the bike’s weight for months.
• Unwanted Critters: Rodents and insects might just see your exhaust pipes and airbox as the perfect home if your bike is unused for a long period of time.

Preparing your bike properly for storage goes a long way to prevent these issues from arising and will save you time, money, and the headache of needless spring repairs.

Indoor vs. Outdoor Motorcycle Storage: Which Is Better for Winter?

When winterizing your motorcycle for the season or for long-term storage, the environment you choose is another important factor to consider. Essentially, you’ll be deciding on either indoor or outdoor storage, and each option has its own trade-offs when it comes to shielding your bike from winter’s impact.”

Indoor Self-Storage

For ultimate winter protection, indoor storage is your best bet. It provides a consistent, controlled environment that protects your motorcycle from the damaging effects of winter weather, which can impact your ‘bike’s paint, chrome, rubber seals, and even internal components. Here are the core reasons why indoor self-storage is an ideal choice for winterizing your motorcycle:

• Ideal Environment: Indoor storage can provide stable temperatures and less humidity, significantly minimizing the risk of condensation, rust, and material degradation of your bike over the long winter months.
• Dedicated Space: Utilizing an indoor self-storage unit provides a dedicated, off-site space for your motorcycle, freeing up valuable garage or home space that might otherwise be cluttered with winter storage.
• Enhanced Security: A reputable storage facility can offer secure, well-maintained, and often temperature-controlled units, providing suitable conditions to store your bike.

Outdoor Self-Storage

If indoor storage isn’t available, outdoor storage is a totally viable option, although winterizing your bike becomes much more of a priority when storing it outside during the colder months. While it demands more of a hands-on approach, outdoor-access self-storage offers some worthy advantages:

• Budget-Friendly: Outdoor storage is usually the most affordable option, making it a smart choice if you want to keep winter costs low. While parking spaces tend to be lower cost, don’t overlook small outdoor units with drive-up access, as these often provide extra protection at a price that’s still easy on your wallet.
• Convenient Access: Outdoor units and spaces provide easy access, making it simpler to drop off your winterized bike or retrieve it quickly when spring arrives. Because outdoor storage exposes your bike to greater risks, a heavy-duty, weather-resistant cover is crucial, and if you’re using a parking space, safeguards like a brake lock and GPS tracker are must-haves.

What Size Storage Unit Do I Need for a Winterized Motorcycle?

Naturally, the size of self-storage varies based on what size of bike you plan on storing and how much extra room you’d prefer to have. Here’s an idea of what you’d need for storing your motorcycle in self-storage:

• Standard Motorcycles (e.g., Cruisers, Sport Bikes): For most standard motorcycles, a 5×10 foot self-storage unit is an ideal fit.
• Larger Bikes or Multiple Motorcycles: If you own a larger touring bike, a trike, or plan to store multiple motorcycles for the winter, a 10×10 foot unit or 10×15 foot unit would be more appropriate to ensure adequate space, door width, and maneuverability.

To ensure you select the perfect size, it’s always wise to measure your bike’s overall dimensions (length and handlebar width) and factor in any additional space needed for winterizing equipment or accessories.

The Ultimate Motorcycle Winterization Checklist: A Step-by-Step Guide

Follow this comprehensive checklist to make sure no detail is overlooked when winterizing your motorcycle for self-storage preparation:

Step 1: Give Your Bike a Deep Clean and Wax

Before putting your bike away for the winter, it’s crucial to clean it beforehand. All the dirt, dead bugs, and road grime can actually eat away at your paint and chrome over the winter.

1. Wash Thoroughly: Use a good motorcycle-specific cleaner.
2. Dry Completely: Once it’s sparkling clean, dry every part of your bike thoroughly. Even small drops of water can lead to rust over months of storage.
3. Apply a Quality Wax: Finish with a quality wax coat. This isn’t just for looks; it creates a vital protective barrier against moisture and rust, keeping your paint and chrome pristine.

Step 2: Change the Oil and Filter

Used engine oil contains contaminants that can cause corrosion over time, potentially damaging the internal parts of your engine.

1. Perform a Full Change: Before you store your bike, perform a full oil and filter change.
2. Fresh Oil for Winter: This ensures your engine is literally bathing in clean, fresh oil all winter long, ready for action the moment spring arrives.
3. Add a Fuel Stabilizer: Before winter storage, add a fuel stabilizer to your tank to prevent fuel degradation and protect your motorcycle’s fuel system. This step ensures your bike starts smoothly and performs optimally when you’re ready to ride again.

Step 3: Protect the Fuel System

For gasoline-powered bikes, the fuel system is a top priority when storing your motorcycle for the winter. Preventing fuel degradation is key to avoiding performance issues or repairs next season.

1. Fill Tank & Add Stabilizer: Fill your fuel tank to about 90% full to prevent moisture from condensing inside and causing rust. Then, add a quality fuel stabilizer according to the product’s instructions.
2. Circulate the Stabilizer: After adding the stabilizer, run the engine for 5-10 minutes. This allows the treated fuel to circulate through the entire system, including the fuel lines and carburetor or injectors, ensuring everything is protected.
3. Drain the Carburetor (If Applicable): If your bike has a carburetor, it’s a smart move to drain the float bowls. This prevents any remaining fuel from evaporating and leaving behind varnish-like deposits that can clog those tiny jets.

Step 4: Winterize Motorcycle Battery

If left alone, your battery will slowly lose its charge over the winter. Follow these steps to take care of your battery for storage:

1. Remove and Store Properly: The best practice is to remove the battery from the motorcycle. Store it in a cool, dry place, ideally off concrete floors (a wooden surface is perfect). Extreme cold can drain a battery and even cause it to freeze and crack.
2. Connect to a Tender: Connect the battery to a trickle charger or a smart battery tender. This device will maintain the battery’s charge at an optimal level throughout the winter without overcharging, keeping it healthy and ready.
3. Consider Disconnecting (If Not Removing): If you can’t remove the battery, at least disconnect it from the motorcycle. Even when the bike is shut down, the clock and onboard computer can create a slow drain that will deplete your battery over the winter.
4. Check Storage Facility Rules: If you’re using self-storage, always check with the facility manager about their policy on storing batteries. Generally, for safety reasons, it’s recommended to take the battery home to monitor it on a tender.

Step 5: Maintain Your Tires

To prevent those annoying flat spots and preserve your tires’ integrity over months of sitting, follow these simple steps:

1. 1. 1. Inflate to Recommended Pressure: Use a tire pressure gauge to inflate your tires to the maximum recommended PSI listed on the sidewall. This helps the tires maintain their shape and prevents them from deflating too much.
      2. Lift Wheels Off Ground (Ideal): If possible, use front and rear motorcycle stands to lift both wheels completely off the ground. This is the most effective way to prevent flat spots and takes all the weight off the suspension.
      3. Protect from Ground (Alternative): If you can’t use a stand, especially for motorcycle winter storage outside, place a piece of plywood or thick cardboard under the tires. This creates a barrier from the freezing ground and helps insulate them.

Step 6: Lubricate Moving Parts

A little lubrication goes a long way to ensure every part of your bike moves smoothly and freely when you’re ready to hit the road again.

1. 1. 1. Lube Your Chain: Give your chain a good cleaning and then apply fresh chain lubricant.
      2. Treat Cables and Pivots: Take a moment to lubricate your clutch and brake cables, as well as any pivot points (like kickstand, footpegs, and levers). This prevents them from rusting and seizing up.

Step 7: Keep Pests Out

Those exhaust pipes and your air intake are ideal areas to house mice and other small pests looking for a warm, dry place to spend the winter. Avoid this from happening by following these steps:

1. 1. 1. Plug Exhaust Outlets: Gently plug the exhaust outlets with steel wool (it’s much harder for them to chew through!).
      2. Cover Air Intake: Cover the air intake opening to prevent any unwanted guests from setting up shop there.

Step 8: The Final Cover-Up

Now that your motorcycle is prepped, protected, and ready for storage, it’s time for a good cover.

1. 1. 1. Invest in a Breathable Cover: Choose a breathable, high-quality motorcycle cover.
      2. Avoid Plastic Tarps: Plastic taps can actually trap moisture and cause more harm than good by creating condensation.
      3. Protect and Circulate: A proper cover will protect your bike from dust, debris, and scratches while allowing air to circulate, which helps prevent condensation from building up underneath.

Final Considerations for Winter Storage

Beyond the step-by-step preparation, there are a few other crucial points to keep in mind to ensure your motorcycle remains in optimal condition and ready to go when spring returns:

Check All Fluid Levels

Before you tuck your bike away, take a moment to check all fluid levels. This includes antifreeze (if applicable), transmission fluid, brake fluid, and clutch fluids. Making sure these fluids are clean and topped off prevents freezing, corrosion, and other unexpected issues when you bring your wheels out of hibernation.

Storing Electric Motorcycles

If you’re wondering how to prepare an electric motorcycle for winter storage, the focus shifts from fuel to the battery. Most manufacturers recommend storing the battery at a partial charge (around 50-60%) in a climate-controlled environment. Always consult your owner’s manual for specific instructions, as battery care is paramount for electric bikes.

Periodic Maintenance During Storage

When your motorcycle is in storage, as an aspect of periodic maintenance, you might be wondering how often to run the engine.  In reality, simply idling your engine for a few minutes won’t generate enough heat to burn off internal condensation – in fact, it can cause more harm than good. Conversely, with a battery-tender and stabilized fuel, a properly winterized bike doesn’t need to be started up at all until spring. So instead of having to run the engine, you can just check in on your bike periodically for signs of leaks or unwanted pests.

Starting Your Bike Up in the Spring

When the weather warms up and it becomes time to get your motorcycle on the road again, take these necessary steps to “wake up” your bike for the spring season:

1. 1. 1. Remove the Plugs: Take that steel wool out of the exhaust and uncover the air intake.
      2. Reinstall the Battery: Prepare your battery for springtime start-up by checking its charge and reinstalling it.
      3. Inspect Everything: Check your tire pressure and adjust it back to the normal riding PSI. Inspect brake fluid levels, check for any leaks, and test the brakes.
      4. Check Fluids and Lights: Top off any fluids if needed and test all your lights and signals.
      5. First Start: Your bike should start up smoothly. Let it warm up for a few minutes before your first ride.

Confidently Ride into the Next Season

For Canadian riders, getting your wheels ready for winter storage is a rite of passage. More than just routine maintenance, winterizing is about safeguarding your motorcycle so it’s ready to hit the road next season. A little preparation now means your bike is primed to roar back to life as soon as the weather warms up!

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