How Cold Can I Let My Bike Get?

 Hi,

Motorcycle:  2006 Honda Shadow VT600.
Location:  Marshall, Michigan.

I am a first time bike owner.  I have mine parked outside with a cover.

The temperature has gone as low as maybe 20, but today it warmed up to 40
and I took the bike for a ride on the freeway, checked the tires, etc.  Bike
seems OK after not having been ridden for maybe 3 weeks.

My plan is to just let the bike sit and to take it for a ride every few
weeks to charge the battery, or whenever the temperature gets high enough
that there won't be any ice on the roads.

Will I do harm to my motorcycle with this approach?  Will the battery freeze
or anything?

Thanks.
--
David T. Ashley              (dta@e3ft.com)
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Fresh antifreeze/water in the correct proportions in the engine?
Freshly charged, and fairly new battery?  Probably okay.   If the
battery is two years old or older, you should probably removed it from
the bike and bring it indoors if you're going to have sustained
temperatures in the teens or below.   Likewise, if you do NOT have a
freah, optimum water/antifreeze mixture in the engine, you should
either drain it and fill it with with one, or drain it and leave it
drained so the coolant doesn't freeze.

 

More good advice deleted, to which I just wanted to add  -
make sure that "take it for a ride" means a ride that's more
than just a few minutes or so.  Running the engine up to
"just barely warmed up" and then shutting it down is a recipe
for condensation, and therefore corrosion.  The best thing
for an engine is to regulatly run it up to operating temperature
and hold it there long enough to "boil off" all that nasty
moisture that would otherwise cause problems.  If you're not
able to do that, just starting it up and running it for a few
minutes may actually be worse than just letting it sit there.

Bob M.

 


However, if the temp. ever gets colder than -20F and stays there for more
than a couple of hours..........all bets are off.
Some parts of Michigan this happens or a fairly regular basis; other parts,
almost never.

Other than that, I think your plan is OK.
You will probably find the shiny parts showing some minor signs of rust.
A wipe down with WD40 on the warm days will (mostly) prevent that.

 Ken Abrams wrote:

What exactly is supposed to happen when the temperature is below
-20F?  Sustained temperatures under -20F are not uncommon here,
and it has had no ill effect on my bikes.

--
'01 SV650S  '99 EX250-F13  '98 ZG1000-A13
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