2010 Harley-Davidson Road King Classic

Hey folks, I know it’s been a while.  As 2010 came and went, and now we’re staring down 2012, this blog is a lot more for myself than the potential buyers of the one, the only, the Harley Road King Classic.  If you are one of the very few actually looking at buying a 2010 one – which would be smart at present since they’re either used but still cherry or being pushed like mad by the dealers to get out the door – then just the same, welcome to the blog.

That said, I’ve been riding bikes for years but winterizing pretty much never.  I always just rode through the winter without any long gaps, so I never worried about lubing the cylinders or anything like that.  On my old carbureted bike, I would run through a can of B-12 or SeaFoam, usually once or twice in the spring to wake up and then once when my riding frequency dropped off a bit mid/late december.  With the Road King, I’m somewhat ashamed to say I did nothing beyond take her out for 15 minutes every week or so, if that, and that other times she would sit in a nice, heated garage.

So I’m relatively new to this, and I know with my current personal engagements I won’t be riding much between next week and probably March.  Here’s a guide to winterizing that I’ve been working on.  You’ll notice it’s not based in steps, but rather primarily by system.  And also you’ll notice it’s kinda sparse since this is a short-term storage.

FUEL SYSTEM

Gasoline, the sweetest smelling stuff on earth, is kinda hardcore.  It will eat your fuel lines and it will damage your tank if left to sit for too long (generally speaking, longer than 3 months).  Gasoline breaks down and, chemistry lessons aside (go watch Breaking Bad!), gets corrosive to plastic and metal.  We can combat this in two ways: change the chemistry with an additive or stop the process by running the engine.

I’ve heard that leaving the engine running for just 30 seconds is enough to shake up the fuel system enough to ward off corrosion.  That any acids that form from a breakdown of the gasoline will be amortized by just 30 seconds of combustion.    I repeat this only to ask if anyone knows if that’s true.   I, for one, wouldn’t take the gamble.  Besides, even if true, you want to run at least 5-10 minutes (not more than 60 seconds at idle is necessary, though) to get the oil moving around.  Really though, unless it’s icy, just go for a spin.  It’s the best way to ward off storage blues.

Next up is the old stalwart Sta-Bil.  This stuff is magic.  Accept no substitute.  Add in proportion to your tank size (read the label) and run the engine about 10-15 minutes so that it’s properly mixed in.  This is good for peace of mind; sta-bil is the opposite of a catalyst and will block the formation of corrosives in your tank and fuel lines.

 

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Battery tender! Don’t be shy, that’s what all the cool kids are using.  You can pick one up for under $30 that probably comes with an extra pair of leads.  For long-term storage you will want to take more serious steps (replace plugs, remove battery entirely, etc as your timeline and location require).  If you are under the magical 3-month mark, you can get by with a battery tender and whatever routine maintenance you normally perform – filling/refilling the battery if it’s a couple of years old, testing your lights/horn/blinkers for function (does anyone do this more than once a year?).  I know a guy who uses a volt meter to check whether or not he has any ground out wires.  Good idea in theory, but probably over kill in reality.

Just get a battery tender.

EXHAUST

This is the easiest and the hardest part.  It’s easy because you could do it all with 30 seconds without tools and without buying anything.  It’s hardest because you are going to make your bike look like the idiot kid who wears a swim cap.

Basically, it’s the same thing with your air cleaner.  Wrap a plastic bag around it and rubberband it on.  You are preventing moisture, mold, and bugs from getting in there.  Your bike might complain, but you can lay a nice cigar on there come spring and restore your image.

But hold on, we’re not done.  You have to do the same thing to your tailpipes.  Yes, seriously.  Never heard of mice in the muffler? You haven’t been riding long, then.  Mice, rats, spiders, hell even birds have been found in mufflers left open.  Cover ‘em.  You may feel like you’re violating the bike by stuffing something up the tailpipe, but you’re preventing much worse penetrations later on.   Now, you’re going to be gentle, and you’re going to spray just a bit of WD-40 onto and into the exhaust holes (recommend you take off your endcaps if they’re not already rusted in place because you failed to do this last year).  I’m only joking when I say you’re being gentle – you are only going to stick a plastic bag up there – but in reality the oil is going to guard the weakened, blasted metal of your exhaust endpoints from the rust that can surely take purchase over the course of the winter.  Stuff a plastic grocery bag into each tailpipe, just so it blocks the opening.  Then, if you really want to be anal (hardy har har…) you can wrap the whole muffler in a garbage bag, right up to the header pipes.  Overkill, maybe, but it certainly can’t hurt.

The only real cost is knowing your bike is the kid who wears a cap in the pool.  What a Melvin…

 

OIL

I hope I don’t have to repeat myself, that you should be using a sythentic like, oh, I dunno, AMSOIL.  Because you already know, right?  Ok.

Here’s something that’s hard to type, because I still don’t know if I believe it.  Change your oil before you winterize.

What what waaaaaaaat?

Yes, change your oil – send your bike into winter with fresh oil.  The reason for this is that impurities in your oil can end up getting a headstart on your engine.  The oil is inert; it is the lifeblood of your engine and it can do no harm.  But the impurities, the bits of metal and the specs of dirt and the who-knows-what, that stuff gets harder to pull out if it’s spent a while living inside your bike.  So change the oil for storage, even though that seems to violate common sense.

And don’t fuck over your future self, change the filter too.  If you’re going to try some lazy excuse, I’m going to give you the part number.  K&N 171C.  You can get a K&N off Amazon and it can be at your house before you know it.

For the oil, since you are changing it for  the winter storage rather than after or notwithstanding the storage, you can actually use a different weight.  In the North East you can go as low as 5w30, but that’s speaking very generally.  For myself, I know that there will be a few days over the next 3 months that reach 60 degrees, and I don’t like 5w30 for days that warm.  We’re talking about a 103ci air-cooled engine, it has needs, man.  I go with the middleground and use  10w40.  In summer, I like 20w50.  That’s what works for me, where I live, how I ride, and with the exhaust/fuel systems (+PCV) I have.

 

PAINT / EXTERIOR

Ok, not technically a system, you got me there.  You would not lose my respect riding a bike that was all function and no sexy, but it’s another thing to favor function to the point of neglecting your aesthetics.  Your paint needs love.  Wax it, even if no one is going to see the bike because it’s in your garage, even if you are going to put a cover over it, even if the wax will all wear off when you take the bike out.   Like the bible says, do not be like the hypocrites or the vain and do it for the reward of people seeing you, but instead do it in private.  I’m not religious but I get it – you gain something doing it right, and it’s worth more than having people think better of you.  So when it’s just you and the bike, pop the seat off and get under that rear fender, wax the shit out of it and know that the wax will protect your glorious paint from the evils of the world.  Amen.

For the leather, you can go nuts and make a blend of cedarwood oil, beeswax, and plenty of other stuff.  You can also just use the little spray bottle called “leather treatment” that’s sold in every auto parts store in the country.  I don’t over think it, I just spray the leather spray on my leather.  Done.

For your chrome, the lightest mist of WD-40 will prevent rust.  Takes seconds, saves $$$$.

 

YOUR SELF

Write a list for yourself so you know what has been done.  You should be keeping a service log, but if not (or your $tealer does all your work), at least keep track of this stuff.

And learn to suck it up and get the bike out for 15 minutes on days when you normally wouldn’t.  You don’t need to hop on the highway, you can just putt around the block at 20mph.  Twice a month, if you can, can make almost all of this winterizing advice moot.  Get some good gloves and make it happen.

Last up – remember to check your gear!  Things have a way of falling apart when you aren’t looking.

 

Ride safe, and happy winter to all.