Starting and running the Spyder all winter

[Theodore]

What do the experts here think about starting the Spyder once or twice a week and letting it idle for a while (as well as rev it up a little once warm) instead of adding fuel stabilizers and such? Some guys swear by Sta-bil, Sea Foam etc. and others are dissuading me. I use Shell non-ethanol premium fuel. I figure if I run the engine and I keep burning fuel (and adding some new fuel) my fuel will never get stale. I bought a 2021 F3-T. First bike of any kind, ever. It's parked in my garage-- the garage is very big and heated. Should I just run it every so often? Riding it will be out of the question because I'm in Montreal Canada and the snow is a commin'. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Peter Aawen]

What do I think of you repeatedly starting & running your Spyder for short periods throughout your winter layover?!

DON'T DO IT!!

Unless you are starting and running your Spyder at RYDING REVS for at least about 30 mins each time, all you'll be doing is sucking green steam outta the battery with each start and not running the engine long enough to properly replenish the voltage drain caused by each of those starts, leaving your battery getting weaker & weaker & pretty much just destroying it over time; you'll be repeatedly starting it on cold oil and not running it for long enough to properly warm THE OIL up to its proper operating temps (oil takes somewhat longer than the coolant to reach its operating temp) so you'll be repeatedly applying accelerated wear rates to the 'usually oil coated' internals; you'll never be running it for long enough to properly warm the metal bits up properly, causing condensation to form throughout the engine internals & especially in the exhaust system & really just not running it for long enough to heat everything up enough to 'cook' any of that condensation out, creating accelerated corrosion in there too; and basically, you'll be doing your Spyder a WHOLE LOT of disservice thru those repeated 'Not Ryding' & start ups/short running!!

If you are going to park it up for the winter:

• just add the fuel stabiliser in order to stop the fuel going off AND to avoid the fuel attracting & absorbing too much moisture/water contamination from the air, as well as not spreading that throughout the whole fuel injection system, thereby starting rust & corrosion chewing into the entirety of the fuel system internals AND making starting/running well in the new season harder/much less likely;
• connect it to a battery TENDER/MAINTAINER if that's your bent (not just a 'Charger' - you don't want to 'cook' the battery by over-charging it!) or you could even disconnect &/or take the battery out if you want to put it up on a bench/in a cupboard;
• protect your Spyder/Ryker from rodent attack & cover it if you feel that necessary; and
• then LEAVE IT ALONE to hibernate safely thru the winter until you are ready to start ryding again in the new season!!

Repeated starts & short duration periods of engine idling &/or running during lay-over periods are quite simply, not very good at all for any machine in sooo many ways, and the fuel 'going off' & getting stale is probably the least of the very valid reasons for choosing to add fuel stabiliser!!

[Mikey]

[woods]

Wholeheartedly agree! The other thing I do is put a mouse trap or 2 under it and look at em every day when I go out. But,I live in the woods.

[MONK]

If you're going to leave it sitting all winter (and judging from where you are, I can sort of understand that), I'd also get some 0000 steel wool and stick it in your exhaust pipes. That will keep critters out. Other than that, I agree with Peter. Either ride it (the longer, the better) or leave it sit. Plug it into a battery tender, put some Stabil in the gas tank and maybe even put a floor jack under the FRAME to keep the weight off the tires.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

What do I think of you repeatedly starting & running your Spyder for short periods throughout your winter layover?!

DON'T DO IT!!

Unless you are starting and running your Spyder at RYDING REVS for at least about 30 mins each time, all you'll be doing is sucking green steam outta the battery with each start and not running the engine long enough to properly replenish the voltage drain caused by each of those starts, leaving your battery getting weaker & weaker & pretty much just destroying it over time; you'll be repeatedly starting it on cold oil and not running it for long enough to properly warm THE OIL up to its proper operating temps (oil takes somewhat longer than the coolant to reach its operating temp) so you'll be repeatedly applying accelerated wear rates to the 'usually oil coated' internals; you'll never be running it for long enough to properly warm the metal bits up properly, causing condensation to form throughout the engine internals & especially in the exhaust system & really just not running it for long enough to heat everything up enough to 'cook' any of that condensation out, creating accelerated corrosion in there too; and basically, you'll be doing your Spyder a WHOLE LOT of disservice thru those repeated 'Not Ryding' & start ups/short running!!

If you are going to park it up for the winter:

• just add the fuel stabiliser in order to stop the fuel going off AND to avoid the fuel attracting & absorbing too much moisture/water contamination from the air, as well as not spreading that throughout the whole fuel injection system, thereby starting rust & corrosion chewing into the entirety of the fuel system internals AND making starting/running well in the new season harder/much less likely;
• connect it to a battery TENDER/MAINTAINER if that's your bent (not just a 'Charger' - you don't want to 'cook' the battery by over-charging it!) or you could even disconnect &/or take the battery out if you want to put it up on a bench/in a cupboard;
• protect your Spyder/Ryker from rodent attack & cover it if you feel that necessary; and
• then LEAVE IT ALONE to hibernate safely thru the winter until you are ready to start ryding again in the new season!!

Repeated starts & short duration periods of engine idling &/or running during lay-over periods are quite simply, not very good at all for any machine in sooo many ways, and the fuel 'going off' & getting stale is probably the least of the very valid reasons for choosing to add fuel stabiliser!!

.....Condensation is your main enemy here ..... heating and cooling cycles create more condensation causing rusted out exhaust systems, water contaminated oil, etc. .... I can't think of even one single benefit repeated short run times will give you ..... Mike

[RICZ]

No! Never awaken hibernating bears or engines.

[ARtraveler]

They got you covered.

[BajaRon]

I'd say 'Don't Do It'. But I think you've already got that information clearly expressed above. Very bad, at any time of the year, to start any engine (more so a high performance engine) and let it idle, or even rev it up without a load. It isn't going to explode. But you are doing it no favors. It will take a very long time to get the oil up to operating temperature this way. And until this happens. Bad things are going on inside your engine.

Either ride it, or let it be.

Did I mention that you shouldn't do it?

[Greven]

I plug in a battery tender, and throw a blanket over the bike to keep it dust free.
Probably overkill, but a few times during the winter I just roll the bike manually a little, to avoid "flat spots" on the tires. I have no idea if that really is a risk, and probably any flat spots would be gone in 5 minutes of riding in the spring... but at least it justifies my urge to sit on the bike and make rotax-imitation sounds with my mouth

[BajaRon]

I plug in a battery tender, and throw a blanket over the bike to keep it dust free.
Probably overkill, but a few times during the winter I just roll the bike manually a little, to avoid "flat spots" on the tires. I have no idea if that really is a risk, and probably any flat spots would be gone in 5 minutes of riding in the spring... but at least it justifies my urge to sit on the bike and make rotax-imitation sounds with my mouth

With radial tires, you don't really have to worry about flat spots. Especially on something as light as the Spyder. It's the sidewall that flexes, not so much the tread area. You should keep the tire pressures up during storage. But other than that. You can skip the moving when you do your fantasy rides in the winter.

[Theodore]

Thank-You all very much! I picked up these 2 products. battery-tender-junior-selectable-12v-battery-charger__16622.1602249466.jpg Screen Shot 2020-11-25 at 12.39.58 PM.jpg

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

With radial tires, you don't really have to worry about flat spots. Especially on something as light as the Spyder. It's the sidewall that flexes, not so much the tread area. You should keep the tire pressures up during storage. But other than that. You can skip the moving when you do your fantasy rides in the winter.

and let me add what I do ..... I inflate the tires to the Max as printed on the sidewall..... I have Auto tires that I normally use at 18 psi or less .... I bump that up to 42 psi., when it's in storage, this also makes moving by hand much easier ..... Happy Thanksgiving All .... Mike

[JBonWheelsblog]

Hi, all. My wife and I recently added a 2020 Ryker Rally and a 2020 Honda Rebel 500 to our garage, getting rid of a couple scooters. In general, though, we are still fairly new to motorcycles and pretty clueless about winter storage. I've read through the above suggestions and feel a little less clueless, but still had a couple questions (which may sound stupid ).

Would the information shared in the above posts apply to any type of motorcycle? Meaning, should I plan to buy two bottles of Sta-bil? Also, I own one battery tender/charger that I previously bought due to battery issues with one of the scooters. Is it necessary to keep the tender connected all of the time, or could I alternate it from one bike to the other (like, run it a week at a time or something) to avoid having to buy a second tender?

Thanks in advance!

[Little Blue]

Yes, you can go from one bike to the other with one Tender. For me I would just buy a second Tender and be Safe. Plug and done, life is tough so enjoy your time.

[BajaRon]

Yes, you can go from one bike to the other with one Tender. For me I would just buy a second Tender and be Safe. Plug and done, life is tough so enjoy your time.

I agree. 1 tender is fine for 2 bikes. 1 week or even 2 weeks each rotation is more than adequate. It's remembering to do the switch. I have a number of batteries to keep up through the winter. I just rotate 2 tenders through the group. It works fine. Of course, 1 tender each eliminates all of this. But I'm too cheap to do that and it doesn't hurt to take a look at each vehicle periodically to be sure you're not getting a rodent issue, tires aren't going flat, etc.

[EdMat]

Meaning, should I plan to buy two bottles of Sta-bil?
Thanks in advance!

Don't have a bottle in front of me a a reference but 1 bottle should treat both tanks with some left over. It shows oz. to use per gallon if am not mistaken.

[ARtraveler]

Both pieces of information have been posted.

One bottle of StaBil will cover both bikes for the season if you don't keep emptying the tank by riding.

For convenience sake, I used to put a battery tender on each bike. Plug it in, inspect that the green light is on from time to time, and leave it. In Alaska, the Spyders and bike sat on a tender from November through March. They would all start on the first try in the Spring (March/April).

Now in Arkansas, The John Deere gets the battery tender. All three of the bikes are ridden regularly. So for me, no StaBil or Tender now.

[RICZ]

is it necessary to keep the tender connected all of the time, or could I alternate it from one bike to the other (like, run it a week at a time or something) to avoid having to buy a second tender?

That's a very good question. Yes, one battery tender can suffice. Putting it on one bike for a day per week will suffice. It's when batteries are ignored for a month or more, their lives are shortened.

[Steve W.]

Has anyone bothered to mention ... NO, DON'T DO IT (to the starting every once in a while, that is)?

I also subscribe to the Sta-Bil and battery tender routine, but I usually double-up on the Sta-Bil. I have never seen anything that says I shouldn't do that, and I have never had any problems with the motorcycles that I winterize or the snowblower that I summerize.

JBonWheelsblog, Sta-Bil is available in many different sizes. The largest I have seen is about 16 ounces, which will handle SEVERAL Spyders. A 'normal' dose will be 2-3 ounces to treat a full tank.

If you happen to have a nice day and decide to go for a ride, just add another ounce or two, then fill the tank and park the Spyder, as before.

.

[Possible]

I guess I'm the odd man out: I've never used Stabil and never had issues starting/running the bike in the spring. I do have a
double out Battery Tender to use for the batteries, and one for the diesel outside.

[MONK]

One more thing, once you've added the Stabil (or not), FILL UP THE GAS TANK like you're preparing for a zombie apocalypse. If the tank is full of gas, there's no place for condensation (re: water) to collect.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Has anyone bothered to mention ... NO, DON'T DO IT (to the starting every once in a while, that is)?

I also subscribe to the Sta-Bil and battery tender routine, but I usually double-up on the Sta-Bil. I have never seen anything that says I shouldn't do that, and I have never had any problems with the motorcycles that I winterize or the snowblower that I summerize.

JBonWheelsblog, Sta-Bil is available in many different sizes. The largest I have seen is about 16 ounces, which will handle SEVERAL Spyders. A 'normal' dose will be 2-3 ounces to treat a full tank.

If you happen to have a nice day and decide to go for a ride, just add another ounce or two, then fill the tank and part the Spyder, as before.

.

..." 2-3 ounces to treat a full tank " .... I suggest you re-read the instructions on the bottle ..... I use the Marine grade Star Tron brand so the required amount may be different ..... but maybe not ..... good luck .... Mike

[Steve W.]

..." 2-3 ounces to treat a full tank " .... I suggest you re-read the instructions on the bottle ..... I use the Marine grade Star Tron brand so the required amount may be different .....

OK, Mike, what do YOUR instructions say?

I just looked at my bottle of the standard red original formula, it says "One ounce treats up to 2.5 gallons of fuel."

With a tank size of 6.9 gallons on our RT, ...

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

OK, Mike, what do YOUR instructions say?

I just looked at my bottle of the standard red original formula, it says "One ounce treats up to 2.5 gallons of fuel."

With a tank size of 6.9 gallons on our RT, ...

StarTron Marine concentrate - 1oz. to 16 .......GALLONS ............... Mike Google it - @ Amazon $ 29.49 for 32oz. with free shipping... I use it at every fill-up ....the company claims it neutralizes Ethanol in the gas.