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Dongle and winter storage

bcer960

bcer960

Member
For those of us in the great white north, when parking the bike for the winter, do you remove the sm10 dongle, or leave it on your bike? I was just wondering if the battery would be damaged by the cold. It does get down to -30 deg c here in Jan. :yikes:

Other than adding Sta-ble to the tank, any other things to do before putting it to bed for the winter?

Thanks

Ray
 
I am not sure but to be safe, remove and bring it in to warmer quarters.

bcer960 said:
For those of us in the great white north, when parking the bike for the winter, do you remove the sm10 dongle, or leave it on your bike? I was just wondering if the battery would be damaged by the cold. It does get down to -30 deg c here in Jan. :yikes:

Other than adding Sta-ble to the tank, any other things to do before putting it to bed for the winter?

Thanks

Ray
Click to expand...
 
Can't answer on the Dongle as we don't have one.
Usually add Seafoam instead of Sta-ble but that is personal choice. Sure either works. I leave my bikes on a battery tender/maintainer. I used to put more air in the tires to prevent flat spots but stopped that and have not had any problems. You get colder weather than we do however. Not sure if you have it in a garage or not. We do keep it in a garage all the time and have never had a problem with mice but some folks do and take precautions to stop them from nesting or chewing. Exhaust pipes are favourite spots as you probably know. Plugging the pipes with steel wool keeps them out. People have all kinds of things they do to deter mice.
I change the oil before winter so none of the bad stuff in the old oil hurts the motor.
I always put our half cover on to keep dust off those areas. Other than that it sits until spring or if doing any winter projects. Others will probably have some other suggestions.

Gary
 
cognaccruiser said:
Can't answer on the Dongle as we don't have one.
Usually add Seafoam instead of Sta-ble but that is personal choice. Sure either works. I leave my bikes on a battery tender/maintainer. I used to put more air in the tires to prevent flat spots but stopped that and have not had any problems. You get colder weather than we do however. Not sure if you have it in a garage or not. We do keep it in a garage all the time and have never had a problem with mice but some folks do and take precautions to stop them from nesting or chewing. Exhaust pipes are favourite spots as you probably know. Plugging the pipes with steel wool keeps them out. People have all kinds of things they do to deter mice.
I change the oil before winter so none of the bad stuff in the old oil hurts the motor.
I always put our half cover on to keep dust off those areas. Other than that it sits until spring or if doing any winter projects. Others will probably have some other suggestions.

Gary
Click to expand...

Thanks, I hadn't thought of mice. I have a shed that I "hope" to get cleaned out before the snow hits, but the weekends just keep slipping away. I had my 5000km service done 2 weeks ago, so the oil is good for this year.
Thanks for the tips
 
Here in Ontario I leave my battery connected to the spyder and hook the battery up to
a battery tender junior. No problems all winter and spyder starts in spring.
Also fill up the fuel tank and add fuel stabilizer.
 
Regarding the dongle (SM 10), I take mine inside for the winter, I charge it once or twice, same for the helmet headset (SMH 10).
 
Hi Ray,

Re: winter storage

This will be my 2nd winter with my Spyder so I am sort of new to all us this.

I do about what others have said for me here in 'the great grey/wet north.'

Last year I started it up once a month & got her nice & warm. I plan on doing it every two weeks or so this winter.

Jerry Baumchen
 
What about the Fobo?

Does anyone do anything with FOBOs during the winter, or do you just leave them on your Spyder? Many thanks! :)
 
The SM10 has a LiPO pack in it which is good to like -20F or so (Storage NOT under use). But I would remove it anyway.

The FOBO system uses a LiON cell. Again good for like -20F or something like that. Use not storage! Since they are in use all the time when in the sensors.... I would remove them too...

Bob
 
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bcer960 said:
..... I had my 5000km service done 2 weeks ago, so the oil is good for this year....
Click to expand...

The reason behind changing your oil once you stop riding & when you put your Spyder into storage for the winter is so that you don't leave oil in there that has cleaned off any of the combustion contaminants that can make oil become acidic, especially if it's going to be left standing!! So by doing your oil change just a couple of weeks ago & by having riding it since, you've pretty much negated any benefits that putting fresh oil in prior to storage would've given you!! :shocked:

Leaving oil in your engine that has been there while the engine is running will have collected some contaminants - sure, it probably won't be a heap so your oil will only become mildly acidic, especially if you haven't run it much, but do you really want to leave acidic oil in there for the entire winter so it can eat away at the seals, gaskets, & O-rings, any alloyed metals, etc so that it's got a head start on killing them &/or your engine once you fire it up again next spring?? :opps:

As for the Dongle & FOBO sensors etc, if you can't take them inside where the temp variation is less & you can more readily keep their batteries fully charged or remove them, at least make sure that one of the very last things you do before locking the shed for the winter is to give them all a good charge!! Storing devices like that partially charged is a good way to shorten their battery life permanently, so if you're leaving them on the Spyder, charge everything up properly immediately before you lock the door until springtime! :thumbup:
 
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SM10 Dongle and Winter Storage

bcer960 said:
For those of us in the great white north, when parking the bike for the winter, do you remove the sm10 dongle, or leave it on your bike? I was just wondering if the battery would be damaged by the cold. It does get down to -30 deg c here in Jan. :yikes: Other than adding Sta-ble to the tank, any other things to do before putting it to bed for the winter? Thanks

Ray
Click to expand...

What the heck is an SM10 "dongle"?

Here in Winnipeg, for winter storage I only ensure with any of my motorcycles that the fuel tank is filled to the brim with Premium fuel (never have used Stabil etc.), stuff/jam dryer sheets in every conceivable open space on the outside of the bike, inside the frunk of the Spyder, under the seat, and into the exhaust openings. Mice absolutely detest dryer sheets! I don't use a battery tender or anything else. In the spring, if the battery won't roll over the engine to start, I just hook up my battery charger or jump start from my car. I don't have a garage, so I cover each bike with a proper SOFT-LINED cover, and then with one of those cheap nylon tarp things from Canadian Tire.
 
Have a wide door instaled and park it in the house
then you only have to drain the gas.
And.... you have all winter to install kinds of new
farkels in the comfort of your livingroom or den.


bcer960 said:
For those of us in the great white north, when parking the bike for the winter, do you remove the sm10 dongle, or leave it on your bike? I was just wondering if the battery would be damaged by the cold. It does get down to -30 deg c here in Jan. :yikes:

Other than adding Sta-ble to the tank, any other things to do before putting it to bed for the winter?

Thanks

Ray
Click to expand...
 
MurrayBrown said:
What the heck is an SM10 "dongle"?
Click to expand...

It is the devise for sending your radio via bluetooth to your helmet intercom.



Thanks for all that replied. It wont fit in the shed as I thought it would, too wide, so i will build a small lean too this weekend, just to keep the snow off for the winter.

Ray
 
bcer960 said:
It is the devise for sending your radio via bluetooth to your helmet intercom.



Thanks for all that replied. It wont fit in the shed as I thought it would, too wide, so i will build a small lean too this weekend, just to keep the snow off for the winter.

Ray
Click to expand...
Change oil/filter before putting into hibernation. Deanna
 
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