Winter Maintenance - Should I be concerned about Moisture in the Tailpipe?

[herring]

Good evening. Unfortunately, due to a sudden change in the weather, our Spyder will be parked for an extended period of time. When cranking the Spyder, I am noticing moisture from the rear pipe. Although this is normal condensation, should I be concerned about rust? I tend to crank each bike once every week. Precautions such as a battery tender and fuel additive will be taken care of this week.

Thank you in advance for your response.

 

[Mrmikey]

If you're actually just starting the bike and shutting it off after a minute or so you're doing more harm than good. The engine isn't getting hot enough to get rid of any condensation. You're far better off plugging the tailpipe with some steel wool, leaving the tender on it, put some stabilizer in the fuel and leaving it alone.

 

[old Timer]

Running you Spyder every week without getting the exhaust system, including the pipe, hot enough to get the produced water out of it, will ensure that you increase your pipes tendency to rust. When you are finished with at least a good 15+ minute ride, park your Spyder, turn it off and do not start it again until you are ready to ride again. Plug in your battery maintainer until you are ready to go riding again. Both your battery and exhaust will thank you for a nice long time.

 

[Bfromla]

You need to do more that just warm it up, parts need movement & oil circulation. Just a couple of careful laps around block or something if possible.

 

[jzeiler]

Just cranking without starting it is even worse as the oil pump never gets to push oil where it needs to go and the next time you do it there is even less oil to lubricate parts. Just leave it alone it does not have a concept of time. Kind of like a photon traveling at the speed of light.