hey guys I live in springfield IL where well latley it has been like 90 out but in teh cold it get's cold and snow and stuff, I was wondering if any do I have to do to winterize it?, I know about draining the tank and running the motor till it is out of fuel is there anything else to do? just5 wondering thanks

 

Well as far as getting ready for winter, I have been putting off a project that should have started 3 months ago, but with the awesome weather here I decided to tackle it. After getting my septic pumped today and the baffle fixed with some hydraulic cement, I was on to a job that needs to be done in the warm part of the day, and by Friday I should be done. You see on a river drift boat there is a coating on the bottom that has to be maintained every year and maybe with light use and a skilled rower you can get buy for a couple of years, but I am not the latter, so here I am. Here are a couple of pictures, it's coming off with a torch and a putty knife, but its still tedious. OK and as far as the getting the KLX ready for winter, I guess since I am going to ride every day I can, I can't answer what to do, but there will always be days that you will wish you had not put it into hibernation.





And here's one that was just on the camera, my son took of our dog, she's the best dog ever. Half Chiwawa and half Beagle.



Sorry Sean for the thread jack, be patient someone will have some good advice for you, or at least something funny to say.

 

man deej that looks like that sucks i wouldnt want to do that every year...

i was kinda wondering the same thing, i think im gonna change the oil before winter, and keep it on the stand during winter and start it and let it run like every couple weeks or so... and then change the oil again when its time to start riding again... but you better believe im gonna take it out in the snow.... wont hurt as bad if you fall...

 

Not trying to be mean, but this is a DUAL SPORT bike just because it may be too cold to ride on the street doesnt mean that you cant bundle up and ride on the trails. Plus there will be that day when your buddy will call you to ride at 11:59 P.M. but your bike will be in the back of the garage with the out of order sign and you will be scrambling till 3:00 a.m.
De-winterizing so you can get up at 5:00 to go riding! So dont "winterize" it just ride it around the block every now and then to keep fluids moving and battery charged.[sm=icon_rock.gif]

 

MY winter preparation means that I simply wear a heavier jacket when riding!

Living in Florida means I can ride year round, and I do - 365 days each year. Hey, last year it got to almost the low 40's in the middle of our winter!

Of course, back in the mid 1980's we had some hard freezes where it got down into the upper teens and that was costly! Destroyed a lot of the orange groves and the growers decided to sell their land to developers! Like I said, that was costly!

So, I'll probably just fill the gas tank up and ride!

Hope this helps!

 

now how would that help anyone who gets a winter... lol....
im gonna ride mine in like 8 inches of snow... should be fun

 

On the above boat pictures, I am considering another option. You guys know the material they spray in pickup trucks as a bed liner? Line-X DuraLiner, and others? Well it seems that when applying the material someone about 10 years ago discovered that if you hold the spray gun farther away from the surface to be sprayed it leaves an super smooth and slick surface. Now while this would not be desirable to have in a truck bed, on the bottom of a boat it would prove to be very advantageous. I am going to call today and see what it would cost. I think its around $400.00, but there is a guy that had it done over 8 years ago, and his boat bottom looks great and has held up well. We'll see.

 

thats a nice looking drift boat you have there Deej [sm=drooldude.gif] my boss is thinking about getting one after he sells his jet boat.

 

Hey what's up poodlenuts, long time no hear, these guys were going crazy trying to figure out what your nickname meant, glad you could set them straight before it got out of hand.......oh wait that ship already sailed LOL I have thought about selling the boat every time I think I need some money, but if I get the bottom coated with the black bed liner, I will probably keep it. I have 2 sets of oars, and 2 heaters with the tank and hoses, plus I added a 4th seat on the back that can be removes in like 2 seconds. I wanted a drift boat forever, and now that I have had it for a year I need to use it more.

 

What I do to my snowmobiles, and will probably do to my bike:

Run sta-bil in the fuel tank. Mix it up nice, ride it around to get the sta-bil in the carb. Turn the gas off and you're good. Mix it a little on the heavy side if you are going to be parking it for a while. Should be good for the winter.

As far as changing the oil, I've heard changing oils on a snowmobile is better in the fall, before you ride again. While the temps are still fluxuating you might get some condensation in the oil, and its best to contaminate the old oil than good clean oil. It could go either way, becuase you could also not want dirty oil sitting in your bike. If you do ride it in the winter, get it to operating temps for a while to get the water boiled out.

If you are parking and walking off till the summer, you might want to put a little oil down your cylinder via the spark plug hole. They sell fogging sprays, but something like two stroke oil does the same thing. Turn the engine over a few times with the ignition off.

Hope this helps. Maybe its all bunk, but I've been doing and it works good for me.