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It's almost too overwhelming

4K views 34 replies 28 participants last post by  warrewp 
#1 ·
For how good of a resource the internet and this board are, it gets overwhelming.

I have a 2012 Bonnie and don't know much about anything with a motor. I can do the simple stuff, but even tightening a chain is foreign to me, for now.

Then you go and look for tips, suggestions, and what not...specifically, this time of year, with storing for winter.

One guy disassembles the whole bike and puts each nut into it's own plastic bag.

The other guy throws it into a ditch for winter and wipes it off in spring.

The other guy takes his battery inside, the other doesn't.

One guy adds sta-bil, the other guy says if you do your bike will be a pile of rust in the spring.

Maybe it's just because I don't know that much on the mechanical side, but holy cow...can it get overwhelming.

I'll be spending this winter learning more about my new bike, because I'm not even sure I could tell you if it's fuel injected, has carbs, or anything else like that.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Welcome to the wonderful world of triumphrat.net!

A good basic article on how to winterize your bike can be found here:
http://amaproracing.com/rr/news/index.cfm?cid=51636

You have a 2012 Bonnie? It is fuel injected. From your avatar it looks like to have a Bonneville SE. I have one of those (at least it used to be, before I started messing with it)

Good luck with everything, we are here to help if you have questions.

p.s: If your questions are about tires, oil, or chain lube, I highly recommend you google search "bonneville tire triumphrat" or something to that effect. Those topics have been covered to the point of insanity a few times here. I will give you my suggestions now, Avon Storm 2 up front, Avon Azaro in the back. Rotella T6 oil, Dupont Teflon Chain Lube or PB Blaster TDL for the chain. Happy hunting.
 
#3 ·
Then you go and look for tips, suggestions, and what not...specifically, this time of year, with storing for winter.
Clean the bike, wax the paint, lube the chain, give it fresh oil and filter, remove battery and put on tender, fill tank with fresh fuel (a little splash of Stabil won't hurt anything), over inflate tires (50 psi or so) to minimize flat spots, store the bike someplace dry - fuggedaboutit.

You can do less, or more, but why would you?
 
#6 ·
Yea, I went through and read those, hence this thread.

It's just surprising how many different theories there are out there. I don't think I've seen two people completely agree yet. They'll get close, but then someone will throw something else in.
 
#11 ·
Take everything with a grain of salt as YMMV. I generally take in a collective of what everyone is saying and piece together the important parts that are going to work best for me. Always take into account you and your environment as those are always the biggest factors. Advice on winterizing your bike in Calgary is going to be different then that in Florida.
 
#16 · (Edited)
You can do it!

All of that internal noise in your head is your anxiety over the things that you have yet to experience. Omne Ignotem Pro Magnifico! Buddy up and get with a local Triumph rider and spend some quality time to know your own ride... because there is no other like it! Perfection is an illusion, so don't try so hard to get everything just right. We learn when we make mistakes and the outcome is usually not as bad as we make it out to be beforehand. Besides, these bikes are very forgiving. Ride on! :cool:
 
#22 ·
Winterize shminterize. Ride the bike. Here in Pa year round riding is possible. You'll freeze your ass off in January and February, and you won't go very far, but as long as the road is dry you can get enough riding done to keep the battery alive without need of a tender and gas flowing through the system without needing to add stabilizer. This has always worked for my bikes.
 
#25 ·
Any time it all gets too overwhelming, and you don't know who to listen to, just send up the signal:


and listen to whatever he says. He's pretty nearly always right.
 
#30 ·
It's almost too overwhelming.

Now that's an interesting combination of words.

Winterizing: Stabil in the entire fuel system, completely full tank, occasional date with the Battery Tender. It sits like that for five to six months per year, starts up in the spring without problems, although it sometimes takes a few attempts for the first start.

I don't know how much good Stabil does, but it does no harm.
 
#34 ·
A square of carpet under each wheel will help stop the tyres getting a flat spot if stood up for too long. Apart from sticking the battery on a trickle charger there really isn't any need to do anything to a bike unless its in storage for years. For the winter period I just douse the bike down in FS365 to help prevent corrosion.

Fuel will not go off if left for a few months but it can lose octane rating, so when you next ride it fill up with premium for the first refuel.
 
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