Riding Illinois In January

We got a little over 4 hours of sunshine in Illinois, today. Time enough to fire up the SWing and log about 70 miles. The high was near 55 which is unheard of for late January in this part of the country. The roads went from wet to dry in a matter of a few hours and being out on the SWing was glorious! Next week the highs are in the mid or low 30s. It may be a long while before we get another chance to ride. Hope not!

I was wondering what peole do to ride all winter in cold climates...I am not talking clothing, but, do you do anything different to your Swing, such as run it with any gas treatment or?

My compulsory winter routine is to always the hose the scooter down at home with cold water to neutralise any road salt, then wash and blow dry it before wheeling it back into the garage. An occasional plug in to the Motobatt battery tender doesn't hurt either.

I do have anti-corrosion sprays and fuel stabilisers and other assorted aerosols, but they're secondary to regular washing. I'm also running on all-season tyres with a rubber compound that don't harden in cold weather, and have a more agressive and multiple sipes tread pattern.

I ride when I can but avoid the salty season like the plague, we use that nasty brine system here in o-HI-o and my 4 wheel vehicles get a regular rinse after use. If I know something may sit more than a month it gets the fuel treatment Stabil, cheaper than overhauling a fuel system.

You upper latitude folks like Illinois Kenjj50 probably have good experience in knowing how to keep your Swing fresh. In the fickle winters of PA, I look for any window to get the bike out and have found at least ONE day per winter month to get the Swing safely on the road for a spell.

Sometimes salt will limit your willingness to endanger the bike, but watching the weather helps to plan even a week ahead. If that happens, I slip out.

During winter months, I also plan that I may not have a riding window for a month, so keeping the tank as FULL as possible (keeps nasty condensation at a minimum), dropping in some Stabil, Marvelous Mystery Oil, Seafoam, or other protective petroleum-based product in the tank during winter fill-ups helps. I'm also guessing that some Heet/dry gas could help. Also if the bike sits for about a month, keep the battery tended with a tender, trickle charger, etc. Then you will be ready to slip out through a weather window any time, with the readiness of a fighter pilot.

I can only remember about two complete winters when I actually took the battery out of my Honda Nighthawk 450 and brought it into the warm basement for the winter. Since then my batteries have been outside with periodic tending, ,and I have found that if tended, my batteries were ready to work.

Caution: even a new battery untended through 6 months of winter can drain to uselessness. Be sure that your outside battery is tended if left out too long.

I kind of look forward to the challenge of the upcoming winter to see what I can (safely) get away with in the riding experience.

I actually took the battery out of my Honda Nighthawk 450 and brought it into the warm basement for the winter. <<>> LOL, my cousin managed to sneak his bike into his bedroom one winter no need to take a battery out.