New member, first bike in 20+ years!

[jeffm]

I'm not having a mid-life crises - I'm having a NO life crises... So, I decided to buy. Something. For. Me. Haven't done that in a looooooong time. !!

I haven't been on a bike in a good 20+ years but am picking up my 2014 NC700X (manual) tomorrow. It's a private sale but feel pretty good about it. At my age (49) this feels like the right bike at the right time. It has has ~ 6400 miles on it.

After buying one of these used can I get suggestions of what you would have done after purchasing and/or before putting it away for the winter here in NE? I plan on riding as long as I can but am going to have it serviced before putting it away. I've done my research but hearing actual experiences is far better than guessing!

Thanks for any input advice offered!
Jeff

 

[sumo]

Welcome! What service do you need? Why don't you do it yourself?

 

[GlennC]

Classic winter storage prep:

- Change oil and filter prior to storage. (Not after).
- Fill fuel tank and add stabilizer.
- Remove battery and put it on a trickle charger.
- Cover and keep dry as best as possible.

 

[Alias]

Congratulations on your bike purchase.

For winter storage, I feel that a battery tender and gas stabilizer are must have items.

 

[sumo]

Whenever I buy a used vehicle the first thing I do is change the oil and filter. Maybe the previous owner never changed the oil, or he changed it with the wrong kind of oil. Maybe he also put on the wrong filter. Only when you do this yourself do you know it's right. So if you change your oil now in late September chances are it will still have lots of life in it when November rolls around and you store it for winter. I say leave that oil be and make good use of it next spring and into the summer.

See if you can find some Ethanol free gas to put in over the winter. In Canada the most expensive Premium gas is generally Ethanol free. Normally I use regular gas that is 10% Ethanol but come October I use Premium so there is no Ethanol left in the system over the winter. Ethanol is what turns nasty over time and gums up your fuel system. Sure, throw some stabilizer in at the same time.

I don't take my battery out I have an SAE plug permanently installed on the bike so I simply plug in my Battery Tender Jr charger for the six months it sits under a tarp in my garage.

Polish it up, stains and crap really set in when you store your bike dirty.

 

[GlennC]

See if you can find some Ethanol free gas to put in over the winter. In Canada the most expensive Premium gas is generally Ethanol free. Normally I use regular gas that is 10% Ethanol but come October I use Premium so there is no Ethanol left in the system over the winter. Ethanol is what turns nasty over time and gums up your fuel system. Sure, throw some stabilizer in at the same time.

For what it's worth, I don't strictly think either ethanol-free gas nor stabilizer is necessary over the winter. What used to happen, with carbureted bikes, is that the fuel would constantly evaporate through the carb vent lines. The most volatile components would evaporate preferentially, leaving the least volatile sitting in the carb. The float would continually admit more fuel, and over time, those un-evaporated non-volatile components would build up, eventually leading to some horrible thick old-gas sludge gumming everything up.

Even with this happening, I've stored bikes for months, maybe years, that had carbs and open fuel taps, without problems.

I've also stored bikes for years with some attention to make sure the carbs were dry, and the old fuel itself has never been any problem at all.

I don't think any of this applies to fuel-injected bikes unless stored for *extremely* long periods of time. And there is also the consideration of rust developing inside the fuel tank if it's not filled.

The bikes I've had trouble with were carbed bikes that had sat for years, many years, with no attention at all. That, in my experience, is what it actually takes to gum up gasoline, ethanol or not.

Having said that, a little stabilizer does no harm.

 

[670cc]

Advice about maintenance and storage will vary greatly from one individual to the next. Here is my spin on it:

At the 6400 miles on the OP's bike, most potential neglect would be about tire condition and pressure, and drive chain condition and tension. Check those out.

For winter storage, top off the fuel and add stabilizer, although I've never had issues whether the stabilizer was added or not. (No one has proven yet to me whether Stabil works). Batteries age better in cooler temperatures. Heat kills batteries. Leave the battery in the bike unless the bike is stored in a warm area and the battery could benefit from moving it to a cooler area. Connect an automatic battery maintainer.

As for the engine oil, I wouldn't get worked up over it. Change it at this fall or next spring. The change interval is 8000 miles or one year. It's probably past the one year mark, but to me that's not critical. (By comparison, my GL1800 manual says 8000 mile oil change interval but makes no statement about a time interval).

Now for strictly rambling on:

The price of Stabil has risen about 50% over the past 5 years or so, and I've been using less of it. I haven't noticed any change. All my engines start and run fine whenever I want them to. My main rule is to run carburetors dry or drain carburetors if anticipated non use is a month or more. To GlennC's point, carbs gum up because they are vented to the atmosphere, and fuel injected bikes are not so sensitive to leaving fuel in them.

In my opinion, way too many needless oil changes are done on engines and there's too much hype surrounding engine oil. I've owned and used a lot of engines in my day. I own around two dozen engines right now. I don't go overboard on oil changes, and I don't change any oil sooner than necessary as I wouldnt have the time to mess with it anyway. I have never had excess wear, early demise, or outright internal mechanical failure attributed to lubrication on any engine. I still regularly use a Honda lawn mower I purchased 33 years ago. I just sold a van with 200,000 miles on it, still going strong. Oil is oil as long as you chose the right viscosity and specs, and the manufacturer suggested change intervals are conservative. Don't worry about it.

 

[dduelin]

I ride year round so I have no suggestions as to long term storage but I do want to extend a WELCOME ABOARD to you!

 

[jeffm]

Hey, thanks for the input everyone. I know the basics but I was wondering if there was anything with this particular model that you'd look at in particular? After doing more reading there doesn't seem to be any persistent issues, which is good. I think I'm going to have it looked over thoroughly by a shop near me just to have a baseline to work from. I could do most of that but who has the time? It will give peace of mind and I'd rather be riding! After just a few days I've gotta say two things, 1.) I love this bike. 2.) Why did I wait so long to get back on a motorcycle? (20+ years!!)

Oh, and we only just started getting the pumps around here to provide ethanol free gas in the last 12-18 months... well, where you don't have to go out of your way anyway. I use it religiously for my lawn equipment and now my bike. I haven't seen a need to use it in my truck... in fact it only comes in higher octane which probably isn't beneficial to that.

 

[GlennC]

The only thing I'd do, personally, is change the oil, since you don't know how it's been treated, and make sure the battery is taken care of one way or another. Short trips can lead to condensation and fuel in the oil. Probably won't make any difference at all but getting it out now would make sense and then you have fresh oil in the spring.

 

[Ackme]

After just a few days I've gotta say two things, 1.) I love this bike. 2.) Why did I wait so long to get back on a motorcycle? (20+ years!!)

Go Jeff! and welcome!

 

[pprior]

I was also a 20+ year absent rider that came back to motorcycling on the NC700x. Welcome back and stay safe. I'd change the oil now, I always use fuel treatment for the winter as the ethanol in fuel will attract water and can do damage. Plug in a battery tender (smart one) and that's it for me for the winter.

Don't forget ATGATT! Cagers are way worse than they were 20 years ago.