TOPIC: Winterizing

My 2 cents worth. I drain the oil, and gas. I drain the carb float bowls, there is always some fuel left in the bowl even when you run it with the petcock off. I use marine fogging oil in the tank, spray some up the float bowl and into each cylinder. probably overkill. My shop rarely goes below 40 degrees so I am lucky in that sense.

Lots of good advice here, and everyone has their own "tricks". For fiberglass gas tanks I recommend storing them EMPTY so the ethanol can't do it's dirty work, and drain the carbs via the drain plugs. I replaced my last fiberglass tank with a metal one a few years ago because I failed to do this one year and the Caswell coating gave up (after 10 years). For steel tanks i store them FULL with FRESH gas, and run the carbs dry. The fresh gas lasts at least 4 or 5 months and by then I'm riding again. If left empty the steel promotes condensation when the temperature changes. I personally don't use Stabil. I found the Stabil has limited shelf life once opened - and if it's not fresh it creates its own version of crud and the gas discolors. I also understand that keeping the bike on the center stand puts a load on the Isolastics and the rubber degrades. My Nortons stay on the side stand for this reason, although I have not seen direct evidence one way or the other. Perhaps Dave can weigh in on this with his expertise. Battery tenders are terrific - they extend the battery's life to at least 4 years and prevent freezing if your garage gets too cold. Oil changes always a good idea. I added an oil shutoff valve integrated with a microswitch to my Nortons. The switch disables the ignition if the valve is not 100%open, so I don't have wet sumping issues any more and I don't have to worry about forgetting to open the valve. The bikes cannot start unless the valve is 100% open. Other than that, as i said, a lot of good advice in this thread. I bet our Nortons get better care now than when they were new! BTW, I attached some photos of the Oil Valve and Switch in case anyone is interested.

The installed photo got lost. Here it is. The valve/switch assembly is easily removed to return to 100% original. But since I ride them whenever possible I'm ok with the slight deviation. Besides, only Norton people would even notice!

Change oil, as was mentioned, The I drain the fuel tank, add a 1/2 gallon, or more of Avgas, Then run in the oil and Avgas at the same time. Lately I have been draining the carbs, removing the air screws and shooting in some carb cleaner. The battery goes on a low, smart maintenance charger, the tires get aired up. I fit the storage cover when the engine has cooled; see you in the Spring.

You can purchase non-ethanol fuel by the quart at Lowes, but it is stupid expensive.