Winterize

The summer of 2010 was basically non-existent in Calgary. Aside from maybe 2 weeks of nice hot weather, all we got was cold and rain. I don't see any motorcycle trips happening in the near future so I decided today to take a quick spin on the VFR and winterize it. Winter is long and I'll miss riding the big bitch but I'm excited about some projects I have planned for it.

First I hand-washed and waxed it to a glassy consistency and smeared Armor-All on the matte surfaces:

With about 4500 Kms on the clock, I changed the oil and filter again, this time going to the best synthetic oil money can buy: $18/litre Motul 300V double ester. Winterizing will also include putting the bike on stands (to take the weight off the tires and avoid "flat-spotting") hooking the battery up to a tender and adding stabilizer to the fuel.

I had time to spare after the oil change so I decided to strip the VFR's clothes off again... this will come in handy for some of the work I plan to do to it. After doing it once before, taking the fairings off the VFR is a cinch. Just pop out some clips, take out 4 bolts and the side panels slide forward and off. The tank "sides" are just as easily removed. I decided to go a little further and removed the front cowl as well. It was easy as pie... all I had to do was disconnect some wiring clips and the whole front subframe subassembly came off with the 2 13mm bolts that hold it to the headstock.

Just for fun, I tried starting the bike and surprisingly it started and ran. My last 2 Hondas wouldn't start without the instrument panel attached. I rode it around the alley with a big grin on my face... it felt like a big streetfighter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RDvBThFyQk


Stay tuned for my winter projects. I'll be removing some emissions junk and making some small cosmetic improvements. If Dynojet releases a PCV I'll aim to get one of those hooked up as well.