Cold-climate winterization

[db22]

The time is approaching when I will have to put the bike away until spring. Those of you in lower latitudes will smirk, put on a sweater and ride right through the winter, but we who tough it out in the Frozen North must store the bike and turn to a four-wheeled Honda until the sun creeps up in the sky again.
The PCX is my first liquid-cooled bike -- should I drain or at least open something on the cooling system? Temps here reach -25F/-32C, some years even colder -- will the coolant freeze and crack the block? I will remove the battery, and won't start the bike until spring. You Canadians and Swedes and Finns, what do you do to keep your PCX safe through the winter?

[WhiteNoise]

Off to bed ye scooter! Sad to hear but a must where you live. Must take care of oneself first.
Hey it's 37°F right this minute. Bit early for us to be this cold. We've had Very gusty winds too the past few days. Rain here by morning, snow will be north and west of us.

Are you getting snow too db?
Is your scoot kept in a garage or shed? Does it have electricity? Mine is garaged and on a battery tender. Soon I will set up a portable electric heater. Today I went to Home Depot to buy a 4 lb (?) bucket of "Damp Rid." I place it on my lift at the rear of the scoot. It draws the moisture out of the air. The moisture turns the white granulars to black. It works! Have 2 in my basement as well.

Overkill? Maybe. But it's "me" afterall. WN is happy and we can get up and go anytime. But...Not in bitter cold, snow, or ice.

[flyingzonker]

You shouldn't need to drain the block if you have properly mixed antifreeze--I live in northern Illinois. I keep my PCX in an unheated garage. I have no problem with frozen coolant. I try to ride right through the winter. I use the car when snow is flying and a day or two after a big storm. I stay on roads I know and never ride by night--in winter you need to be able to see the surfaces you are riding over.

I know Wisc is colder than northern Ill but out here on the wind swept plains what's a few miles north-or south for that matter--got to offer in the way of freeze or thaw?

Yes, I know the answer to that one: Plenty, if "few" means more than 20 or so.

[homie]

The time is approaching when I will have to put the bike away until spring. Those of you in lower latitudes will smirk.

Nope i'm with you, I was just digging out the cover and giving a wash and blow dry to the precious. Wheels up, 10lbs out of the tires, battery tender, fuel stabilizer, cover and maybe some mouse poison.

I won't stop riding until freezing temps, just not on a scooter. Need engine heat to warm the family jewels
<----no pants

[DailyRider]

Not smirking, but then again the pleasant riding season is just starting here.

Riding at over 95F is an acquired taste, if at all.

[WhiteNoise]

Rub it in
Getting jealous already DR. It's cold again here and winds won't let up. Ah but never mind...
Enjoy yourself, be safe, and think of Us thinking of You riding in perfect temps. No guilt here. Glory Days (where's that damn emoticon with his tongue sticking out? Anybody see him? Must've left him over in the Technical playpen (easy now)

[db22]

It looks like I will be able to ride most of this week -- slight chance of rain and temps in the high 50s-low 60sF. Since the four-wheeled Honda has over 200k on the odo, I want to use the PCX for every errand and commute I can until the roads ice over (the Accord does have good tires).
My PCX lives in an unheated but dry garage, and I will remove the battery when the time comes, but I do worry about those far-sub-zero overnight spikes we get in winter here. The factory coolant is still in the the bike at 3300 miles -- I am thinking of draining it when I can't bear to ride anymore this year, and replacing it with fresh in the spring. I have changed the oil twice, at 600 miles and 3000 miles, and adjusted the valves at 600. Otherwise, no service has been required, other than tightening cables as they break in. Occasionally I miss my old CB550, but my first season on the PCX has been unreservedly joyful.