do you guys do all these?

[Kham]

http://home.thezone.net/~rmiller/index.html

Do you at lease remove the battery?

[Kham]

for this one goto Features and click on Winter Storage Guide link.

[legalspeed]

Yes, don't foget to do your chain and leave it on the stands.

[Kham]

damn! I have to go buy a stand too? How about If I just put a soft cardboard under the tire.

[Wayne-o]

I take my bike out for a short ride at least once a every other week.

I can't stand walking by my bike to get into my truck. I gotta take er for a spin every so oftin.

FireNutz

[RandyO]

I recommend getting winter tires and riding all winter

[Stoneman]

Originally posted by Kham
damn! I have to go buy a stand too? How about If I just put a soft cardboard under the tire.

You're better off putting pieces of wood under your tires than going with the cardboard. Concrete reacts with tires and CAN cause them to deteriorate over time. The moisture content in concrete/cement will rot the cardboard, rendering them useless...

The theory behind the stands is so that your tires won't develop flat spots, I believe. And if I remember, this is also to let the forks & shock 'relax' over their long winter nap rather than staying compressed continuously over that time...

[ShredHed]

Originally posted by Stoneman
The theory behind the stands is so that your tires won't develop flat spots, I believe. And if I remember, this is also to let the forks & shock 'relax' over their long winter nap rather than staying compressed continuously over that time...

PitBull offers front stand that lifts under the triple clamp and takes the load off the forks, but I haven't seen anything similar for the rear shock(they all lift the swingarm). My guess is that you'd have to support the engine or frame w/something (wood blocks), then lower the rear stand to take load off rear shock.

Regardless, Stoneman's rec. to get tires off ground is good advice, not to mention multiple other reasons to get yourself a pair of stands. Money well spent.

-Jack

[Rye]

Handy Industries has very good quality stands and less expensive than PitBull. I suggest a headstock stand as it allows more front end accessibility. Get a bobbin style rearstand as opposed to the pad lift (will require you to p/u some bobbins for the rear though). Easier to engage when lifting the rear yourself. I have an LP rear. It's functional but a pain in the balls. My handy headstock lift has already paid for itself.