We only use this vehicle in northern Michigan during summer months. It will be placed in inside storage for 6 months. We are currently burning 93 octane “leaded fuel” called Rec Gas in Michigan. I’ve been told it keeps better over the winter. Any other thoughts about disconnecting battery? Draining windshield cleaner?
I would greatly appreciate your input so it will reignite next May and fall in line like a “good ole gal”

 

Running that leaded gas is not good for sensors or cats. Ethanol free would be wise tho.
Why would you drain the washer fluid?

Change the oil. I don't care if it only has 1000 miles on it, it's contaminated with fuel, condensation, and blowby gases that's acidic and causes corrosion. This is the same reason I don't buy into extended oil change intervals of synthetic oil, btw. It's funny how the EPA mandated oil companies come up with oil that lasts longer to keep it out of landfills and lo and behold synthetic oil was born that magically goes 10,000 miles. Not in my engines it doesn't. It's subjected to contamination just like conventional oil is. My oil is changed every 2000 - 2500 miles.
Anyway, change the oil, put seafoam or stabil in the fuel, and take the battery indoors. Throw it on a trickle charge once or twice for a day or two thru the winter and call it good.
This is my recipe for storing my Harley every winter. After changing the oil, take it for a short spin to get the fresh oil circulating.
I can tell you from first hand knowledge of seeing the inside of an engine that sitting for extended periods with contaminated oil does indeed cause corrosion of internal parts. Someone who thought because his synthetic oil had plenty of life yet, he would store his bike with that used, contaminated oil every year. A subsequent tear down showed serious corrosion on exposed parts. Especially rod bearing journals. Cams and valve springs too.

Oh, and no matter what anyone says, do NOT start it and let it run periodically. This is the worst thing you can do and will cause the nice, fresh oil to be contaminated by condensation of biblical proportions. Store it and forget it. It's not rocket science.

 

The reason synthetic oil is rated to go longer distances is because it doesn't break down like most any naturally produced product. I run synthetic in all my vehicles...my present work vehicle is a 2012 Dodge Caravan with 320k+ on it and took an '97 Expedition 700k+ (gave it to Make A Wish, they drove it away). But the one thing on mine is I go over 10k on mileage on both, the only thing I do is change the filter every 5k to reduce contaminants. I also drive 50-70k a year, so my oil is being run almost daily as opposed to many others.
I've known folks who simply remove the oil from the motor to store it and not put any in until they are ready to bring it out and that was before synthetics were available to the public (long used by the military). I can't testify to that being a good thing, but when you ask yourself why put oil in it and let it sit, it kinda makes sense. That is unless you have no way to drain the oil after putting it in storage (we had barns).

A good trickle charger (Battery Tender for example, I have 3)...allows the charge to drop to a certain point (generally 12-12.5) before reapplying a charge. Thus creating real time conditions and no need to remove it until ready for re-installation.

Your concern about other fluids should be your radiator fluid, especially in the Upper Peninsula. Make sure it tests very good or if its over 3 yrs old, I'd change it or you may come back to a cracked block or radiator if your storage isn't heated or you don't have a radiator circulatory (alias block heater). I was stationed in N Dakota and know the cold there well and your right in the way of the Siberian Express.

 

if it’s a good filter it should be every other oci rather than half

 

Thanks for your response. Will dump synoil with about 2,000 miles on it. Antifreeze is new in August. Battery unfortunately will not be on a tender as the storage barn is rat free but electric is not available

 

I'm not going to get into a pissin' match about oil but UOAs don't lie and the VR1 20W50 Conventional I run in my Harley has continuously and regularly produced better results than ANY synthetic oil ever has and has done it in tests of temps over 300°F for an hour that every synthetic out there had broken down and/or done a grease impersonation and thickened to scary levels. (This was M1v-twin btw.) But Mobil is right behind Amsoil when it comes to shoveling the marketing manure. lol
Hell, the VR1 Conventional does just as well if not better than it's synthetic counterpart VR1 Synthetic for half the cost and has a higher flash point than the synthetic.
Most synthetic isn't even a true synthetic anymore and there's a pretty fine line between the two and the base oils used now days.

I'm not saying synthetic is bad. Just waayyy overrated and waayyy overpriced and needs to be dumped just as often as a good conventional anyway. Why pay the added cost?

But any oil is subject to contamination from fuel and water. I don't think changing the filter is going to remove them. But as clean as my engines are internally, I too will often change the oil twice to every filter. A filter will long out live the oil. Hell, my old ironhead didn't even use a filter.
I wouldn't go 5000 miles on oil, period. 10,000 miles is definitely not happening. But the VR1 Conventional went 5000 miles AFTER being run at temps of 300°F and only lost a mere 3% of it's viscosity and still had a TBN of 6! And nothing is harder on oil than an air cooled V-twin.
But you won't know til it's too late the protection you're lacking. Cams and lifters are among the first to experience it. Easily picked up on by having the oil analyzed for wear metals or pulling them and mic'n 'em tho.
I have a lot of $$$ in my built V-twin and I ride it hard. I take the oil I run seriously.
Engines that see a lot of short hoppin' are prone to contamination from condensation. Hard acceleration/deceleration are prone to contamination from fuel.
I'll run a good race oil high in zddp and only moderate in detergents that foam at high rpm and change it every 2500 miles. I pay $4.99/qt for VR1 20W50 Conventional where any of the synthetic boutique MC oil is $15+/qt. Just because it's not a flat tappet engine doesn't mean it doesn't benefit from higher levels of zinc/phosphorous either. It was the greatest thing in AW additives til the EPA decided they didn't like it because the phosphorous MIGHT damage cats in 100,000 miles!
Who cares!
I'll run a good semi synthetic race oil in my bike too when I get it at a good price. And the same oil goes in my Jag. Brad Penn Racing(the OLD Kendall GT) It does a good job too. But it still gets dumped every 2500 miles regardless. Oil is cheap. Running it past it's usefulness just because it's synthetic isn't wise and most people have no idea when their oil is shot. Just because you haven't suffered a catastrophic failure isn't saying much. Wear will sneak up on you.

You can go to any performance oriented forum and VR1 Conventional is always one of the top oils run in those engines. Proven by years of UOAs from people serious about engine protection. No need for marketing hype.

Sorry for the long winded post. The oil I run is is something I take real serious as I run my bike and my Jag pretty hard. I don't mean 140mph hard but I like real hard acceleration/deceleration and higher than usual rpm. My Sport is always in sport mode for the high shift points.

 

Much of my driving is highway, thus I can get away with my long runs between changes...been doing this 30 yrs. I don't mean 50 mile drives, I'm talking 4-600 at a time quite often..and one way. I drove to/back Snowmass, CO ..5 times one year, ..the last time in Dec with negative temps (that was the Expy). I also have all my tools to tote as well.

If I changed oil like you did, I'd be a broke contractor...lol. I occasionally will run a syn-blend, but change it around 5-7500. I also don't put in any thicker than a 5/30...usually I run a 0/20. 5/30 only in the Jag and like yours, mines always in S "kill mode" (as Addicted pust it). I also change oil in the Jag about every 3k.

 

Can you bring the battery in the house with a trickle charger on and off for the storage period? Seems to me the worst thing would be having to do the radio presets and memory buttons.

 

I actually have the battery out of my Corvette and sitting aside on the Battery Tender in the garage. Corvettes are worse than Jags when it comes to battery drain...and your correct Eliot, pushing a couple of buttons to redo the presets on the radio is nothing while letting it warm up.

 

I would bring the battery in the house if it's not going to be used all winter.
Here's a link to the test between Valvoline VR1 20W50 Conventional, M1 V-TWIN, and Harley's own Syn 3. Results like this are everywhere. The VR1 Conventional beats every synthetic it's ever put up against and is the oil to beat in an air cooled V-twin Harley that eats oil for breakfast.
I would run it in the Jag but they don't make a 5WXXX. In the summer I'd run a 10WXXX tho.

VR1 vs M1 vs Syn3 UOA

 

Don't know about your place, but I have this other person who she isn't to affectionate toward bringing the garage into the house. Hell, she gets mad when I walk in dirty from beating on the beasts. I have to strip down in the wash room so it goes right into the wash. There's no way a battery is coming in...lol.

 

Have you considered trading in the wife on a newer modell?
When mine turned 40 I traded her in for two 20s. The newer models are much more flexible...um yeah. You know what I mean. lol

 

I have found that gets expensive -- even one twenty . . .

 

Yeah, right...they don't know the meaning of managing money.

 

The 40 cost more than the two 20s. More fringe bennies with the 20s too. It's a win win.