Motorcycle Seasonal Detailing, Protection & ‘Hibernation’ Preparation
Riding throughout the winter or tucking your motorcycle away? mono motorcycles can help.
Here are a few tips to help you prepare for winter motorcycle riding & what’s included in our Winter Detailing Prep & ACF50 treatment & Winter ‘Hibernation’ Detailing/Protection packages.
Riding throughout the winter: Detailing & Protection
Full machine detailing & ACF50 treatment
Detailing is a great way to protect your motorcycle from the elements, to prevent rust from salty roads & preserve the longevity of your beloved machine.
Therefore, in addition to the full cleaning & machine detailing we offer, we also coat all the vulnerable surfaces with ACF50 to protect against road debris & apply a small amount of grease to your fork stanchions to stop surface rust forming.
Ceramic coating (nanoseal) can also be applied to the paint work, allowing water to bead off & in doing so, protecting & preserving the paint finish.
Winter Detailing, Protection & ACF50 or Winter ‘Hibernation’ Detailing & Protection, are priced from £160 + VAT (dependant on the make/model of your motorcycle & or additional ‘hibernation’ elements). Ceramic/Nanoseal paint coatings are an additional £20.
Battery health check
Your battery has to work a lot harder when it’s cold, due to the oil being thicker & tolerances being tighter.
Therefore, we always check batteries to ensure they are in tip top condition to last out the winter months & will always advise the very best options if the batteries are showing signs of deterioration.
Coolant condition
Your coolant also doubles as an antifreeze. Not enough or diluted antifreeze can cause catastrophic damaged to engine blocks or cylinder heads if it freezes. Ensuring you have enough coolant is as important in winter as in the hotter summer months. We check coolant levels as part of any health check & always advise if it needs topping up or replacing.
Tyres
Can your tyres cope on cold wet roads? Race tyres like a Supercorsa cannot necessarily cope with slippery conditions & won’t give you a safe grip to the road. Considering something like a Michelin Pilot Road 5 as an alternative, with a deep grove to clear water faster, would give you a better grip & safer riding experience.
Brakes
Ensuring your brakes are safe & working correctly is important at any time of the year. However, with rain, leaves & sometimes ice to contend with; ensuring your pads, discs & calipers are functioning efficiently, is imperative. Therefore, as part of our Winter Detailing Packages, we also check your brake assemblies, advising when & where necessary if they are in need of attention.
Heated grips & hand guards
There is nothing like numb fingers on a winter ride, to bring misery to any motorcyclist. Therefore, Heated Grips & hand guards are a valuable commodity in the winter months, which we are also able to supply & fit these.
Winter ‘Hibernation’ Detailing & Protection
With the mono motorcycles Winter ‘Hibernation’ Detailing packages, in addition to Full Detailing & ACF50 treatments, we also turn our attention to protecting & preparing your motorcycle physically & mechanically before it is tucked away over the winter & in doing so, ensuring it will fire up & be ready to use once the sun returns in the Spring.
Fuel
One of the most important & often overlooked aspects of motorcycling & in particular not using a motorcycle for a prolonged period of time; is how the fuel behaves if left in a non-running motorcycle.
Some modern fuels with high ethanol content, can go off very quickly, in as short a time as 6 weeks. This can block injector’s; rot rubbers & hoses & eat away at carbs. The easy way to avoid this is by adding a fuel additive to the contents of the tank, which will prevent the fuel from going off & causing damage to the engine.
Battery
If your battery is left for a few months without a charge, small bubbles with form on the plates inside. These then Crystallise making the battery useless. This is called deep discharge. It’s very difficult to get a battery to recover from this stage.
We at mono motorcycles therefore have a couple of solutions to this problem.
We highly recommend a battery optimate style charger be fitted to your motorcycle. These are very effective as they “work” the battery by charging & discharging (always allowing enough in reserve to start the motorcycle) stopping the crystals forming.
However, if your battery is already weak it may not survive the winter. Therefore, as part of the mono motorcycles Winter Hibernation Detailing package, all batteries are checked before hand, voltages recorded & we will always advise the very best options if the batteries are showing signs of deterioration
Another handy tool to keep an eye on your battery performance, is a battery monitor. This device can be fitted across your battery & via a very handy app on your phone; can alert you, should the battery become low.
Security
If you are considering laying your motorcycle up for the winter, don’t forget to ensure it is safe & secure, as well as mechanically sound. mono motorcycles, being Thatcham approved DATATOOL installers, can recommend & advise the very best security options for your motorcycle, to keep it safe & secure while it is in hibernation.
We also stock ground anchors, covers, chains, disc locks & other physical security options to help keep your motorcycle secure.
Winter Detailing, Protection & ACF50 Treatment or Winter ‘Hibernation’ Detailing & Protection, are priced from £160 + VAT (dependant on the make/model of your motorcycle & or additional ‘hibernation’ elements). Ceramic/Nanoseal paint coatings are an additional £20.
We also offer Tracker & Alarm options at £369 (each) supplied & fitted, Optimate chargers at £44.95, Battery Monitors at £34.95 & Ethanol Fuel Defender at £15.00 (100ml)
Chains, covers, ground anchors & disc locks all vary in price & are sometimes motorcycle/model dependant.
For further information & an estimate for your motorcycling needs, please let us know details of your motorcycle make & model & any additional bolt on options you require T: 01243 576212 or email us at E: monomotorcycles@gmail.com or contact us through our contact page.