ChinaRiders Forums - Riding CSC TT250 Through Winter, Any Suggestions On Winterizing?

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Riding CSC TT250 Through Winter, Any Suggestions On Winterizing?

So I had a blast on the CSC TT250 all summer long and I just can't justify putting it away. I'm thinking about riding it through the winter. I live in Buffalo NY and we get some pretty severe weather during the winter months. Really cold, and lots of snow. Luckily I only work about 10 blocks from my house.

Today was one of the first cold days we had, in the high 30's with sleet and rain. When I went to start the bike, for the first time ever I had a bit of time getting it started. Got me thinking about winterizing it for the coming crappy weather.

I'm still running the stock battery. Is there a better battery for this bike? Would it be worth it to change it? Anyone have any issues with dead batteries in the winter or extreme cold running the stock one?

I'm doing an oil change this weekend, and thinking I'd change out the spark plug too. I'm still running the stock plug. Any suggestions on the best plug for this bike?

I just put some new Shinko tires on too. Hoping they work out good in the snow. Anyone have any other suggestions for winterizing the bike and getting through the winter with as few a problems as possible?

One of those universal windshields that connects to your mirror mounts will help.

I took mine out over winter a few times. The bike holds up well, but lots of ACF50 or wd40 pn the metal bits to ward off corrosion. The wheels and spoke nipples were pretty bad but they are cheap to replace. It's a good bike.

You will need choke to get her going on the coldest mornings, but not too much.

It might be wise to bump up the slow jet size a bit, to helps with cold starts.

i ride all winter and i bet jerryhawk250 does too!:p:hi::tup::thanks:

Quote:

Originally Posted by timcosby (Post 292726)

i ride all winter and i bet jerryhawk250 does too!:p:hi::tup::thanks:

Me too! :clap::hi::yay: what's winter?:hmm:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sullybiker (Post 292666)

I took mine out over winter a few times.

I was going to suggest Sullybiker because I recalled him posting about his winter commutes, on a TT, no less, but Sully already beat me here! :tup:

My bike has been the same since I got it and got the crab tuned and all. No probs in the winter other than it takes a while to warm up and i baby it until it warms up.

I just got these for my winter riding. They fit over hand guards. I swap them out between the TT and RX in about 10 seconds.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/OBR-ADV-Gea...53.m2749.l2649

Also got a dual pane shield for my helmet. Heavy liners for pants and jacket. heated gloves.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250 (Post 292734)

Me too! :clap::hi::yay: what's winter?:hmm:

thats when it gets cold for 2 days then warms back up to 80!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sullybiker (Post 292666)

Good idea with the WD40, they put a lot of salt on the roads here. I figured that out with the choke this morning. It was really cold, snow on the roofs, and I put it on full choke and she started right up.

That would be nice. A luxury I probably can't afford right now though. I just ordered some new leather thinsulate gloves. Hoping that does the trick.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rojo_grande (Post 292748)

Those grip mittens are awesome. I'll look into those. I was actually looking at them in white cotton earlier this year for a desert ride I was thinking about taking over the summer.

Nice find rojo grande. My gloves are mediocre at best. Easy to switch between bikes?

Quote:

Originally Posted by timcosby (Post 292756)

thats when it gets cold for 2 days then warms back up to 80!

Oh yeah, you mean like the freak snow we had back in December then a couple of days later I'm wearing shorts and flip flops. BTW Tim, I have closed toe sandals for the winter time. :p

Well as a Canadian with a TT250 I should probably chime in. First I had a good laugh when you mentioned extream cold. - 40° is fairly cold when your working outside for 10 hours but I wouldn't call it extream. I put about 30 miles on my TT250 yesterday but it was beautiful outside and all the snow had melted. I know how much you easterners love your roads plastered with salt. Here it's usually too cold in winter for salt. If they do salt roads it brings the moose onto the highways edge to lick the salt off. The good thing about moose and motorcycles is you never hit more then one in your life. The bad thing is that it's because at best you'll never be able to ride again. Now for the advice...

The only thing you really need to "winterize" is yourself. Your TT250 will do fine in the cold. I'd run the stock battery until its toast because you can always kick start her if you need too but I'm cheap and can't justify replacement until theres a failure. Most important things you need to address in cold weather riding is keeping your visor clear and your hands warm. Frozen hands or a frosty visor is very dangerous. There's several ways to keep your hands warm and since your commute is only 10 blocks all you really need is decent gloves. I've had a lot of problems keeping my visor clear when it's cold out. One breath with the right temperature and humidity can make it impossible to see through. I'd suggest no visor and instead a good pair of safety glasses and a balaclava for under your helmet. Another danger of cold weather riding is a frost covered seat. Your seat can be extremely slippery if it has a good layer of frost on it. Make sure to clean it good before you ride if she sits outdoors. I keep an extra cloth in my top box so I can wipe off the seat when needed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biker_Andy (Post 292781)

Great tips thanks! I'm in Buffalo right next to Ontario Canada. We know cold too. Never thought about that with the visor. I'll definitely take that into consideration. I've only tried a couple times but that kick start seems all but worthless. I suppose I should have a good go at it to make sure I can start it with it. Great tips thanks.

The only way I can kick start my TT is if I'm giving it a good twist of the throttle while I kick. My old Honda needs a twist of the throttle to kick it too. I don't know why she starts fine with the electric start without any throttle but you can kick it all day and she won't start unless you give it gas.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biker_Andy (Post 293072)

Yeah, same here. Electric start just push the start but kick needs a little throttle.:tup: Push the kick start until you feel the compression then let up and then kick it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biker_Andy (Post 293072)

Nice, I'll try that when I leave work today. It's been awhile since I kick started a bike.