[Shedward-TRX450R]

Hi. I have a 2005 Honda TRX450R ATV and wondering the best approach for winterizing?

I live in New England so it gets extremely cold this way. I will have the ATV inside my garage that is not heated.

There seems to be two schools of thought: Run the tank until empty or fill the tank and add fuel stabilizer.
Either way, I will drain the carburetor.

What do you suggest best practices for winterizing?

Thanks.

 

[Catfish911]

Sea Foam

 

[Shedward-TRX450R]

Thanks, but what does this mean?

 

[Catfish911]

Thanks, but what does this mean?

I live in Wisconsin and I use my ATV usually in the winter time like plowing, trapping and hunting. There is a gas additive called Sea foam that you add to any motor and it works wonders when you go to start the motor in the Spring. I put it in my outboard motors, chainsaws, leaf blowers, generators, weed wacker, power washer, and lawn mowers. With the bad ethenal gas we have its a must. You must run the motor for a bit after adding the Sea foam so it gets in the carberator also. Believe me this stuff works. Otherwise you will be cleaning a lot of carbs come Spring.

 

[SamUK]

First off use non ethanol fuel or the lowest available to you. This will cause a gunky, gummy build up and a lot of unwanted issues!

As already stated, 'seafoam'.. An additive specifically for the job in question, Google it

 

[Shedward-TRX450R]

I live in Wisconsin and I use my ATV usually in the winter time like plowing, trapping and hunting. There is a gas additive called Sea foam that you add to any motor and it works wonders when you go to start the motor in the Spring. I put it in my outboard motors, chainsaws, leaf blowers, generators, weed wacker, power washer, and lawn mowers. With the bad ethenal gas we have its a must. You must run the motor for a bit after adding the Sea foam so it gets in the carberator also. Believe me this stuff works. Otherwise you will be cleaning a lot of carbs come Spring.

Hi. Thanks a lot for the explanation. I did purchase STA-BIL Storage Fuel Stabilizer last year. Is Sea Foam better or relatively the same thing? Thanks again.

 

[Shedward-TRX450R]

First off use non ethanol fuel or the lowest available to you. This will cause a gunky, gummy build up and a lot of unwanted issues!

As already stated, 'seafoam'.. An additive specifically for the job in question, Google it

Thanks for the above info. Very helpful. Have a nice day.

 

[Catfish911]

Hi. Thanks a lot for the explanation. I did purchase STA-BIL Storage Fuel Stabilizer last year. Is Sea Foam better or relatively the same thing? Thanks again.

I use to use Stabil but had issues with it. A guy told me to switch to SeaFoam and I have not had a problem since use.

 

[mrbb]

I am a snowmobiler, so parking things for seasons is the nor, just the opposite, 30+ yrs of this!

wash, clean atv, DON"T use ethanol fuel period all yr, unless you use it all up fast
it sucks!
iuf you use ethanol fuel at all, I would maybe even suggest draining tank
and RE Filling with 100% NON ethanol fuel, and even add some stabilizer to it(make sure its for NON ethanol fuel)
fill tank
run carb/'s dry but shutting off fuel peacock if you have one, if EFI< no worries!
, you can pull spark plug and spray some WD 40 down it
many folks like to drain oil and fill with new oil too, this way any crap won't settle and cling to the bottom of the motor when parked for a linger period!
and then many like to re change oil again in spring time, so you an drain and use CHEAP oil for winter storage if you wanted, or just drain, refill with GOOD oil, and be good to go come spring time!

if your a little more anal, you can lift atv up off ground by frame to take pressure and sag out of tires, so don't get flat spots(filling with a bunch of extra air can work too, but not TOO Much
I suggest putting a plug in your exhaust(FMF makes them they also come in handy when washing things too)
after this, you can pull battery or place it on a battery tender
if not putting on a tender, I suggest pulling battery and bringing in doors to a heated area, will last longer, and hold charge better!

also there is nothing wrong with doing almost NOTHING to your atv, MINUS fill with NON ethanol fuel
and just once or twice a month, start it up, make sure it comes up to temp and then some , or ride it a little

I have done this many times on sleds, get funny looks tearing up my grass in summer time riding them LOL
tip, if you have any mice where you park ATV< plugging exhaust is a BIG deal, as is inspecting your air box before starting atv , some even block the intake tube, pending where its parked and how many of them suckers might get near it!
Placing moth balls all about atv isn;t a bad idea either if you have mice issue's
not perfect, but seems to work better than most things!
steel wool can be used to plug exhaust and intake if you don;t have a actual plug for them

 

[Shedward-TRX450R]

I use to use Stabil but had issues with it. A guy told me to switch to SeaFoam and I have not had a problem since use.

Sounds good. Thank you.

 

[Shedward-TRX450R]

Thank you so much for taking the time and writing all the below matter. I really appreciate all the feedback and info. Have a great day.

I am a snowmobiler, so parking things for seasons is the nor, just the opposite, 30+ yrs of this!

wash, clean atv, DON"T use ethanol fuel period all yr, unless you use it all up fast
it sucks!
iuf you use ethanol fuel at all, I would maybe even suggest draining tank
and RE Filling with 100% NON ethanol fuel, and even add some stabilizer to it(make sure its for NON ethanol fuel)
fill tank
run carb/'s dry but shutting off fuel peacock if you have one, if EFI< no worries!
, you can pull spark plug and spray some WD 40 down it
many folks like to drain oil and fill with new oil too, this way any crap won't settle and cling to the bottom of the motor when parked for a linger period!
and then many like to re change oil again in spring time, so you an drain and use CHEAP oil for winter storage if you wanted, or just drain, refill with GOOD oil, and be good to go come spring time!

if your a little more anal, you can lift atv up off ground by frame to take pressure and sag out of tires, so don't get flat spots(filling with a bunch of extra air can work too, but not TOO Much
I suggest putting a plug in your exhaust(FMF makes them they also come in handy when washing things too)
after this, you can pull battery or place it on a battery tender
if not putting on a tender, I suggest pulling battery and bringing in doors to a heated area, will last longer, and hold charge better!

also there is nothing wrong with doing almost NOTHING to your atv, MINUS fill with NON ethanol fuel
and just once or twice a month, start it up, make sure it comes up to temp and then some , or ride it a little

I have done this many times on sleds, get funny looks tearing up my grass in summer time riding them LOL
tip, if you have any mice where you park ATV< plugging exhaust is a BIG deal, as is inspecting your air box before starting atv , some even block the intake tube, pending where its parked and how many of them suckers might get near it!
Placing moth balls all about atv isn;t a bad idea either if you have mice issue's
not perfect, but seems to work better than most things!
steel wool can be used to plug exhaust and intake if you don;t have a actual plug for them

 

[mrbb]

its also a good idea to take chain off and clean well, brush and some sort of cleaner, then re install, oil good and replace!
down time is also a great time to do PM,'s
like inspect the wear and tear items, wheel bearings, swing arm bearings, chain and sprockets, any wear roller or pans chain rides on!
oil cables, look for any loose bots and nuts, things vibrate loose over time!

 

[Shedward-TRX450R]

Good to know this info. Thank you very much for sharing the above tips. : )