There is summarized step to follow to keep your ATV outside in the winter.

Silky Terrier Dog Breed Playing Aro... Silky Terrier Dog Breed Playing Around

Make sure your vehicle is off and cooled completely before turning it over for the winter months. (This will ensure that your battery doesn’t freeze in cold climates.)

If your ATV has a steering stabilizer, remove it so there’s less to deal with when storing outside. Take the gas tank out too if possible, but at least empty it before storing it or keep an eye on it so water does not build up inside and rust the tank out.

Protect your gas tank by adding a fuel stabilizer to gasoline, run the engine for about five minutes then turn off and let sit overnight. Add more stabilizer after a few weeks of storage to ensure fuel doesn’t go bad while in storage-fill up if needed when adding stabilizer and run the engine for a few minutes to mix. (This will prevent the fuel from going bad and gumming up the carburetor.)

If you have a small ATV, using a soft bed cover can help protect your ATV from being scratched by those pesky branches. A tarp with bungee cords or rope secured around it can do as well as long as no rain is expected over the winter months. Moving it indoors during the extreme months of cold is also an option if your ATV has been stored outside before. (You don’t want all that hard work turning into rust on good equipment.)

Remove spark plug-this helps prevent accidental starts which could damage something or cause a fire

Remove the battery (This will prevent the battery from “freezing”) or at least keep an eye on it-you may need to top off the water in your battery with distilled water if you see that it has frozen.

Using a small amount of lubricant, wipe down seat and plastic components to help prevent them from drying out while stored outside. Also, put some oil on the brake parts so they don’t rust over time too.

If possible, have someone raise your ATV up high enough off the ground so that snow does not build up under it while in storage-you do not want any excess weight on your machine especially since you are trying to protect it all winter long!