Best way to store your bike for winter..??????

when storing your bike away for winter,should I take the tank off and empty out the gas/Then run the motor until it dies,then loosen all 4 fuel bowl screws and drain whatever is left in the carbs.
Of course the battery is coming off into the basement.

 

I've always filled the tank full, then put in the appropiate amount of Sta-Bil. Shut the fuel off, Start the bike, and run it until it dies. The carbs are dry,and fuel is ready for storage. Now cover the air filter (plastic bag usually works nicely, and cover the exhaust pipes (keep mice out). place the bike on its center kick stand, and lift the front just enough to get both tires off the ground. Oh, also top the tires off.


Thats what I always did!

 

I've found it's much better to just take a short ride every few weeks thru the winter
Works for me
If it doesn't work for you tho,I'd say Dustin Z has the right idea

 

all sounds good,but I probably will drain the gas from the tank and use in the snowblower.Everything else is a go. Thanks. :mrgreen:

 

DO NOT DRAIN THE TANK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your tank will condense moisture, and your tank will rust out, not to mention your carbs will get plugged with rust.

 

This topic was covered in a previous thread. Good information at
http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=2 ... orage.html

 

If I drained the tank,disconnected from the carbs,drained carbs and parked in my shed where it is a constant temp,why would condensation occur??

 

Even if the area is a constant temp, relative humidity can change, which will ultimatley change humidity in the tank.

 

If you're putting fuel stabilizer in the tank, all you need to do is run the bike for 5 minutes or so to get that into the carbs, then turn it off, let it cool, and prep the bike for storage -- to whatever extent you require.

Seeing you're location, I'm going to suspect you're putting the bike away until May.
- Put stabilizer in the tank, fill it full
- Run the bike for 5 min or so
- Shut off, cool for a couple hours
- Clean/wash the bike
- Plug the air filter inlet port, and the exhaust outlet(s)
- Drain the oil, remove the old filter (new one not needed), fill with cheap clean oil
- Put 5 or 10 cc's of motor oil in each of the cylinders, turn engine over by hand one or two rotations, put spark plugs back in
- Remove the battery for storage
- Get both wheels off the ground
- Cover, and say goodnight till spring

You'll note that I don't drain the tank OR the carbs.
Draining the tank over winter WILL make it rust inside, unless it's stored indoors where it's kept warm. Much easier to just store it full. I also tend to put in a shot of methyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol (aka gas line antifreeze) into the tank in the spring, just to help get rid of any water in the tank from over the winter.
Using a good fuel stabilizer anything less than a year or so shouldn't leave any deposits in the carbs from the fuel, unless it's really crappy fuel.

 

well since the battery is out now,carbs are drained,oil thru plugs already,tank is loose and disconnected.So I'll bring the tank into the basement.Thanks for the info guys.Working on my sleds now...NEED SNOW..lol

 

Do this FIRST, so you can ride the bike for 10-15 miles and ensure that all the nooks and crannies are DRY. Any water that doesn't blow off at 60mph will dry quickly from a hot bike. Wash it and put it away and you'll be asking for rust in every unreachable area come spring.

Otherwise good advice.

 

I would rather not store the bike, that's why I found it in such bad shape!
However, your opinions of this from a Suzuki owners manual: Drain the tank of all gas, then pour in a cup or more of fresh motor oil, shake the tank up to be sure the oil covers all the inner surfaces, then drain the excess oil out.
This will coat the upper tank that would not be covered by gas if you were to just fill it up.
Also, I don't trust a petcock to hold a full tank over a long time. (Put 2 feet of fuel hose on the petcock, seal and fasten the end above the fuel level?)
The manual also suggested filling the crankcase with oil, right up to the fill cap. Not a bad idea, unless there's a leaky gasket somewhere.
Bill

 

Proto, considering how BAD our current gasoline is, and that it contains 10% alcohol, and that alcohol sucks water right out of the air, it would make sense to get alcohol free gas from a marina for winter storage, or drain and oil as you said.

Completely filling an engine with fresh oil seems a bit over the top to me, but it would really cut down on the chances of rust.

An idea of mine- - instead of leaving stabilized gasoline in carbs all winter, which can still evaporate, fill them with clear paraffin lamp oil which stays stable for 2 years. No rust, no varnish, drain in the springtime.

 

i run the tractor and mower on 32:1 premix the last fillup in the fall and they seem to winter well
a few times i put 2 stroke oil in the bikes before winter but i don't know if it helped or not, didn't hurt

 

I buy a 4 litre jug of whatever cheap oil I can find at WalMart or Canadian Tire - even the cheap recycled stuff is fine. Drain the dirty oil out, take out the oil filter (replacing the housing of course), and then fill the engine with the whole jug of oil. It's never come close to completely filling the crankcase, but I figure the extra litre of oil is not much of a big deal.

I think the filling to the very top advice is for when you're going to be storing the bike for a VERY long time - not the few months that we do

 

If you can get away with it, store the bike in the living room.