Putting it away for the winter

[Allan S]

You'd like Virginia pretty well....we get all four seasons, and they usually don't overstay their welcomes!

Sounds like heaven to me.. We get cold from November to May. As a simple African lad, I have struggled with that since I got here in 1984. There may be a sprinkling of semi ride-able days but until the salt is washed off the roads in the spring its probably better to resist the urge to crank her up for a while.

 

[Triple Trouble]

I would suggest that once parked you leave the bike alone for the duration. Starting it only leads to condensation and no amount of idling or revving will get the bike fully warmed up. It's also a good idea to fill up with ethanol free gas if possible before adding stabiliser.

 

[Joesmoe]

My experience is that stabilizer does nothing.

The only sure way to have an internal combustion engine run after long storage is to have NO fuel in it, and at museums, such as the Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, OH (highly recommend -- ride anyone ?) where they have machines in as-flyable condition -- it was neat to watch them pull a one-of-a-kind aircraft out of the restoration hangar, and fire up the engine(s), then tow it back, and run preservative through the lines for the ages.

In my experience, for machines run once a year, one may dispense with the preservative step.

Your results may vary.

 

[Gavin]

Sad but true, it it time for me here in Canada to put my R3 away for the winter. Unfortunately it won't be garaged like my previous bikes. Any "make sure you..." suggestions before the snow flies here and the temp drops like crazy. I do have a center stand which I can put back on and use that, or I can use my motorcycle jack instead of using my kick stand. I have topped off the tank and put fuel stabilizer in. I am not sure if I should pull the battery of just use the trickle charger that is already on my bike and just plug it in. Will my battery freeze while it is on the trickle charger? I need a house with a garage!!!

I'm hoping for 1 more ride at least. Battery tender is the way to go. You can pick one up at Canadian Tire

 

[Jag]

My experience is that stabilizer does nothing.

The only sure way to have an internal combustion engine run after long storage is to have NO fuel in it, and at museums, such as the Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, OH (highly recommend -- ride anyone ?) where they have machines in as-flyable condition -- it was neat to watch them pull a one-of-a-kind aircraft out of the restoration hangar, and fire up the engine(s), then tow it back, and run preservative through the lines for the ages.

In my experience, for machines run once a year, one may dispense with the preservative step.

Your results may vary.

Yes but stored outside you want the tank full as possible to prevent/control condensation,and prevent rust. If you drain it down you need to coat the inside of the tank with oil.

That said half the boat engine manufacturers say fill and the other half say empty. Before ethanol they all suggested to fill it. Also boat tanks are plastic or stainless unlike a motorcycle tank.

Bottom line thanks to ethanol we now have this quandary!

If you can get non ethanol fuel that would be the best for storage!

 

[BigNorm]

How much 2 stroke in the tank? I wonder if spraying some ATF down each throttle body would be a good idea right before you shut it down for the last time.

 

[Sensfan]

I put my Rocket away after I turned 50, he hardly comes out to play anymore

Viagra not on your health plan?

 

[Jag]

How much 2 stroke in the tank? I wonder if spraying some ATF down each throttle body would be a good idea right before you shut it down for the last time.

40/50 to one run your tank down and suck as much gas out of the tank as possible, add less than half a gallon start and run bike for five minutes, shut her down fill with regular gas and stabil and walk away till spring. This will coat the fuel pump, the injectors, top end and cylinder walls. She will smoke a little in the spring but just run her hard and everything will clean right up! This method prevents you from having to remove the spark plugs And fog the cylinders.

 

[Sensfan]

I have a garage, I park it on 2" rigid insulation, never had a problem with tires. I also stuff some bounce sheets under the seat, battery area, top of motor etc. Mice for whatever reason don't care for the smell of them and keep away from the bike....just remember to take them out before set-up. And no stupid comments from other captains......still not as Fu&#ked up as pledging your bike.

 

[Joesmoe]

+1 on condensation. When I flew, preflight check before every flight was to take a special clear cup that had a rod sticking out of the bottom in the middle, about twice as long as the cup is high. On each wing tank, one would press the rod into a spring-loaded valve on the underside, and drain a cup full of fuel into it. One was looking for moisture that had condensed since the last fill. On most airplanes, tanks are generally only partially filled, giving the operator the choice of maximizing payload with less fuel on board, or intentionally using less payload and taking on more fuel to maximize range. So the planes sit with partial fuel, and with temperature variations changing the dew point on the inside of the tank, it was common to have a couple of drops of water in the drawn fuel. If it was more than that, the procedure was to keep drawing until obtaining pure fuel.

Would be interesting to have that procedure and ability on a motorcycle.