Consensus on winter storage?

 
Particularly for older bikes, everyone agrees it's best to drain
the floats? If not practical, at least add stabilizer (Stabil or
such)?

What about the gas tank? Full? Empty? Doesn't necessarily matter?

Don't mean to rekindle old disagreements, etc. Just uncertain what
to do, mostly about the tank.

  Thx,
  Puddin'

"Take Yo' Hand Out My Pocket (I Ain't Got Nothing What Belongs To You)!"
   - Rice Miller, who probably never even _heard_ of GW Bush, Paulson, etc

 Puddin' Man wrote:

No question that it is best to add some sort of fuel stabilizer
(I like Sta-Bil) to the tank and fill the tank as full as possible
to minimize corrosion due to water condensing in the tank from
temperature swings.

I like to drain the carbs for storage, because Sta-Bil doesn't
prevent fuel from evaporating.  Unfortunately one of our bikes
has an ON/OFF/RESERVE vacuum petcock without a PRIME position
so out comes the Mity-Vac when I want to refill the bowls again.

I've yet to own a bike where the carbs couldn't be drained easily
by using a long screwdriver or Allen wrench, but I'm sure there
are some difficult ones out there.  I figure it's a hell of a lot
easier to drain a carb than it is to remove and disassemble it.

 


Depends partly on the length of the storage and whether it is inside or out
but.........

Fill the tank.  Put in stabilizer.  Run it a few minutes.  Drain the floats
if you can do it easily.
Make SURE the fuel is shut OFF.

Don't worry; be happy.

(There is no consensus.)

 

The usual. 3-4 months in a garage.


I can/will drain the floats. Given drainage, stabilizer in the tank is
so the stored gas won't crud-up the carbs after storage is over?
Would've guessed it wouldn't be necessary.


To Be Sure! :-)


S'way of life.

  P

"Take Yo' Hand Out My Pocket (I Ain't Got Nothing What Belongs To You)!"
   - Rice Miller, who probably never even _heard_ of GW Bush, Paulson, etc

 


I followed that theory for near to 30 years, for a 3-4 month storage, where
there were usually one or two riding days somewhere in the middle.  Never
had a problem.  I believe that would probably still be the case.

I have now joined the crowd.  For about $3, I can treat my bike, 2 mowers
and the pickup that gets driven every couple of weeks but might not go
through a tankful in 3 months.  Cheap insurance.