Winter Storage Question

"moto" wrote in message

> Do most of you really 'store' your bike(s) in the winter?
> I've Never taken a battery out of a bike in the cold weather unless
> there's (like) a weeks worth of terribly cold temps ahead.
>
> Sure, I use StaBil, but I also keep those bikes running.
> I mean, doesn't everybody?
>
> What good would it be when the bike is 'stored', suddenly you get a
> break of dry, and maybe not so cold weather, and you wanna ride?
> These machines are NOT that fragile. Fact is, I think you may do more
> harm NOT keeping it/them running than by cold your weather starts, and
> warm ups.
> I can't see I've done any damage to any bike I've ever owned by keeping
> it (like) road ready all year long.
>
> Fresh oil, a cover, full gas tank (c/w StaBil) a piece of carpet under
> each of the tires (flat spots?) and that's about it.
> Oh yeah, and a Battery Tender.

And ideally, you should disconnect the battery because if you don't, your
reg/rec suffers. It doesn't TELL you it's suffering until you crank the bike
up a few times after hibernation. Then it stops charging, but not before
it's boiled a battery or two.

One 10mm wrench and 5 mintes work, so it's not even worth arguing about.


--
Beav

Reply to "beavis dot original at ntlworld dot com" (with the obvious
changes)
 >> Stay informed about: Winter Storage Question 

>>>>I was also told to close the fuel valve and run it dry. AND to drain the carb because whatever leftover fuel would gum it up. How the heck do you drain the carb. <<<<

Best thing to do is top off the tank and put in fuel stabilizer. Run
the engine (or even better go for a ride) to circulate the stabilizer
throughout the fuel system. This will keep the jets from gumming up
over the winter layup. I wouldn't run anything dry as you might have an
issue with the seals & gaskets in the carb drying out.
 >> Stay informed about: Winter Storage Question 

I'm from the Chicago area. I was also told to close the fuel valve and run it dry. AND to drain the carb because whatever leftover fuel would gum it up. How the heck do you drain the carb. I have a 2002 Honda Spirit VT1100C and my wife has a 2004 Yamaha Virago 250.
 >> Stay informed about: Winter Storage Question 

O-rings don't "dry out", but can be damaged by alcohol present in fuels and
get brittle. I would rather store them dry than continue the damage.
Gaskets can, but not only are they not there in modern bike carbs, but they
will re-absorb fuel.
The owner's manuals should show you the drain locations, basically, if there
is a srew head on the side of the float bowls, that's it. Back it out one
turn and it should drain all over your (cold hopefully) engine and pipes.
--
Stupendous Man,
Defender of Freedom, Advocate of Liberty
 >> Stay informed about: Winter Storage Question 

flying_frog wrote:
> "" wrote:
> > "moto" wrote in message
> >
> > > Do most of you really 'store' your bike(s) in the winter?
> > > I've Never taken a battery out of a bike in the cold weather
> > unless
> > > there's (like) a weeks worth of terribly cold temps ahead.
> > >
> > > Sure, I use StaBil, but I also keep those bikes running.
> > > I mean, doesn't everybody?
> > >
> > > What good would it be when the bike is 'stored', suddenly
> > you get a
> > > break of dry, and maybe not so cold weather, and you wanna
> > ride?
> > > These machines are NOT that fragile. Fact is, I think you
> > may do more
> > > harm NOT keeping it/them running than by cold your weather
> > starts, and
> > > warm ups.
> > > I can't see I've done any damage to any bike I've ever owned
> > by keeping
> > > it (like) road ready all year long.
> > >
> > > Fresh oil, a cover, full gas tank (c/w StaBil) a piece of
> > carpet under
> > > each of the tires (flat spots?) and that's about it.
> > > Oh yeah, and a Battery Tender.
> >
> > And ideally, you should disconnect the battery because if you
> > don't, your
> > reg/rec suffers. It doesn't TELL you it's suffering until you
> > crank the bike
> > up a few times after hibernation. Then it stops charging, but
> > not before
> > it's boiled a battery or two.
> >
> > One 10mm wrench and 5 mintes work, so it's not even worth
> > arguing about.
> >
> >
> > --
> > Beav
> >
> > Reply to "beavis dot original at ntlworld dot com" (with the
> > obvious
> > changes)
>
> I'm from the Chicago area. I was also told to close the fuel valve
> and run it dry. AND to drain the carb because whatever leftover fuel
> would gum it up. How the heck do you drain the carb. I have a 2002
> Honda Spirit VT1100C and my wife has a 2004 Yamaha Virago 250.
>
Yeah, that's what I do. The single biggest problem I get with not using
a bike for a few months (or years) is that the light components in the
fuel left in the carb bowl (propanes, butanes, pentanes) tend to
evaporate more than the heavier components and the fuel becomes 'gummy'
as the heavier things concentrate and thicken. If this goes on long
enough, there will be nothing but a solid glaze left in the bottoms of
your fuel system components. Just close the fuel valve and then run the
bike until it quits and the bowls will be empty enough so there won't be
much to solidify. Many/most carbs have a drain on the bottom of the
bowl that is a little screw valve that opens and closes as your turn the
screw counterclockwise and clockwise. If you are dedicated, you can
then open this up and drain the last little bit of fuel residual out of
the bowls which will probably just be a few drops.

I wouldn't worry about rubber things in the fuel system 'drying out'
since the fuel-resistant polymers used today don't really care if they
are immersed in fuel or not. If they did, they would be shipped to you
'wet' in little bottles of fuel instead of 'dry' and loose in little
plastic bags.

The biggest enemies of the polymers are UV light and/or ozone in the
air. If your fuel system is dry for a long time and exposed to the air,
they might be subject to some ozone damage but it would take several
years at least for that to be significant. Most fuel systems are pretty
closed anyway if you turn the choke on so air doesn't really infiltrate.

You can put a fuel stabilizer in your fuel tank after you do the above
but I don't think it matters too much unless the fuel will be stored for
more than a year.

--
Posted with OS/2 Warp 4.52
and IBM Web Browser v2.0.5
 >> Stay informed about: Winter Storage Question 

‘‘And ideally, you should disconnect the battery because if
you don't, your reg/rec suffers. It doesn't TELL you it's suffering
until you crank the bike up a few times after hibernation. Then it stops
charging, but not before it's boiled a battery or two.
One 10mm wrench and 5 mintes work, so it's not even worth arguing about.

(Beav)

‘‘Shoot Miss Beav, you don't know, you don't live in cold ass
country, do ya?’’
(wink,Bjay)
 >> Stay informed about: Winter Storage Question 

"flying_frog" wrote in message

> "" wrote:
> > "moto" wrote in message
> >
> > > Do most of you really 'store' your bike(s) in the winter?
> > > I've Never taken a battery out of a bike in the cold weather
> > unless
> > > there's (like) a weeks worth of terribly cold temps ahead.
> > >
> > > Sure, I use StaBil, but I also keep those bikes running.
> > > I mean, doesn't everybody?
> > >
> > > What good would it be when the bike is 'stored', suddenly
> > you get a
> > > break of dry, and maybe not so cold weather, and you wanna
> > ride?
> > > These machines are NOT that fragile. Fact is, I think you
> > may do more
> > > harm NOT keeping it/them running than by cold your weather
> > starts, and
> > > warm ups.
> > > I can't see I've done any damage to any bike I've ever owned
> > by keeping
> > > it (like) road ready all year long.
> > >
> > > Fresh oil, a cover, full gas tank (c/w StaBil) a piece of
> > carpet under
> > > each of the tires (flat spots?) and that's about it.
> > > Oh yeah, and a Battery Tender.
> >
> > And ideally, you should disconnect the battery because if you
> > don't, your
> > reg/rec suffers. It doesn't TELL you it's suffering until you
> > crank the bike
> > up a few times after hibernation. Then it stops charging, but
> > not before
> > it's boiled a battery or two.
> >
> > One 10mm wrench and 5 mintes work, so it's not even worth
> > arguing about.
> >
> >
> > --
> > Beav
> >
> > Reply to "beavis dot original at ntlworld dot com" (with the
> > obvious
> > changes)
>
> I'm from the Chicago area. I was also told to close the fuel valve
> and run it dry. AND to drain the carb because whatever leftover fuel
> would gum it up. How the heck do you drain the carb. I have a 2002
> Honda Spirit VT1100C and my wife has a 2004 Yamaha Virago 250.

There's usually a drain screw at the bottom of the float bowl. It's found at
the very bottom of the carb(s).


--
Beav

Reply to "beavis dot original at ntlworld dot com" (with the obvious
changes)
 >> Stay informed about: Winter Storage Question 

>>>>O-rings don't "dry out", but can be damaged by alcohol present in fuels and
get brittle. I would rather store them dry than continue the damage.
Gaskets can, but not only are they not there in modern bike carbs, but
they
will re-absorb fuel.<<<<

Hmmm... Might have to rethink the winterization process a bit here
 >> Stay informed about: Winter Storage Question