Well its getting colder in NJ and since i am back at college i am not home often and the chances that i am home and its warm enough to ride are very small.... so its time to park the bike for the year, this is my first winter with a bike so this is a very sad occasion haha. I am going to be home for thanksgiving break and i wanted to know what steps i should take to prepare the bike to sit for the next few months. Thanks in advance

 

Put in a fuel stabilizer and fill the tank. I say this because it is better for the insides of the tankwhen there isminimal amountof the inside that is exposed to air. This partseems to be controversial with some but I've been doing it for years with no problems. I start up the bikewith the fuel switch in the off position and let the bike run out of gas. Some have problems with this because it could allow the seals in the carbs to dry out and fail. I haven't had a problem with this and I've had my bike for almost 10 years (7 months to go). I'm sure someone on here will say absolutelyNO to this. Do so at your discretion. I would then remove the battery and put it indoors. The bike should be good till spring. When you take it out for the first time in the spring, check your oil level and tire pressure. Something else to do in the spring would be like cleaning the air filter (if you have K&N), install fresh fuel filter, oil change, and new plugs. If you're feeling really energetic, change the fluid in the forks if you know it is older than a couple years. Your bike should be ready to tear up the asphalt come May or June... depending when you get out of classes.

 

I have an article on how fuel stabilizers react with the currentfuels being produced.

I'm not a big fan of fuel stabilizer.

They make the float needles all ****ted up and usually need to be replaced.

What I do is:

Fill tank

Drain carbs

Ball of tin foil in the exhaust (for mouse control)

Get weight of bike off the tires (some will disagree)

Check/ trickle charge battery every 3 to 4 weeks

 

Fill the tank, change oil and filter unless you just did it. Put the battery on a trickle charger if you have one. Opinions vary about whether you need to put the bike up on stands, or periodically roll the bike back and forward to prevent flat spots on your tires, but definitely make sure they're properly inflated.

If you search the forum you'll find plenty of opinions and links, and it will be up to you how **** to get about this.

 

If your lookin to change out the plugs, I'm setting up a group buy for Monday 11/19/07 in the "Group Buy" forum...be sure to check it out!

 

Bergs, I really like your suggestion about mouse control. That would have never crossed my mind to prevent mice from nesting in the exhaust. Excellent suggestion!!

 

wow im glad i asked because i never would have thought to fill the tank i was going to try and empty it, wont the gas go bad... and can anyone give me a quick how to on draining the carbs... thanks

 

Shut off the fuel petcock and run her till she dies. May take a while but that's a natural way to do it.

 

The fuel can go bad if it is in there too long. That is why I suggested fuel stablilizer. It allows fuel to sit for longer periods of time. Bergs was saying that there might be an issue with the stabilizer and the currentfuels available. I've never had an issue but I know that refineries are starting to mix small amounts of ethonal into gasoline. To my knowledge, this is mainly done in the summer months for reduction in smog. I just don't know what the issue is because I haven't read the article yet.

 

im from jersey to . leave your bike with me i will ride it in the winter time for u .so u dont have to worry about flat spots n stabilizer all that stuff .

www.newenough.com get they have lots of leather jackets onsale for 150 or less some thinsulate winter gloves for like 25 bucks n get yourself a windproof fleece n face mask i live in jersey to i ride anything over 35 . if you are coming home every 3 weeks or so the bike will be fine just when u take it out open it up take it for a nice ride then top off the tank n park it . get some carpet n put under the wheels if u dont have stands . gear up riding in cooler weather is the best to me