I have had this saved to Word for years .. thought some of you guys might find it useful ...

just copy and paste to Word or somewhere :-)

Jules

PS If the formatting doesn't work then just ask and I can email the whole word file :-)




Checklist of things to do -- IN ORDER: [ul][*]1) Find a place to store it, get the tools you'll need [ul][*]Sheltered from the elements, away from chemical fumes and ozone.[*]Get the chemicals you need -- gas stabilizer, any cleaning supplies. [/ul][*]2) Run the bike, fill the tank, stabilize the gas [ul][*]Take the bike out for a ride, and swing by a gas station on your way home. [/ul][*]3) Change the oil [ul][*]Do this while the engine is still hot -- it gets more junk out. [/ul][*]4) Put bike on stands [ul][*]If you can, take the weight off the tires. [/ul][*]5) Spray fogging oil in cylinder(s) [ul][*]Used to keep the rings and cylinder walls from rusting. [/ul][*]6) Cover intake/exhaust with bags [ul][*]While the bike is warm, cover the air box snorkels and exhaust pipe. [/ul][*]7) Final fuel system checks [ul][*]If your bike has one, switch the petcock off. [/ul][*]8) Remove and charge the battery [ul][*]Take the battery out of the bike for charging. [/ul][*]9) Wash, dry, and wax dry the bike [ul][*]Wash and wax the bike. Get all the corrosive road salt and chemicals off it. [/ul][*]10) Protect the bike's exposed metal [ul][*]Spray the bike's exposed metal parts (but not the brakes!!) to prevent rust/corrosion. [/ul][*]11) Lock it up [ul][*]Lock it up so it doesn't get stolen! [/ul][*]12) Cover It [ul][*]Cover the bike with a breathable material that will keep dust off. [/ul][*]Stuff to do over the winter [ul][*]Miscellaneous things to do while you're not riding. [/ul][*]Taking the bike out of storage [ul][*]A mini-checklist of things to do when it's time to get back on the road. [/ul][*]For the curious... [ul][*]Why these steps are in the order they're in. [/ul][/ul]
Important Note
These instructions are intended to be followed in order. The purpose of this order is to minimize the bike's exposure to corrosive agents and prolong its life & good looks as much as possible. This guide assumes that the vehicle is being stored for more than a month and less than a year. There may be other storage procedures you should follow if you plan to store the vehicle for longer. For storage of less than a month in temperatures that don't go below freezing, you don't really need to do anything to the bike. (Unless you have an alarm system that may drain the battery, in which case you need to charge the battery, disconnect the alarm, or prepare to deal with a dead battery.) If it's going to get below freezing, bring the battery indoors -- you don't want it to freeze.

You may have another way that you handle winter storage. That's fine. I'd love to hear any suggestions that you may have -- please mail them to me -- maybe I can use them to make this document better. No one says you have to follow this stuff to the letter, but a fair amount of thought has gone into the order of the steps and the specific things done at each stage. Do please read through this whole document before you start doing anything -- the suggestions in later steps might affect how you go about doing some of the earlier ones.


1) Find a place to store it, get the tools you'll need [ul]ESTIMATED TIME: 1-2 hours
This is a good step to do as you're beginning to plan the storage of the bike. Not at the last minute.[*]Find a good place to store the motorcycle. Keep it away from extreme temperatures -- which pretty much means keep it inside,

 

Can you get the pictures uploaded? I'm guessing they are stored in word:
Here are a couple of pictures of what can happen if you don't stabilize the gas: 1 / 2 / 3. As you can see, the inside of the carb is covered in a jelly-like ooze that has completely blocked the jets.


Wish I had this information before this winter Oh well...

Excellent post, Jules.

 

Thank you Nick :-) ... I've had it for years but what with one thing or another I neglected my bike the year before last ... result was my carbs were full of the brown slime .. I had to remove them completely and clean them all out individually, it took me simply ages to do, then I had to rebalance them ...

Another thing worth noting is that you can get away with doing all this if you're at least prepared to run the bike up and down the drive once a week or once a fortnight ... get the fuel through the carbs and the engine warmed up a bit ... I used to do this and I never had winter blues ... the time I left it 4 months standing though I was snookered ..lol

Jules

 

I'm having that problem right now[&o]

 

Oh dear ... sorry to hear that ... it's not worth trying to do it any other way than taking the carbs off as a whole ... keep the 4 carbs together, don't remove them from each other ... then just simply service and clean each one individually .. it's easy and straight forward if a little time consuming ... it should be easier for you with an F2 because my F3 had all the ram air intake pipes in the way so I had to take a few photos before I stripped it down or I would have ended up with a box full of hoses that I didn't have a clue where to put ...lol

Jules

 

Thanks.

It's a learning experience...its about the 3 or 4th time for me to pull the carbs in 9 months. Had to teach myself about carbs...and this site helped out immensely. Just wish I had to taken the time to winterize it...but I think I ended not riding earlier than I expected. Oh well. Thanks for the checklist though...it will be put to use in the future.

Nick

 

Sorry Nick ...am I missing something (don't answer that ...lol) ...but why would you need to pull the carbs that many times in only 9 months?

Jules

 

Part of the learning experience. First bike, first time cleaning carbs. Didn't clean out jets properly the first time (instructions didn't state anything about cleaning them...just cleaning bowls and floats) and other newbie mistakes. Bike was sitting for close to 7 years since original owner died of cancer..

 

Great checklist, Jules - with your permission, I'd like to move a copy to the Hurricane section......?
P

 

Why of course :-) .. I want people to help themselves to anything I write at anytime, no permission is ever needed ... ok?

Jules