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Winter storage tasks, well, one of them

kwb210

New member
I usually drain all the fuel from my bike at the end of the riding season. I use a fuel hose to drain gas into a gas can, which in turns fills up my Volvo! Carb float bowls are removed and emptied as well. Every year or two I also remove the petcocks. A 15/16 same wrench fits the nut. In a minute they are off and I can drain the balance of fuel out. This is what I commonly find as pictured, another good reason to remove them. Bikes sit dry until riding season. Sometimes I change the oil, depends on mileage. Battery on a tender unless I plan more work during the winter, then I might just remove battery completely.
What are others doing prior to storage?
 

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I'm with you on draining the tank on the airheads. I have heard contradicting statements which make sense but I am fortunate to have a temperature controlled environment for storage and do not have to worry about condensation in the tank.

BTW...I change the oil and other fluids, air up the tires, battery on a tender, bike parked with the center stand on a 1 X 6 and a piece of wood under each tire. Cardboard under the engine and a cover on the bike.
 
I'm certainly not an expert, but several things I like to do in addition to yours is:

1) I like to lower the air pressure in the tires - not till they are flat, but just enough to not keep high pressure on the tires, and,

2) I usually leave the battery in, but I like to disconnect the negative cable from the transmission case. Then, I like to keep the battery tender on the battery, and

3) I do this all the time, but winter is for sure - I spray a coating of oil based spray (I like LPS #2) which is like WD-40 but actually has some lubricant. This keeps any moisture from getting into those cracks and crevices and in things like bolt heads - places which over time, will start to show rust. In the spring, this stuff can be easily cleaned off, but it stays in the cracks, etc. and will still help prevent rust to start. When I worked at the BMW shop while in high school, the new BMW's used to arrive there with a coating of something like a soft waxy substance. One of my jobs was to "clean" them up and then the mechanic would go over them to get them mechanically ready for sale.
 
Pretty much the same thing, plus give the bike a coat of wax and cover it. Since it is under a cover, I put some oiled rags in the air cleaner opening and exhaust to keep any mice that might be in the garage from making a home there.
 
Cosmoline

the waxy stuff is cosmoline.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmoline
Good idea on putting something in the exhausts, wadded piece of rag, keep out a mouse. All my bikes have a little WD40 coating on them too. I have used it to clean up the cases, rubbing them with a scotch brite pad, so some WD40 remains on the case. Hopefully that smell would be enough to keep rodents away.
 
Before you drain the gas, you should run some gasoline stabilizer through the carbs. This makes sure you don't have any residue, that you will not get out, gumming up. Changing the oil BEFORE storage is always a good thing to get all the moisture in the old oil out of the motor. As far as tire pressure is concenred, I INCREASE it instead of deflating. Prevents forming a flat spot during sitting for a longer time. And whatever you do to the battery, charge it to full before you store it.
 
What oil to use?

It seems many change their oil before putting their bike up for the winter then change it again once spring rolls around. Are folks using a cheaper oil for winter storage or the same stuff they run during the season? It would make sense to me to employ the former option, as the oil is there only to protect the internal surfaces, but I worry that I might leave the wrong stuff in come spring.

What say you?
 
winter is icummen in

(with apologies to Chaucer)
I drain the gas, be sure there is no moisture in the tanks, inspect with a light, and replace it with avgas (100LL). It has a shelf life of two years. I drain the bowls, then let them fill with 100LL. I keep the tank full to the brim. Batteries are on a tender alternatively (I have 5 and two chargers) but AGM batteries really hold a storage charge. Oil changed in the fall, but I may ride once or twice. For the past 5 years, put CamGuard in the oil if I remember (aviation, but I see they now have non-aviation products as well). Keeps corrosion down. Do this to the plane, too. All rides are at least 7-10 miles when it's cold to allow some warmup. Garage is not heated, but clean and too full to bother opening the big door much. Cars stay outside.
Been doing this since 1983. Doesn't sound like much, but they all run well, have original paint, and no corrosion I can find. If I get a warm spell, and there is no salt residue on the streets, I will ride.
 
(with apologies to Chaucer)
I drain the gas, be sure there is no moisture in the tanks, inspect with a light, and replace it with avgas (100LL). It has a shelf life of two years.

What is avgas (100LL) Is that Aviation gas? Where can it be purchased?
 
What is avgas (100LL) Is that Aviation gas? Where can it be purchased?

Naturally you can get it at pretty much any airport other than just a grass field, of course.
There is a semi-private strip near me that allows one to buy Avgas from their above-ground tanks
just using your credit card.
Some airports won't sell to the guy pulling up with a gas tank in his trunk. Hope that helps.
 
It seems many change their oil before putting their bike up for the winter then change it again once spring rolls around. Are folks using a cheaper oil for winter storage or the same stuff they run during the season? It would make sense to me to employ the former option, as the oil is there only to protect the internal surfaces, but I worry that I might leave the wrong stuff in come spring.

What say you?

I do not change it again in the spring. My idea is to store the bike with clean oil, oil that has no dirt and moisture in it. Any moisture that would enter it during the winter due to condensation will be gone after one good ride in the spring.

Wayne
 
Some have posted about avgas before, as to whether it is formulated for use in autos and bikes. Therefore it may be a super product for old airheads, or, a specific product formulated specifically for aircraft use only. The law here, MN, restricts non-oxy fuel to specific older vehicles, as an example, and I'm sure that using avgas except in aircraft is illegal. The higher octane rating of avgas is exactly what a single plug airhead needs. Maybe another gas thread possibility? Maybe a petroleum guy can clarify. I drain my tank, hang it on a hook, and get busy tinkering on the bike each winter, there's always something to do.
 
Naturally you can get it at pretty much any airport other than just a grass field, of course.
There is a semi-private strip near me that allows one to buy Avgas from their above-ground tanks
just using your credit card.
Some airports won't sell to the guy pulling up with a gas tank in his trunk. Hope that helps.

Generally, what is its price per gallon?

Is it as the other poster stated, illegal to use except in older engines - typical of airheads?
 
The higher octane rating of avgas is exactly what a single plug airhead needs. .

That's a bold statement. I would think it rather depends on what the octane rating actually is. The compression ratio of older airheads may not be able to cope with ratings higher than 98
 
That's a bold statement. I would think it rather depends on what the octane rating actually is. The compression ratio of older airheads may not be able to cope with ratings higher than 98

Octane is kinda like amperage in an electrical circuit. TO MUCH octane is NOT one bit harmful and is just there to be used if needed by the compression and spark that is available.......To little octane is what is damaging......What goes to waste is just money down the drain; but surely not harmful to the system.........God bless......Dennis
 
There's always discussion about getting LL from the airport and what it can do for the bike. First, I'm pretty sure it is mostly illegal, mainly from the standpoint of that the "road going" taxes have not been paid on that gasoline. It's obviously meant for airplanes. Second, the lead part would be helpful for an older engine that has not been converted to unleaded seats. But it's usually something you add in small quantities...maybe a cup or two per tankful. I wonder how useful (wasteful?) it would be to get a full tank of it. Finally, I don't think we really need much octane beyond what we already get at the pump...if you can't run the bike on 91-93 pump octane, you've got more problems that really should be dealt with. And if you've converted to an unleaded topend or it's already in the bike, you don't need the lead anyway. I just see it as more of a hassle.
 
Octane is kinda like amperage in an electrical circuit. TO MUCH octane is NOT one bit harmful and is just there to be used if needed by the compression and spark that is available.......To little octane is what is damaging......What goes to waste is just money down the drain; but surely not harmful to the system.........God bless......Dennis

Octane rating is a measure for the amount of ignition retarders. The higher the octane rating, the more retarding additives. In the end, you have a certain amount of fuel that your engine will have a hard time to combust. You get less energy out of the fuel, thus less performance. It may show the same effect as running too rich. If you feel, that this is not one bit harmful, God may indeed bless you.:wave

I know of people who fill the tank with AV gas just for storage and drain it before they run the engine again in the spring. And that is just money down the drain - provided they can't do anyhting else with the gas.
 
Tanked up today with 5 gal for household implements, non-oxy, 91 R+M/2, $3.99 per gallon. On one plug this gas would ping under load in 5th, 9.5 comp. With dual ignition, will not ping under heavy throttle. If anybody is dumping out their avgas next spring give me a call I can use it environmentally. Old info, I think something like Real Gas web site tells where you can buy legal non-oxy gas in the US. Airheads can plan their next trip across US, criss crossing like a jigsaw puzzle.
 
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