Posted by Polar Pilot on September 25, 2000 at 04:50:06:
In Reply to: Short Term Storage posted by Olpoky on September 25, 2000 at 04:37:07:
Draining the carb is a bit tricky - let me share with you what I do when I put mine away for the winter storage season - which in the winter of 1999-2000 turned into 12 months of storage. My bikes are always stored indoors as sunlight is a bitter enemy I think. My shed is not heated and regularly I record temps in the shop as low as -20C.
These are in no particular order-
1. Disconnect and pull the battery. On a long storage, there is the issue of the battery loosing its charge and potentially freezing - cracking the case and spilling acid on the bike.
2. Change or top up the oil - to the full mark on the viewing glass.
3. Set the tires up off the ground on a sheet of plywood or other boards.
4. Clean the bike
5. With the motor running and thoroughly warmed up - bring the RPM's up to higher levels - say about 2500 and then pull on the choke - as the engine dies, crank the throttle full open. This pulls additional lubrication up into the top end of the cylinder.
6. Fill the gas tank as full as possible.
To bring my machines out of storage - generally reverse the processes -
Last year I did not drain the carb - it took about 1 minute of cranking on a freshly charged battery in August to pump fresh fuel into the carb and away we went.
I have been storing bikes using these techniques for the past 30+ years - one bike sat this way for 13 years and fired on the 3rd kick and ran on the 4th.
Keep the rubber side down
Polar Pilot