Long term storage , any suggestions?
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 5,472
Likes: 2,522
From: Lititz Pa
All good suggestions, but for me I have never seen a full fuel tank get rust, so I would do the Stabil in a full tank.
Now that said, not to go sideways, but what does having a child have to do with riding your motorcycles every once in a while. I get you and the Mrs will not be doing a cross country road trip this summer, but you can't take a hour ride after work on a Wednesday? Maybe a quickie on a Sunday morning, cup of coffee with a friend and then home again. Seriously, I get your riding time and free time is about to dramatically be decreased, but ZERO for two years, don't see it. Not to mention I would go nuts looking at her in the corner unridden for that amount of time.
Truly, good luck with your decisions.
Now that said, not to go sideways, but what does having a child have to do with riding your motorcycles every once in a while. I get you and the Mrs will not be doing a cross country road trip this summer, but you can't take a hour ride after work on a Wednesday? Maybe a quickie on a Sunday morning, cup of coffee with a friend and then home again. Seriously, I get your riding time and free time is about to dramatically be decreased, but ZERO for two years, don't see it. Not to mention I would go nuts looking at her in the corner unridden for that amount of time.
Truly, good luck with your decisions.
If you ride with any buddies, theres more than a 100% chance youll get out in those couple years. If you ride alone, you really wont have anyone pressuring you to get back on the bike, only the wife telling you to stay off it.
If its the former, keep the bike and just put the sta-bil in it so its ready when you put a leg over(which will be less than 6 months I bet). If its the latter, sell the bike and buy something new when you get back into it again.
If its the former, keep the bike and just put the sta-bil in it so its ready when you put a leg over(which will be less than 6 months I bet). If its the latter, sell the bike and buy something new when you get back into it again.
Cruiser
Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 230
Likes: 76
From: MD, USA
Dude, I feel blessed then!
My wife came out of the bathroom with a pee stick saying she was pregnant on the morning I was gonna go test ride (and 90% chance of buying) a 2015 FLHXS. I went on a ride anyway. We discussed it and I did a few mods to my Vulcan 800 and agreed to put off the bike purchase for 1 year, to make sure the baby was healthy and our finances had time to settle.
Fast forward a year, and the saleslady at the Harley dealer pissed off my wife about a Street 750 she wanted (but they would have to find or order), so she said buy something cheaper. Point of the story is I didn't stop riding, and I even got a 2016 Vaquero, brand new, when my eldest was 4mo.
So trust me, you'll get time to ride, whether it's commuting or to run an errand or whatever. Sure, the first few months are rough until they sleep 4-6 hours at a time (or in the case of my eldest, 1 year before he slept more than 2 hours at a shot), but you'll still get time to ride. Even shorter, < 1 hour rides.
Now we have two boys, 3.5yo and 1.5yo, and I put 800 miles on my new FLHXS between mid-October and mid-December. Most of that was commuting, but I have also run errands on it and I start the weekend by telling my wife, "Hey, Sunday is gonna be nice, I want to take my Harley out. What do you want to get done? I'll watch the kids for you and vice versa." Job done.
Also, congrats! Fatherhood is both a blessing and a swift kick in the nuts.
Oh, and don't forget the night rides! I took a bunch of those this summer after the kids went to bed. 2+ hours of wind therapy by myself, it was refreshing.
-John
My wife came out of the bathroom with a pee stick saying she was pregnant on the morning I was gonna go test ride (and 90% chance of buying) a 2015 FLHXS. I went on a ride anyway. We discussed it and I did a few mods to my Vulcan 800 and agreed to put off the bike purchase for 1 year, to make sure the baby was healthy and our finances had time to settle.
Fast forward a year, and the saleslady at the Harley dealer pissed off my wife about a Street 750 she wanted (but they would have to find or order), so she said buy something cheaper. Point of the story is I didn't stop riding, and I even got a 2016 Vaquero, brand new, when my eldest was 4mo.
So trust me, you'll get time to ride, whether it's commuting or to run an errand or whatever. Sure, the first few months are rough until they sleep 4-6 hours at a time (or in the case of my eldest, 1 year before he slept more than 2 hours at a shot), but you'll still get time to ride. Even shorter, < 1 hour rides.
Now we have two boys, 3.5yo and 1.5yo, and I put 800 miles on my new FLHXS between mid-October and mid-December. Most of that was commuting, but I have also run errands on it and I start the weekend by telling my wife, "Hey, Sunday is gonna be nice, I want to take my Harley out. What do you want to get done? I'll watch the kids for you and vice versa." Job done.
Also, congrats! Fatherhood is both a blessing and a swift kick in the nuts.
Oh, and don't forget the night rides! I took a bunch of those this summer after the kids went to bed. 2+ hours of wind therapy by myself, it was refreshing.
-John
Last edited by Drakhen99; Dec 20, 2019 at 09:09 AM.
Tourer
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 300
Likes: 45
From: Calgary
To add to that, marriage (or whatever your situation is) is an amazing thing. And critical to your child's life. The number 1 indicator of success in a persons life is having their dad in the house. If not riding for a couple years is what has to happen....and I do hope these guys are right when they say it'll be a few months...then that's what has to happen and it's respectable of you to honor your old lady. My guess is she's less concerned about the time riding as she is the safety aspect? Before I knew my wife she was with someone who was in a bad wreck on a crotch rocket and ended up a paraplegic..She was pretty skeptical about getting involved with me because I rode but she realized how important it was for me to be riding so she has pushed through that and now suggests I go riding or work on my bike when I'm stressed or needing a break.
Family will always be more important than motorcycles. My guess is that you'll be back riding sooner than later. If you do think it's going to be a few years I'd agree that selling the bike and buying something later is a better option.
Congrats again, being a dad is so awesome.
Tourer
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 300
Likes: 45
From: Calgary
haha! well played. My second kid is on the way....might have to try and get another bike out of the deal.
Banned
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 21,413
Likes: 18,030
If your wife is worried about you getting killed on a motorcycle now she will be even more worried 3 years from now when you haven’t ridden for 3 years.
Keep the air and fluids in it. Put it on a battery tender. Go for an hour ride once a month.
Otherwise your OL will have your ***** in her hands forever. If you don’t do as I say.
She’ll have a real panic attack when your kid wants to ride, joins the military or goes off to college..
Break it to her gently.
Keep the air and fluids in it. Put it on a battery tender. Go for an hour ride once a month.
Otherwise your OL will have your ***** in her hands forever. If you don’t do as I say.
She’ll have a real panic attack when your kid wants to ride, joins the military or goes off to college..
Break it to her gently.
Last edited by user 7172984932; Dec 20, 2019 at 10:12 AM.
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Cruiser
Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 230
Likes: 76
From: MD, USA
Listen more to this than to the **** talkers. Being a dad is the raddest thing ever. I'm also fortunate that my wife fully supports me riding.
To add to that, marriage (or whatever your situation is) is an amazing thing. And critical to your child's life. The number 1 indicator of success in a persons life is having their dad in the house. If not riding for a couple years is what has to happen....and I do hope these guys are right when they say it'll be a few months...then that's what has to happen and it's respectable of you to honor your old lady. My guess is she's less concerned about the time riding as she is the safety aspect? Before I knew my wife she was with someone who was in a bad wreck on a crotch rocket and ended up a paraplegic..She was pretty skeptical about getting involved with me because I rode but she realized how important it was for me to be riding so she has pushed through that and now suggests I go riding or work on my bike when I'm stressed or needing a break.
Family will always be more important than motorcycles. My guess is that you'll be back riding sooner than later. If you do think it's going to be a few years I'd agree that selling the bike and buying something later is a better option.
Congrats again, being a dad is so awesome.
To add to that, marriage (or whatever your situation is) is an amazing thing. And critical to your child's life. The number 1 indicator of success in a persons life is having their dad in the house. If not riding for a couple years is what has to happen....and I do hope these guys are right when they say it'll be a few months...then that's what has to happen and it's respectable of you to honor your old lady. My guess is she's less concerned about the time riding as she is the safety aspect? Before I knew my wife she was with someone who was in a bad wreck on a crotch rocket and ended up a paraplegic..She was pretty skeptical about getting involved with me because I rode but she realized how important it was for me to be riding so she has pushed through that and now suggests I go riding or work on my bike when I'm stressed or needing a break.
Family will always be more important than motorcycles. My guess is that you'll be back riding sooner than later. If you do think it's going to be a few years I'd agree that selling the bike and buying something later is a better option.
Congrats again, being a dad is so awesome.
Then there are the cuddles on the couch, watching your little one do things they just figured out, using new words (my 3.5yo learned to say "automatically" this week), and basically watching them grow. This is the blessing.
Good luck, you're gonna need it
Tell your wife that wind therapy is a lot cheaper than seeing a psychologist
-John
Thread Starter
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Road Master
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 1,020
Likes: 130
From: Vancouver
All wise words of wisdom.
Shes not entirely against it, I've been riding fo 20 years and she even bought me this dyna as a wedding gift. It was more a discussion about cost benefit of our family. I live in a dense city, the drivers here are nuts.
I also have too many hobbies. I golf religiously and also shoot as a hobby. Part of the decision making was downsizing some of my hobbies to open up some time to support my newborn. The riding caught the short end of the stick for now from a risk and time perspective.
I see both sides...I'm not worried, I definately will get back on. I also race sport bikes so I'm just putting each stallion into the stable temporarily. This was my first twin, so wanted to make sure I didnt miss anything. My R1 and GSXR seem bullet proof, I've had them stored for multiple years when I was toggling between those 2 bikes.
Shes not entirely against it, I've been riding fo 20 years and she even bought me this dyna as a wedding gift. It was more a discussion about cost benefit of our family. I live in a dense city, the drivers here are nuts.
I also have too many hobbies. I golf religiously and also shoot as a hobby. Part of the decision making was downsizing some of my hobbies to open up some time to support my newborn. The riding caught the short end of the stick for now from a risk and time perspective.
I see both sides...I'm not worried, I definately will get back on. I also race sport bikes so I'm just putting each stallion into the stable temporarily. This was my first twin, so wanted to make sure I didnt miss anything. My R1 and GSXR seem bullet proof, I've had them stored for multiple years when I was toggling between those 2 bikes.
Last edited by bigbadpoppa; Dec 20, 2019 at 11:58 AM.