Winter storage?
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Road Master
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,188
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From: New Hampshire
Winter storage?
This will be the first winter in a long time I have stored a carb bike. Do you like to shut off the fuel and run the carb dry or leave fuel in the carb. Of course stabilizer will be used.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 3,872
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From: Canton, Michigan
Don't do anything special to mine over the winter. I used to do the whole shebang. Fogged the cylinders, etc. I don't use StaBil any longer, after having it gum up my carburetor to the point the bike wouldn't run.
Now I just put fresh oil in all the holes, top off the gas tank with fresh fuel adding some SeaFoam to it to appease the gods. Fire the bike up and let it run for a bit to get some of the elixir down into the carb bowl. Shut it down, turn off the petcock, pull the battery out and put on the tender, cover the bike when it cools down, and put it to sleep until spring.
Now I just put fresh oil in all the holes, top off the gas tank with fresh fuel adding some SeaFoam to it to appease the gods. Fire the bike up and let it run for a bit to get some of the elixir down into the carb bowl. Shut it down, turn off the petcock, pull the battery out and put on the tender, cover the bike when it cools down, and put it to sleep until spring.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2010
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From: Indiana
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 12,240
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From: Along the shoreline in SW FL
I still squeeze in rides throughout the winter, so long as it's not below 20*F, but I still do the basics before winter.
*Change the oil in all 3 holes
*I'll run the carb dry. Doubt it will be an issue with the mikuni carb on my current ride, but my prior ride had an S&S super E...and they were known to leak. Only reason I ran it dry...was so it wouldn't steadily drip out the bowl and stink up the garage.
For the past couple of decades, gas from the big brand stations comes with enough perservatives 'n anti H2O in them so I stopped using seafoam/stabil stuff back in the...oh..late 80's I think. Won't do any harm using it...but the fact that all my engines (tons of yard equipment, boat motors, bikes, etc) start up just fine each spring is proof that whatever the fuel suppliers put in the fuel now works.
*Change the oil in all 3 holes
*I'll run the carb dry. Doubt it will be an issue with the mikuni carb on my current ride, but my prior ride had an S&S super E...and they were known to leak. Only reason I ran it dry...was so it wouldn't steadily drip out the bowl and stink up the garage.
For the past couple of decades, gas from the big brand stations comes with enough perservatives 'n anti H2O in them so I stopped using seafoam/stabil stuff back in the...oh..late 80's I think. Won't do any harm using it...but the fact that all my engines (tons of yard equipment, boat motors, bikes, etc) start up just fine each spring is proof that whatever the fuel suppliers put in the fuel now works.
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