Fuel stabiliser Vs draining tank for winter storage
Discussion
2020 Speed Twin, 200 miles now parked up until Spring.
Any suggestions...
1. Fill the tank to the brim to reduce chance of condensation
2. Fill the tank plus add fuel stabiliser to stop it going off
3. Drain tank completely , would this increase chance of condensation
Bike is in an non heated outbuilding, gets v cold over winter.
Any suggestions...
1. Fill the tank to the brim to reduce chance of condensation
2. Fill the tank plus add fuel stabiliser to stop it going off
3. Drain tank completely , would this increase chance of condensation
Bike is in an non heated outbuilding, gets v cold over winter.
I've had a bike sat outside under a cover for 2 years and start without too much difficulty.
Bit tricky to fire up first go but with a jump start away it went and subsequently fire up easily.
As an aside I believe firing a bike up every few weeks will cause more harm than good.
This is to do with the water and oil not reaching optimum temperature, burning off impurities and condensing water in the exhaust system.
Drawweight said:
As an aside I believe firing a bike up every few weeks will cause more harm than good.
This is to do with the water and oil not reaching optimum temperature, burning off impurities and condensing water in the exhaust system.
+1, I dont fire my bike up untol the week before it comes back out, when I run it up to drain the oil ahead of a refill with fresh stuff an a filter. This is to do with the water and oil not reaching optimum temperature, burning off impurities and condensing water in the exhaust system.
OP, brim the tank as best you can, put it in the garage, up on stands if possible, put the battery on a trickle charger.
Drawweight said:
I've had a bike sat outside under a cover for 2 years and start without too much difficulty.
Bit tricky to fire up first go but with a jump start away it went and subsequently fire up easily.
As an aside I believe firing a bike up every few weeks will cause more harm than good.
This is to do with the water and oil not reaching optimum temperature, burning off impurities and condensing water in the exhaust system.
I left a vehicle in a friend's barn for a year odd, they fired it up every two or three weeks with the best of intentions but very shortly after getting it back from them it ran all it's main bearings. The sump was full of oily water, the product of blow by in a cold engine that had never been warmed enough to evaporate the water off. In more than half a century I have never done anything other than connect the battery to a smart charger (since they have become available) and put a cover over the top, never had a problem and they have always started without difficulty. Bit tricky to fire up first go but with a jump start away it went and subsequently fire up easily.
As an aside I believe firing a bike up every few weeks will cause more harm than good.
This is to do with the water and oil not reaching optimum temperature, burning off impurities and condensing water in the exhaust system.
I have seen a fair bit of rust in my mates 2008 Fireblade tank, ive always followed the manufacturers advice since the late 80s really, they put carb screws on the bikes for a reason, fuel left in the system for longer periods could always cause problems way before blaming ethanol for everything became a thing.
This advice is printed in all of my older bikes handbooks, still makes sense to me, so I still do it to my classics , including my 996.
Warming the bike up just draws condensation to the bike, engine and chassis, I bought an SRAD over Winter some years back , the owner was a fan of doing this, the oil sight glass was somewhat discolored and inside the cover it looked like this...
This advice is printed in all of my older bikes handbooks, still makes sense to me, so I still do it to my classics , including my 996.
Warming the bike up just draws condensation to the bike, engine and chassis, I bought an SRAD over Winter some years back , the owner was a fan of doing this, the oil sight glass was somewhat discolored and inside the cover it looked like this...
Whichever kind of tank you have the easiest thing is brim it with fuel.
If metal you can drain and coat, but it's obviously a faff.
The condensation that builds up in the oil will burn off when you get it good and hot, although if there's a shedload it's trouble. I suppose the optimum would be to turn it over by hand with the plugs out once every week or so, to make sure there was a bit of oil film everywhere.
If metal you can drain and coat, but it's obviously a faff.
The condensation that builds up in the oil will burn off when you get it good and hot, although if there's a shedload it's trouble. I suppose the optimum would be to turn it over by hand with the plugs out once every week or so, to make sure there was a bit of oil film everywhere.
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