sound like good advice?

[ashwin2936]

hi people, recently got a car so i am going to be putting my bike away for a few months.

i was advised if i am going to do the above. i should start the engine and then turn the petrol tap to off, and let it run until all the fuel is drained out the carbs and pipes. does this sound right?

cheers
ashwin

[Gone]

Because of the climate where I live, my bikes are put away for 5 months over winter. I fill the tanks, add petrol stabilizer, and drain the carbs when possible. I also change the oil and filter, remove battery and jack them up so the tyres are not on the ground. If you are planning a long-ish lay-up, that's the route I would go down.

[flat spot]

Yes it's a good idea. I do it over winter. It stops the petrol evaporating in the carbs leaving a gummy varnish which can lead to a carb strip down and clean in the summer.

[Ichy]

I don't disagree with the concept of preparing a bike for the winter storage and can see some benefits but when I used to have a few bikes some of them didn't see the light of day for up to two years. Being inherently lazy I did nothing special before putting them in storage. The most I've ever had to do was to attach a large battery and a squirt of eazystart to get them started. I've generally been fairly lucky and not suffered any problems with the carb.

I definitely wouldn't bother if it was just going to sit around for a couple of months.

[weasley]

As above. When I bought my bike (Yamaha Thundercat) it had sat un-started in a garage for 12 months. On the day I went to view it the guy attached some jump leads and it fired first time. I've been riding it for 8 years since with no problems and never did anything with the carbs then or since.

Mine tends to go into semi-hibernation over the winter, but as above I don't really prep it, just attach an Optimate and leave it where I last parked it. I might take it out if a nice day presented itself but last year, due to one thing and another, it sat from the end of September until May with no prep - once again it started on the button and took me to Germany and back without a hiccup.

[Suntan Sid]

[stinkwheel]

Best thing to do is to if you do nothing else is to make sure the tank is brim full. Two reasons. 1) It stops the inside of the tank corroding from condensation on the exposed metal. 2) It lessens the amount of fuel in contact with the air which helps slow down the process of it going stale.

The other thing to do would be to disconnect your battery and take it inside.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Noxious89123]

I put my bike away for 5 months or so when it's cold. November ~March
Brim the tank.
Make sure the tyres are well inflated, and off the ground if possible.
Turn off fuel tap.
Remove battery and store in a warm (or rather, not cold) place.

I give the battery a little charge every now and then, but it usually only takes a couple minutes to go from "charging" to "maintaining".

I don't run the carbs dry or drain them, but I do put a small shot of fuel stabiliser in the tank and then run the bike for a while to get it all through the carbs. Stops (or massively reduces) the fuel going stale an gumming stuff up.

When I start it up for the first time after winter, I crank it over a few times without letting it start to get oil all around the engine, as after sitting for a few months everything tends to drain down into the sump.
____________________
'06 Honda CBR125RW-6 ~ '00 Honda CBR600F-Y ~ '07 Honda CBR600RR-7 ~ Bikeless
'53 Ford Ka 1.3 ~ '03 Vauxhall Astra SRi 1.8 ~ '52 Vauxhall Astra SRi 2.2 ~ '53 Vauxhall Astra GSi

[Pete.]

You needn't run the engine to drain the carbs, you could just open the drain cocks at the bottom of the float bowls, but yes, the advice to drain the carbs and fill the tank is sound.
____________________
a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[Noxious89123]

Don't know about other bikes, but it's alot easier to get to the fuel tap on my bike than the carb drain screws!
____________________
'06 Honda CBR125RW-6 ~ '00 Honda CBR600F-Y ~ '07 Honda CBR600RR-7 ~ Bikeless
'53 Ford Ka 1.3 ~ '03 Vauxhall Astra SRi 1.8 ~ '52 Vauxhall Astra SRi 2.2 ~ '53 Vauxhall Astra GSi

[Gone]

A lot of bikes either don't have a fuel tap (my Fireblade doesn't) or have ones that turn off when the engine is not running (my '85 GS1100, for example). Not too hard to drain the carbs on the old Suzuki, but quite a challenge on an '03 'blade.

[G]