Aprilia rs125 storage

[dodgydog]

One of my customers, (for reasons only known to him) has decided to buy his son a brand new Aprilia RS125, all fine so far......but the customers son is 2 (two) years old.

The bike will be stored (displayed) on a plinth in his garage, the garage is centrally heated, he has just spent £1000 on floor covering for the garage. He also has a display of erotic art on the garage walls, I like that garage a lot.

Given that the bike will almost certainly never be run on the road in my lifetime, I'm wondering what the best method of storage would be? Drain fuel? remove battery altogether? Or would it be a better option to leave as is and maybe just warm the bike up once a week?


Thanks.

Dog
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[Kickstart]

Hi

For that length of time, regular warming up would probably do far more harm than good (generating a load of moisture in the exhaust, etc). Disconnect the battery. Support the bike on stands to keep the tyres off the ground (although the will be useless in 20 years time, at least they are less likely to crack up over the years).

If I were going to store the bike with no intention of starting it for decades then I would be tempted to over fill the gearbox, and fill the engine crankcases with 2 stroke oil. But need to be VERY certain to remove this oil before trying to crank it over let alone start it.

Also block the exhaust and intake off to stop air getting into the engine.

All the best

Katy
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[Pjay]

I've heard it's also a good idea to block the intake and exhaust holes to minimise any moisture than can build up over the years.

[c_dug]

He does realise that in 20 years time all of the rubber will have perished and parts will be near impossible to source?

Also given the push away from petrol who knows what fuel supply/cost will be.
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[GSTEEL32]

Meh

Fuel drained, battery off. Job jobbed.

Those bikes are stronger than people give them credit for. ive got a few bikes that are older than 20 years old and their as right as rain to be fair.

I've found the worse bikes I've owned are those left out subjected to the British weather.

I'd be more bothered about the fact that in 20 years time, the poor get will probably need a full licence to ride it.....

[dodgydog]

[Robby]

If it's going to be stored to that length of time, then it should be stored properly. The usual method is to roll it into a big vacuum bag with several kilos of dessicant, seal the bag and vacuum out the air.

A bike shop I used to visit (before it was closed down and the owner put in prison for fraud) had stored a CBX1000 in a similar way. No rust, but all of the rubber parts were still perished. Cost a fortune to get it back on the road. Rebuilding 6 carbs multiple times didn't look fun.

[Rogerborg]

[dodgydog]

[Rogerborg]

He sounds charming, and is doubtless a totally legitimate businessman.
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[smallfrowne]

Use the vacuum packed method, but go the extra mile and mix up some water+sodium chloride to create a great, cheap preservative. The vacuum bag will help to keep a good covering if you can put the mix in after, though a big jar would be preferable. Works for all sorts of things and it'll taste delish in just a few weeks, but it'll be fine for much longer. Leave the battery in for extra zing.
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[stevo as b4]

Oil everything, overfill the transmission oil but label the filler plug to say you have. On the RS125 I'd fill the crankcase with cheap engine oil and leave the piston at tdc, with bungs to block the exhaust outlet and say a rubber glove strapped over the airbox intake snorkel.

I'd throw lashings of silicone oil/spray over all the rubber and plastic part. It sounds weird but I cover the engine casings and exhaust system as well as the rubber and unpainted plasticson my KMX with spray on leather sofa oil, it's properly slippery oily shit that leaves a film on everything and takes weeks or even months to evaporate off.