Going away - storage prep

[lifeofcrimeguy]

Going away for a month and unfortunetely don't have anyone to be driving my car and bike around. For the bike I'll drain carbies, disconnect battery and maybe remove the sparks. Anything else? Any worries about coming back to condensation in the carbs, etc? I dunno what to do for the car other than disconnect battery. 2000 zx6 and 2000 commodore

[Whickle]

For one month, you dont have to do much. Just remove the battery and keep it up off the ground.

The rest will be ok for that period of time.....

[Gosling1]

don't take the plugs out ! you run the risk of crap getting into the motor. For 1 month over winter, as Whickle has said - the most you really need to do is take the battery out, or even just disconnect the +ve terminal.

I wouldn't worry at all about condensation in the carbs or the fuel or any of that, 4 weeks is jack shit really. *Storage* really means > 12 months I reckon.

[Gazza]

Mate

After i crashed the 9 , the bike sat in my garage for more than six months , with no oil and same fuel from the day I crashed it
I couldnt start it cause it had no left side engine case, but when i managed to pick up an engine case I just put some cheap
oil in it so as to flush any shit out and then dump the cheap oil for good stuff, charged the battery and turned the key and it kicked
over the first time .
It was a little fluffy at first but a few good strong revs soon sorted that out.
As for stale fuel I didnt have an issue at all.

I tend to agree with Gos , 12months + would justify proper storage action with your bike.

[lifeofcrimeguy]

Mm, well I hope so. A couple of times, but not everytime, I've left bikes for 2-3 weeks and when I've come back I've had to drain the carbs and replace the sparks.

[hoffy]

I haven't started the barge for nearly a month !! Fark !!

[Gosling1]

.....Mm, well I hope so. A couple of times, but not everytime, I've left bikes for 2-3 weeks and when I've come back I've had to drain the carbs and replace the sparks....

that means the bike is way out of tune. Leaving a bike for only 2 weeks should make no appreciable difference at all to starting it - maybe you are getting really shitty fuel from somewhere ??

I regularly leave the Black Pearl up in the back carport from February through to about November - every year - and just give the old shitter a kick in the guts in November - and away she goes . The battery sounds a bit tired on the first start - but draining fuel and changing plugs after only 2 or 3 weeks means there is something else seriously wrong with the bike in the first place.

I have some real issues with all the garbage that is often peddled around on forums about fuel 'going off' if it is left in the tank too long. Basically - unless the tank is left outside uncovered every night only 1/3 full, and cops enough condensation to cause a problem with water - the fuel that was in the tank last week or last month or even last year, will still work. I have often used old fuel from tanks - hell, I just emptied the tank from the GPz1000RX on the weekend (maybe 3 or 4 litres), it could have been years old for all I know, (its been about 3 years since the bike last fired a shot in anger) it smelt like fuel, it went into the z650 tank, and it worked just like fuel should........with no 'poor running' or 'fouled plugs' or 'blocked jets' or any of that other shit that is often passed on as gospel.

Sure - you need to clean carbies if fuel has *dried up* inside them - this goes without saying. But petrol - does not magically turn into *something else* just because it is a few weeks or a few months old.

[oldman]

There is a product called Stabile or some such shit that you add to the fuel when it is going to be sitting for awhile. It's sold in most auto parts stores and keeps the fuel stabile for a long period of time and also helps it not evaporate if you have carbs. A cheap way to make sure your bike starts when you get back. Also disconnect the battery cables as most vehicles draw a small amount of electrical current even when not running. If you add the stabilizer make sure you run it long enough to get it through the carbs.

[greenmeanie]

I wouldn't worry at all about condensation in the carbs or the fuel or any of that, 4 weeks is jack shit really. *Storage* really means > 12 months I reckon.

+1

When i read the thread topic i was imagining 12-18 months.

4 weeks........... relax mate.

[ezzazrx]

Went away for 3 months over summer and just took out the battery, jacked her up off the ground that's was it ,fine when I came back--charged the battery filled up the tank and off she went no worries.

[red_dave]

Be aware that as soon as a battery goes below 10.8V, it starts to sulphate...

Stick a maintenance charger on it just to be safe - leaving it for a month should be fine though

[MrWasabi]

Ill ride your bike around for you

[Gosling1]

.....Ill ride your bike around for you ......

Yes - an offer that should be taken up ! In all the talk about fuel, I forgot the most important thing - the air in the tyres needs to be rotated regularly, otherwise the stale air trapped on the bottom of the tyre will absorb all the emissions from the concrete the bike is stored on, and become extremely heavy - thus putting the balance of the wheel out. Regular rotation of the air in the tyres prevents this condition.

[hoffy]

.....Ill ride your bike around for you ......

Yes - an offer that should be taken up ! In all the talk about fuel, I forgot the most important thing - the air in the tyres needs to be rotated regularly, otherwise the stale air trapped on the bottom of the tyre will absorb all the emissions from the concrete the bike is stored on, and become extremely heavy - thus putting the balance of the wheel out. Regular rotation of the air in the tyres prevents this condition.

surely thats bullshit !

[Wattie]

.....Ill ride your bike around for you ......

Yes - an offer that should be taken up ! In all the talk about fuel, I forgot the most important thing - the air in the tyres needs to be rotated regularly, otherwise the stale air trapped on the bottom of the tyre will absorb all the emissions from the concrete the bike is stored on, and become extremely heavy - thus putting the balance of the wheel out. Regular rotation of the air in the tyres prevents this condition.

surely thats bullshit !

being a tech supervisor for a concrete company, im agrreing with this...

but dont listen to Owen, he has a roady.

where and when do i pick it up?