couldnt agree with you more, a little prepping in the fall makes life so much easier in the spring.especially with the garbage they are selling as gasoline these days.i've seen brass jets completely clogged with a greenish corrosion after setting 7 months.people would be wise to follow your tips.life will be much easier in april or may.garunteed.the same thing applies to lawn tractors that set all winter.thanks for spreading the word jon.we appreciate you bud.
Hi John,scott here again that was giving you carb rec for this bike & have a couple things to add to your storage video. I’ve been strong Classic bikes & cars for over 5 decades here in up state ny & found in more harsh cond with big temp & moisture swings that the red stable used are rec dosage doesn’t always protect carbs from gumming up in 5-6months storage therefore don’t use that particular product. What I use & highly rec is sta-bil’s MARINE GRADE STA-BIL that iv’e been using for the past 20+ yrs in 4 & 2 stroke motors with no issues. I use marine grade sta-bil because it’s specifically designed & formulated to protect fuel systems in the harsh cond boats are stored mostly outside with full time exposure to max moisture & temp swings to deal with so will best protect in any/all cond’s our bikes see vs the weaker formula std red color stable that I found 1st hand to not protect reliably in all cond. As for dosing with marine grade stabil,at 1st the mfg rec 1 oz marine grade sta-bil per 5 gals fuel for long term Storrage then later removed that from the label & replaced it with using 1oz per 10 gals fuel for all Storrage needs. I cont mfg & asked if the formula was changed/strengthened to inc dose from 5 to 10 gal gas per 1oz marine stabil & they said there was no change in product formula. So I stuck with the 1oz marine stabil per 5 gals fuel for over 20yrs with never one problem & do not rec using the weaker 1oz marine stabil to 10 gals fuel got long term storage of any kind. If you under dose with fuel stabilizer or use a not so robust stabilizer like the red stabil that can lead to clogged carb in some conditions of long term storage but I also found 1st hand it’s not a problem if you over dose a bit using fuel stabilizer. I find best way to prep fuel for Storrage is to 1st drain the fuel with ethanol in it if it’s been sitting in the tank more the 2 months. Then I add the stabil just before i fully fill the fuel tank & then top it off with fresh fuel. I next run the motor or ride the bike with petcock in reserve mode for a bit to flush out old fuel from reserve circuit & then put it back to normal non reserve position & run the motor/ride bike long enough to get the fresh treated fuel with stabil thru the entire fuel system & then turn motor off & shut off fuel petcock. I then put a rag into the air cleaner housing opening to keep out bugs & or rodents. I also remove battery and make sure to charge it at least 1x every 2wks std lead acid or every 3-4wks if it’s an AGM/Gel battery. Not a fan of leaving the maint chargers that go into low current maint mode when battery is fully charged for reasons I won’t get into here. But if that’s the type charger you have (maint that go’s to a supposed low current mode) it’s not an issue to leave them on a bike battery for couple/few days at a time,just not 24/7 for wks or months at a time esp on a small motorcycle battery. Lastly for those that may not be aware when talking storing classic bikes & cars is the following items are what gets most in trouble with clogged carbs in the spring. 1) Not 1st draining already 2-3+ month old not treated fuel with ethanol in that’s already going bad prior to filling tank with fresh fuel to treat with stabil for winter Storrage. 2) Not using enough fuel stabilizer to fully/reliably protect the fuel system from damage which is why I rec adding a minimum of 25% additional fuel stabilizer (of any mfg!) to the mfg’s rec dose.(again,marginal or under dose can cause clogged carb but over dose ensures better protection & doesn’t hurt anything in my 20+yrs using marine grade stabil. 3) Not filling fuel tank all the way to eliminate /reduce area/space in the fuel tank where moisture & air can accumulate & negatively react with the ethanol in the gas. 4) Not running the motor at all or not long enough after filling tank & treating the fuel with stable to get the treated fuel into the entire fuel system. 5) If the vehicle/equip being stored is outside not covering up at least the motor/fuel tank & carb to keep water/ice/snow out of it.
Hey Jon, here in Yuma, Arizona that time is "DEAD SUMMER"! Yeah from July to late Sept, it's just so damned HOT! So, I leave my bike in the garage, and then when I come out in October to begin to ride... Yeap> Like Now, I've got the carbs off gotta clean em up then put 'em back on and then should be good. Next year however, I'm going to run them dry, and go buy some RACE FUEL, and start it back up, then put them away until the heat goes down some. When the LOW TEMP in the early AM is in the 90's....... it's not the time you want to be riding!
Hey Jon, since it's about that time again. Wondering why you don't drain the float bowls on carbed bikes? Won't that small amount of gas evaporate and junk up the jets stil,l no mater what additive is in the gas?
Ethanol in the gasoline is the worst poison for carburettors and fuel tank. Ethanol collect all water from air and rusting later metal parts. Ethanol-free alkylate fuel is the best fuel choice for old bikes, it will stay in good condition many years, if needed.
couldnt agree with you more, a little prepping in the fall makes life so much easier in the spring.especially with the garbage they are selling as gasoline these days.i've seen brass jets completely clogged with a greenish corrosion after setting 7 months.people would be wise to follow your tips.life will be much easier in april or may.garunteed.the same thing applies to lawn tractors that set all winter.thanks for spreading the word jon.we appreciate you bud.
Thank you!
Hi John,scott here again that was giving you carb rec for this bike & have a couple things to add to your storage video.
I’ve been strong Classic bikes & cars for over 5 decades here in up state ny & found in more harsh cond with big temp & moisture swings that the red stable used are rec dosage doesn’t always protect carbs from gumming up in 5-6months storage therefore don’t use that particular product.
What I use & highly rec is sta-bil’s MARINE GRADE STA-BIL that iv’e been using for the past 20+ yrs in 4 & 2 stroke motors with no issues.
I use marine grade sta-bil because it’s specifically designed & formulated to protect fuel systems in the harsh cond boats are stored mostly outside with full time exposure to max moisture & temp swings to deal with so will best protect in any/all cond’s our bikes see vs the weaker formula std red color stable that I found 1st hand to not protect reliably in all cond.
As for dosing with marine grade stabil,at 1st the mfg rec 1 oz marine grade sta-bil per 5 gals fuel for long term Storrage then later removed that from the label & replaced it with using 1oz per 10 gals fuel for all Storrage needs.
I cont mfg & asked if the formula was changed/strengthened to inc dose from 5 to 10 gal gas per 1oz marine stabil & they said there was no change in product formula.
So I stuck with the 1oz marine stabil per 5 gals fuel for over 20yrs with never one problem & do not rec using the weaker 1oz marine stabil to 10 gals fuel got long term storage of any kind.
If you under dose with fuel stabilizer or use a not so robust stabilizer like the red stabil that can lead to clogged carb in some conditions of long term storage but I also found 1st hand it’s not a problem if you over dose a bit using fuel stabilizer.
I find best way to prep fuel for Storrage is to 1st drain the fuel with ethanol in it if it’s been sitting in the tank more the 2 months.
Then I add the stabil just before i fully fill the fuel tank & then top it off with fresh fuel.
I next run the motor or ride the bike with petcock in reserve mode for a bit to flush out old fuel from reserve circuit & then put it back to normal non reserve position & run the motor/ride bike long enough to get the fresh treated fuel with stabil thru the entire fuel system & then turn motor off & shut off fuel petcock.
I then put a rag into the air cleaner housing opening to keep out bugs & or rodents. I also remove battery and make sure to charge it
at least 1x every 2wks std lead acid or every 3-4wks if it’s an AGM/Gel battery.
Not a fan of leaving the maint chargers that go into low current maint mode when battery is fully charged for reasons I won’t get into here.
But if that’s the type charger you have (maint that go’s to a supposed low current mode) it’s not an issue to leave them on a bike battery for couple/few days at a time,just not 24/7 for wks or months at a time esp on a small motorcycle battery.
Lastly for those that may not be aware when talking storing classic bikes & cars is the following items are what gets most in trouble with clogged carbs in the spring.
1) Not 1st draining already 2-3+ month old not treated fuel with ethanol in that’s already going bad prior to filling tank with fresh fuel to treat with stabil for winter Storrage.
2) Not using enough fuel stabilizer to fully/reliably protect the fuel system from damage which is why I rec adding a minimum of 25% additional fuel stabilizer (of any mfg!) to the mfg’s rec dose.(again,marginal or under dose can cause clogged carb but over dose ensures better protection & doesn’t hurt anything in my 20+yrs using marine grade stabil.
3) Not filling fuel tank all the way to eliminate /reduce area/space in the fuel tank where moisture & air can accumulate & negatively react with the ethanol in the gas.
4) Not running the motor at all or not long enough after filling tank & treating the fuel with stable to get the treated fuel into the entire fuel system.
5) If the vehicle/equip being stored is outside not covering up at least the motor/fuel tank & carb to keep water/ice/snow out of it.
Thanks Scott!
Hey Jon, here in Yuma, Arizona that time is "DEAD SUMMER"! Yeah from July to late Sept, it's just so damned HOT! So, I leave my bike in the garage, and then when I come out in October to begin to ride... Yeap> Like Now, I've got the carbs off gotta clean em up then put 'em back on and then should be good. Next year however, I'm going to run them dry, and go buy some RACE FUEL, and start it back up, then put them away until the heat goes down some. When the LOW TEMP in the early AM is in the 90's....... it's not the time you want to be riding!
Agreed, I honestly don't like riding in temps above about 85 degrees F. I guess you have to Summerize your bikes.
Hey Jon, since it's about that time again. Wondering why you don't drain the float bowls on carbed bikes? Won't that small amount of gas evaporate and junk up the jets stil,l no mater what additive is in the gas?
It certainly won't hurt to drain the float bowls. However, in all the years of owning bikes, my current method never let me down. Cheers!
Ethanol in the gasoline is the worst poison for carburettors and fuel tank. Ethanol collect all water from air and rusting later metal parts. Ethanol-free alkylate fuel is the best fuel choice for old bikes, it will stay in good condition many years, if needed.
Right on, thanks Jim!
We have no more ethanol free gas since January 2023 up here in Cana-duh.