hi guys,,,, well when i first got my xs650,,,, i was living in wesburn australia,,, in my first house i purchased after my divorce,,, and the guy i bought the bike off ,,, delivered it to my home ,,then wheeled it in for me into the rear family room,,, and it sat there for 12 months,,, then 1 night at maybe 10pm i took off all the blankets /tarp etc... and i put the key in and was just fiddling with it ,and bang he fired up,,, the exhausts were pointing out the side back door ,,, 5mins later alot of house lights were going on ... so i turned it off turned out everything in my home and went to bed ,,,, hoping nobody would find me .... regards oldbiker
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How to Properly Store your Motorcycle
- Thread starter gentlemanjim
- Start date
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- Tags
- off season storage
Orion61
XS650 Addict
Other riders used to think I was crazy for "Wasting an oil change" in the Fall, Old oil has many chemicals in it due to combustion and most are high alkaline which promote corrosion. I didn't use any of my procedures to start the post to get some honest and possible new procedures.
I honestly believe improper Winter storage has caused more premature trips to the junk yard than ALL other issues combined. A couple of you pick your tires up off the ground and one Brilliant rider partially deflates the tires.
I always use Seafoam in my bike the last tank of the year/1st of the next. I swear by it for preventive Maintenance. MMO has been around forever, to me that is proof of a good product. I also Add fuel stabilizer and top off the fuel tank. I have never had an issue with running the carbs dry, actually I believe opening the throttle at the end when it starts to sputter actually dries it out more completely by using the engines vacuum to pull fuel from every
pathway and resting place! alternating between open and closed idle cleans out BOTH fuel circuits (idle and run). The stabilizer is for just in case life gets in the way and you cannot ride the next year...It happened to me with an Injury at work resulting in a replacement knee and 3 years off the bike!!!
I have never used fogger but I have always put a teaspoon of oil down each lung and kicked it over a dozen times. fogging is a good idea but I wouldn't ruin my air filter to do it. I know there is still close to a month of riding up North here (N. Iowa) but it is never too early to pick up those storage supplies.
One thing an old Mechanic advised me to do before the final oil change was to drain the old oil and replace it with 75% Summer Diesiel fuel/oil, start the bike and idle it until it is at operating temp then drain after it has cooled. He said the Diesel will completely clean the crank case and remove/soften any deposits, he told me there Is enough oil in the fuel to lubricate the motor short term. I will admit I tried it and it honestly did come out a lot darker than it went in.. (that was a used bike that obviously had HORRIBLE maintenance done to it).
I don't suggest it because most of you keep your bikes maintained. well. has any of you old timers ever hear of this?
This Mechanic was in his 80's in the early 1980's, He was a Ford Mechanic for 45 years. He also told me about the flat head Ford V8 motors that would get hot and crack the blocks, They had 2 Water pumps, He said their fix was to break off every other fin on the water pump.. It pushed the water through too fast to cool properly... Don't know about that?
I honestly believe improper Winter storage has caused more premature trips to the junk yard than ALL other issues combined. A couple of you pick your tires up off the ground and one Brilliant rider partially deflates the tires.
I always use Seafoam in my bike the last tank of the year/1st of the next. I swear by it for preventive Maintenance. MMO has been around forever, to me that is proof of a good product. I also Add fuel stabilizer and top off the fuel tank. I have never had an issue with running the carbs dry, actually I believe opening the throttle at the end when it starts to sputter actually dries it out more completely by using the engines vacuum to pull fuel from every
pathway and resting place! alternating between open and closed idle cleans out BOTH fuel circuits (idle and run). The stabilizer is for just in case life gets in the way and you cannot ride the next year...It happened to me with an Injury at work resulting in a replacement knee and 3 years off the bike!!!
I have never used fogger but I have always put a teaspoon of oil down each lung and kicked it over a dozen times. fogging is a good idea but I wouldn't ruin my air filter to do it. I know there is still close to a month of riding up North here (N. Iowa) but it is never too early to pick up those storage supplies.
One thing an old Mechanic advised me to do before the final oil change was to drain the old oil and replace it with 75% Summer Diesiel fuel/oil, start the bike and idle it until it is at operating temp then drain after it has cooled. He said the Diesel will completely clean the crank case and remove/soften any deposits, he told me there Is enough oil in the fuel to lubricate the motor short term. I will admit I tried it and it honestly did come out a lot darker than it went in.. (that was a used bike that obviously had HORRIBLE maintenance done to it).
I don't suggest it because most of you keep your bikes maintained. well. has any of you old timers ever hear of this?
This Mechanic was in his 80's in the early 1980's, He was a Ford Mechanic for 45 years. He also told me about the flat head Ford V8 motors that would get hot and crack the blocks, They had 2 Water pumps, He said their fix was to break off every other fin on the water pump.. It pushed the water through too fast to cool properly... Don't know about that?
