Putting it away for the winter!

[Noggin]

Don't do it. There will be loads of lovely days to ride throughout the winter.

I live in a ski resort at 2000m!!!

Ah, lol. Oh well, at least you get to ski though which sound pretty good too

Too used to people in southern england posting about lifting the tyres off the floor and using fuel stabiliser :facepalm:

When I lived in Bristol and didn't come away in the winter, I did ride all through. The only concession my riding buddy had for winter was, if it was freezing we left it a couple of hours before heading out so that other traffic would have defrosted the road (we met at 7am to fill with fuel and then head out!)!!
TBF, if I had a bit more confidence (and access to the garage by my place in winter) I would probably ride it a lot more. But the garage it will be in will end up with a lot of snow in front of it, and the little hamlet there gets very little suns, so it won't melt anytime soon!! But, I came here to ski, so I can finally do it properly this winter, so I can live with the bike going to hibernation!! LOL

Chuck it in the garage, worry about it in the spring

Works for me.

Well - I would, in the uk!! Just wanted to check if there are other considerations cos it's cold!! LOL And also, mainly, cos of my friend talking about 'brimming' the oil - which sounded nuts to me!! LOL

Chucking a loose cotton sheet should be OK, keep it loose around the bottom for air. Battery off or solar charger, ( think they've been invented ) maybe start up once or twice to move petrol through.

My lawnmower manages perfectly well with nothing done.

The garage door won't get a huge amount of sunshine each day anywhere that I can put a solar thingy - but I can put the battery at home!!

Make sure it's got proper anti-freeze coolant in it, not plain water snigger

Oooo - good shout. I'll check with Demannu!!

I just ride it through winter, no worries then!

See above - I get a bit more snow here than SW England!!

Living up there in the cold, i'd give it a coating of ACF-50 with a rag, all over on the metal bits if possible. I'd remove the battery. Ideally i'd put on paddock stands both ends... then just wait till spring.

Perfect. Pretty sure I have ACF50 in a box! A mate has said he'll pick up the 'bike stuff' (paddock stands etc) in his car so we can put it up on stands, will make it easier to clean it a bit pre ACF50!

Is it a metal tank or plastic? Definitely don't leave E10 in a plastic tank

It's metal. But I was told in very strong terms that I mustn't use E10 at all, so it won't have that in it

[weeksy]

It's metal. But I was told in very strong terms that I mustn't use E10 at all, so it won't have that in it

By who ? E10 isn't completely the work of the devil.

[Noggin]

It's metal. But I was told in very strong terms that I mustn't use E10 at all, so it won't have that in it

By who ? E10 isn't completely the work of the devil.

By the nice man that made it work for me. It was more to do with using E10 and then leaving it - IIRC it can jellify around things like carbs. I guess that since he spent so long getting things clean and lovely, he didn't want them getting gummed up?

[weeksy]

It's metal. But I was told in very strong terms that I mustn't use E10 at all, so it won't have that in it

By who ? E10 isn't completely the work of the devil.

By the nice man that made it work for me. It was more to do with using E10 and then leaving it - IIRC it can jellify around things like carbs. I guess that since he spent so long getting things clean and lovely, he didn't want them getting gummed up?

Hmmmm maybe longer term ? But i'm not sure that's been proven... but if it was going to kill cars/bikes/etc short term, then would we be allowed to even buy it ?

[Noggin]

By who ? E10 isn't completely the work of the devil.

By the nice man that made it work for me. It was more to do with using E10 and then leaving it - IIRC it can jellify around things like carbs. I guess that since he spent so long getting things clean and lovely, he didn't want them getting gummed up?

Hmmmm maybe longer term ? But i'm not sure that's been proven... but if it was going to kill cars/bikes/etc short term, then would we be allowed to even buy it ?

True. But I have less knowledge than that, so did what I was told - so far!!

[Noggin]

Pretty sure there's been a reasonable amount written that some fuels 'gum up' carbs n stuff on older engines, but I've never taken much notice cos I rarely left a bike so long and when I did, I didn't think about it cos it wasn't cold!!

[Yorick]

Living up there in the cold, i'd give it a coating of ACF-50 with a rag, all over on the metal bits if possible. I'd remove the battery. Ideally i'd put on paddock stands both ends... then just wait till spring.

Or just park it on cardboard.

[Yorick]

By the nice man that made it work for me. It was more to do with using E10 and then leaving it - IIRC it can jellify around things like carbs. I guess that since he spent so long getting things clean and lovely, he didn't want them getting gummed up?

Hmmmm maybe longer term ? But i'm not sure that's been proven... but if it was going to kill cars/bikes/etc short term, then would we be allowed to even buy it ?

True. But I have less knowledge than that, so did what I was told - so far!!

I wish there were more girls like you

[Demannu]

Why didnt you just PM me ya muppet!
Fill tank with best fuel you can get hold of!
Disconnect the vacuum tap air feed (thin one)
Run bike til it stops, about 2 mins max.
Smother anything shiney with acf/grease, cover with sheet.
Has it used any oil since it arrived? Should be 1/2 or 1/3 up the window as I didnt quite have enough oil with me.
If it's not used any oil it's not 'loose'.
As for anti freeze, all the air cooled engines I've ever worked on have been fine without it!
As for filling the engine with oil and then locking it up, good way of fucking the oil control rings.
Does your friend partake of the wackibacki?

[MrLongbeard]

By who ? E10 isn't completely the work of the devil.

The hell it isn't

[weeksy]

By who ? E10 isn't completely the work of the devil.

The hell it isn't

Elaborate? I'm not talking about vehicles left for a year, but ridden and used

[KungFooBob]

It eats some types of older rubber iirc.

Rubber parts like seals/diaphrams in carbs, petrol hoses and rubber intake manifolds.

[MrLongbeard]

By who ? E10 isn't completely the work of the devil.

The hell it isn't

Elaborate? I'm not talking about vehicles left for a year, but ridden and used

Nor am I talking about storage for a year, Stihl suggest it can separate in a month, and given our damp climes the ethanol has all the more water to absorb.
Plus the issues with metal tanks rusting, polymer tanks deforming in use (see Ducati, Triumph, Acerbis & Aprilia in the US), hell my striple tank expanded before E10 was even a thing (many other reports in the UK too), older rubbers perishing, carbs gumming.

I've got my Harley, I'll use E10 where I know it'll be mostly used up on that ride and replaced with E5 within a day or two, I've also got a couple of older carbed Jap bikes knocking about that I'll not let near E10.

[Yorick]

3 of our bikes have plastic tanks. Do I need to panic?

[weeksy]

3 of our bikes have plastic tanks. Do I need to panic?

The consensus seems to be 'probably'. Some of the KTMs have leaked at fuel tap seals i'm aware of, plenty of plastic KTM and Ducati tanks swell and deform, i think Triumph maybe too. It's part of the reason i was almost glad when the KTM690 went back as i thought "should never have bought a plastic tank bike anyway' and arguably i was right. I think as the years move on, it will become more of an issue short term, but then they'll either make plastics/seals/rubber that's resistant, or we'll all have electric ones anyway.

[Mr. Dazzle]

My 1997 Triumph has a plastic tank that's been deformed almost as long as I've had it (since 2003). There's plenty of water in our air before you even get to E10

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

The plastic tank on my lawn mower copes with E5 no problems, sadly the same can't be said for it's one and only jet, which gets clogged up.

[Noggin]

Living up there in the cold, i'd give it a coating of ACF-50 with a rag, all over on the metal bits if possible. I'd remove the battery. Ideally i'd put on paddock stands both ends... then just wait till spring.

Or just park it on cardboard.

But, I have front and rear stands and no where to keep them, so might as well put them under the bike

Hmmmm maybe longer term ? But i'm not sure that's been proven... but if it was going to kill cars/bikes/etc short term, then would we be allowed to even buy it ?

True. But I have less knowledge than that, so did what I was told - so far!!

I wish there were more girls like you

Why didnt you just PM me ya muppet!
Fill tank with best fuel you can get hold of!
Disconnect the vacuum tap air feed (thin one)
Run bike til it stops, about 2 mins max.
Smother anything shiney with acf/grease, cover with sheet.
Has it used any oil since it arrived? Should be 1/2 or 1/3 up the window as I didnt quite have enough oil with me.
If it's not used any oil it's not 'loose'.
As for anti freeze, all the air cooled engines I've ever worked on have been fine without it!
As for filling the engine with oil and then locking it up, good way of fucking the oil control rings.
Does your friend partake of the wackibacki?

LOL Cos I figured it'd be interesting to start conversation on here (Had you not posted I'd have messaged!!)

It hasn't used any oil - I did top it up a little bit, but still looks the same

My friend isn't a wackibacki type person And looked a bit surprised when I told him that you guys basically said don't be daft!! LOL

Of to get really cold for 10 mins riding down to La Roche then put it in the garage ready to bring stands and cover down tomorrow

[David]

Try Alpen fuel///it's £20 for 5 litres, but how big is your lawn?

Guaranteed good for five years in the machine...

[The Spin Doctor]

Don't do it. There will be loads of lovely days to ride throughout the winter.

I live in a ski resort at 2000m!!!

Simples...