[smashedpumpkins]

Just kinda curious. I'm going to be putting away my 06 636 here soon for the Winter. We just got our first bit of snow yesterday and are expecting a lot tomorrow! I'm taking in Auto class right now and in the class it mentioned to add a fuel stabilizer if you won't be turning the vehicle on for more than 60 days. Is this the same for Motorcycles? I think I'm still going to turn my bike on weekly though and let it run for 5 or so minutes.

 

[wojtek19890]

i wish I could be of help but this thread is an excellent candidate for being one of those that are filled with messages like, search, idiot, or uh, did you use the search function?

 

[nevada]

Just kinda curious. I'm going to be putting away my 06 636 here soon for the Winter. We just got our first bit of snow yesterday and are expecting a lot tomorrow! I'm taking in Auto class right now and in the class it mentioned to add a fuel stabilizer if you won't be turning the vehicle on for more than 60 days. Is this the same for Motorcycles? I think I'm still going to turn my bike on weekly though and let it run for 5 or so minutes.

you can. use the correct amount for the tank size. it wont hurt anything.
this would be good, if its stored outside, to keep the water(in the fuel) from freezing.
BUT, it takes longer than 60 days for fuel to go bad.

 

[Nassty]

Sta-Bil FTW - even though I barely use it and never have problems - I usually just try to warm up my bike a few times over the winter....and where the hell do you live where it's already snowing. I'm in Buffalo and it's in the 60's right now and supposed to be 70's over the weekend (even though it was 30's last week)

 

[smashedpumpkins]

Ha sounds good. I'm in Idaho. It won't be constantly snowing, but it's pretty spuratic. By the end of October we'll probably have perm snow on the ground till Summer.

 

[HKr1]

Sta-Bil FTW

:iamwithstupid:

StaBil seems to work really good, I use it in just about everything

 

[jbreit]

After you add it to the tank, slosh it around to give a good mixing, then run the bike for at least a few minutes so this stabilized fuel is all through the fuel system....varnish in carbs, injectors and fuel pumps is what you don't want.

There's dedicated stabilizers to work with the 10% ethanol blended fuels, like StarTron from Starbrite. I am not sure off hand if Stabil is as effective as needed...until this fall finding non-ethanol fuel was much easier....so I have some checking of my own to do.

 

[TrueFaith]

I'll never run Sta-bil again after I had to rebuild the carburetor in my lawnmower last spring because it was so crudded up. Now I drain every carb weather it's my mower, snow blower or bike. I will only use Sta-bil in the bike's tank, which I fill with gas to prevent rust. Come spring I'll syphon the gas with Sta-bil into my car so the Sta-bil gets nice and dilluted and get new gas for the bike before opening the petcock again. Maybe it's just me, but that mower's carburator was a mess after sitting for 3 months with gas & Sta-bil in it. If you're going to start it every so often I'd think about just using drygas to keep the lines unfrozen instead.

 

[altec]

Use whatever cheapest is what I think

 

[Monstermack]

After you add it to the tank, slosh it around to give a good mixing, then run the bike for at least a few minutes so this stabilized fuel is all through the fuel system....varnish in carbs, injectors and fuel pumps is what you don't want.

There's dedicated stabilizers to work with the 10% ethanol blended fuels, like StarTron from Starbrite. I am not sure off hand if Stabil is as effective as needed...until this fall finding non-ethanol fuel was much easier....so I have some checking of my own to do.

lusone: This is an every year thing for me.Do exactly as said above. The one year I didn't do this, my fuel pump gummed up and required to be removed and cleaned, along with all the fuel lines...never again. Always use Sta-bil

 

[Nassty]

for the people who have had problems letting regular gas sit, how long did you let it sit/not use the machine for?

 

[TrueFaith]

for the people who have had problems letting regular gas sit, how long did you let it sit/not use the machine for?

Mechanics I know have told me that gas doesn't go bad as quickly as it used to and 3 months is nothing to worry about. But they don't ride bikes, either.

 

[TokoMiko]

Seafoam is probably a good choice to, it's expensive though 7.99 but the one can is good for 19 gallons of fuel.

Seafoam is also a nice cleaning agent so if it sits in the bike all winter it'll be keeping it clean and it'll clean some more while being burned out in the spring.


But I have never stored a bike over winter this will be my first winter with it, so I guess I'll try it and see how it goes.

 

[markketo]

I've used stabilizers since one of my carburated bikes didn't start after winter storage. It was all clogged up. Currently using Motorex fuel stabilizer.

Modern gas doesn't go bad in the tank because there's lots of it. But it does go bad in the fuel system, as it evaporates. On carburated bike it seemed to help to left the fuel cock open for the winter.

 

[Eurosport]

:iamwithstupid:

StaBil seems to work really good, I use it in just about everything

+1million

 

[jbreit]

If you know how, draining the carbs is a good idea...but if you don't, its ok to skip.

I've never had a problem with stabil-ized fuel....I don't even drain it out in the spring. My snowblower and lawn tractor both sit for 6 months...and neither have issues.

Last year I would also agree that 3 months of sitting is OK....now with the 10% ethanol fuel everywhere I'd probably say more like 1-2months. Ethanol absorbs water, which can be a problem any time of year.

 

[Riding4life]

Just kinda curious. I'm going to be putting away my 06 636 here soon for the Winter. We just got our first bit of snow yesterday and are expecting a lot tomorrow! I'm taking in Auto class right now and in the class it mentioned to add a fuel stabilizer if you won't be turning the vehicle on for more than 60 days. Is this the same for Motorcycles? I think I'm still going to turn my bike on weekly though and let it run for 5 or so minutes.

Here is a rough background and you can take my advice how you want. I have been riding for over 30 years, a grad from MMI in AZ with a specialized cert. from Kawi and Honda. I have worked in a dealership as a head tech., service advisor and service manager. I have not used any type of fuel stab. in any of my personal machines in the last 20 years. I store my 06 636 (full tank of 90+ octain) in my garage which is insulated but not heated, the garage is opened atleast twice a day for my wife to drive out and in with her car. I have a trickle charger on my battery but do not unhook the battery from the bike. On decent days when it is above 30 degrees F, I will push the bike outside and let it run till the engine temp gets up to around 150-200. On days when the roads are dry, I will ride the bike around the block after it warms up. In the spring I do an oil change and fill the tank and go ride. I have never had an issue with an fuel turning bad or anything of the sort. My wifes motorcycle (1990 Honda VFR 250) had been stored in our shed for a full year with no fuel stab and when I took the carbs off to clean them...no varnish and after a charge on the battery, started right up and runs like a champ. Take what I say how you want, I am not responsable for any damages to your machines, this is how I do it and have not had any issues. I also ride if the temp is above 40 degrees F and the roads are dry, some don't ride like I do so to each their own.

 

[Monstermack]

my bike usually sits from about November until about April. It sits all winter. I never start it. i remove the battery and take it inside. I give it a trickle charge for about a day before I get the bike ready in April. One of the reasons I don't start the bike over the winter is that allows any kind of crud that is in my oil to seeps down to the pan. So before I ever start my bike I drain the oil and change the filter.
All that being said the one time I didn't use Stabil in my system, my fuel pump got all crudded up. Every other year I've used Stabil and it fires up perfectly the first time.
Same deal with the snow blower. It sits the majority of the year with Stabil-ized fuel in it. Come that first snow fall, one yank on the cord and it fires.
That's my opinion.

 

[Fairbanks ZX6R]

Fuel Stabilizer = ride my bike almost every day/year round. Great to live in SoCal!

 

[NickySixx3Sixx]

:violent: ALL PPL FROM STATES WHERE YOU CAN RIDE 24-7!!!!!!!