Long term storage .

[TIM 435]

What are some idea's for long term storage , like over a year ? how to prep gas tanks, oil tanks, motor, trans., fluids or dry ? thought i'd get some ideas from the pro's, thanks.

[Tom Lovejoy]

far from a pro at anything - but on my stuff, I just drain the gas - all of it - carb to. Then I sloshed some thin oil in my gas tank, something like 10 - 30, just to try to keep the rust out. I poured in a quart and shook it around good then let the excess drain. Interested to hear what others do

[rickgeo]

What Tom Said' also you might pull the plugs & squirt some oil down the cylinders & crank it over a few times to lube the rings & cylinder walls

Rick Stambaugh # 2472

[pisten-bully]

Tim, you might consider fogging your engine before storage. Look it up, fogging oil is sprayed into a running motor and then the motor is turned off leaving a coating of fogging oil on the cylinder walls, rings, and valve seats. We've done it for years on 2-choke motors (outboards and snowmobiles) with no ill effect....other than a cloud of smoke on restart!

[duffeycycles]

take the battery out & do not put on tender unless you like dry cell battery

[TIM 435]

Thanks, all great ideas ! what about the crank, drain it or fill it ? thought of filling through the timing plug with light oil, kicking over a few times, then draining or let it full until restart ?

[Scooter Guy]

Absolutely drain the gas from the tank and from the carb and the rest of the fuel system as best you can. It can go bad and wreak havoc on the tank, carb and fuel lines the next time you go to run the bike, especially if the gas is the modern ethanol blended pump gas crap. If you are lucky enough to have non-ethanol gas, that's great, but I'd still drain it if the bike is going to sit for a long time. As mentioned already, remove the battery, too, and don't just leave it hooked up to a tender for the whole time the bike is in storage.

As for the other fluids, personally I keep them in even if the bike is in storage. I'd actually drain all the old stuff out and replace with new before storage. Then, when you take the bike out of storage, all you have to do is double check your fluids and you're good to go. I think it's better to drain the old fluids out before you put the bike up for a long time so that the old stuff isn't sitting in there.

I don't fog mine, but there's probably no real harm in doing that. It always seemed easier and less messy to me to add a tiny bit of oil through the spark plug holes to provide just a little bit of upper cylinder lubrication. It doesn't go everywhere quite like fogging oil does, but I've never had any issues doing that.

If you have a way to get the weight off the tires by using a center stand, that's a plus also but you may not be able to depending on what the bike is.

One other thing to consider is how climate controlled is your storage? And how dry is it? High humidity isn't good as it promotes rust and corrosion. If the temp swings a lot, keep an eye on that too as the bike can "sweat" and literally look like it's been sitting out in the rain. If you use a cover, use one that is breathable so that you are not trapping excess moisture. It might be worth considering a dehumidifier for your storage space connected to a hose to drain it if you have a humidity issue.

It wouldn't hurt to kick the bike over every now and then just to turn it over, but you don't need to actually start it up unless you intend to really get everything up to temp or actually go for a ride. Otherwise, just let it sit in storage mode and you should be ok until you're ready to prep it for the road again.

[larry]

A 15 watt light bulb will keep the motorcycle dry.

[shermanpup]

Tim, you might consider fogging your engine before storage. Look it up, fogging oil is sprayed into a running motor and then the motor is turned off leaving a coating of fogging oil on the cylinder walls, rings, and valve seats. We've done it for years on 2-choke motors (outboards and snowmobiles) with no ill effect....other than a cloud of smoke on restart!

Hello Harry
I have a WLA engine that was rebuilt over 25 years ago but never started . I was going to ask about using fogging oil first and then after a couple weeks adding some zero weight oil after a couple weeks and then rotate . Seafoam makes a carb cleaner that also doubles as fogging oil . I sprayed it in my outboard in the fall . In the spring I had to pull the heads and there was no carbon after using this product . Any advise would be appreciated
Thanks
Jim

[Paps]

My buddy has a climate controlled shop. Never any rust, nor dust, and it is perfect just to sit in there.