Putting It To Bed

Getting close to time to put it to bed for the winter up here in Americas hat. I've a question for the KZR hive mind about gas tanks. Do you reccomend draining the tank bone dry and take it inside or fill it to the brim and add Stabil?

Some like to keep em filled but I've had great luck with draining and sloshing around a heavy table spoon of wd40, a half of one of reg oil and a trace of fuel that's left in the tank..... not a speck of rust after doing this every winter since 1980..... parts bike tank has sat for years with this done every couple years and it is rust free too. I do a quick rinse with about a pint of fuel in the spring to get rid of most of it on start up.

I parked my bike with a full tank of gas for twenty years and when I finally drained it there was no rust, of course gas was different back then.
Now I just add some HEAT to the tank and run it a while if I think it is going to sit for a couple months.
If I was going to store it for a longer period of time I would probably add some Marvels Mystery oil to what ever gas is in there and slosh it around, then dump it out when the time came to ride again.

7m

Bowman wrote: Getting close to time to put it to bed for the winter up here in Americas hat. I've a question for the KZR hive mind about gas tanks. Do you reccomend draining the tank bone dry and take it inside or fill it to the brim and add Stabil?

Fill the tank to prevent rust. Add Stabil and make sure to drain the carbs. In the spring i usually transfer most of the gas tank contents to the car and lawn mower and fill up with fresh gas.

Pkus theres the other stuff - like change the oil, put a teaspoon of oil or spray fog in the cylinders and turn over a few times, remove battery an plug exhaust and air box to prevent critters.

I live in southern Ontario which is not quite as cold as Ottawa but still frigid enough and have been doing the above for many years.

Full tank of non-oxy or full tank with Stabil for me. Every year I store bikes without problems for a full year this way. I only drain a tank when storing for multiple years. If you do drain the tank and bring it inside you have to make sure it is really dry. Near empty tanks with gas fumes are more explosive than full tanks.

I use Seafoam in all my vehicles and gas powered equipment that are stored. Add it and top off the tank to mix it good. Ride a little bit to get it through the system. Close the petcock then drain the bowls. Next spring close the bowls, open the petcock and ride. Pops right over every time and I have had zero problems. My tank still looks like new inside.

I fill with non-ethanol fuel,add Stabil and run it a whille to get the stabil in the carbs.I start and run the bike 2x a month during the winter.I dont like to drain the carbs cause I figure the jets and passageways will stay wet and that may turn to crud.Also like to be ready to take advantage of any unexpected warm winter days.

I don't drain my bowls

I drain the tank dry as well as the carbs, but here in Colorado if stored indoors rust is not a big problem. I never had any problem with rust. Storing with full tank though is probably best for short tern storage, but short term, like 5 months the carbs will be gummed up even with Stabil. Best drain the bowls for sure. Best thing of all is don't store, just ride once in a while. Around here it can be 10 below zero one day, 65 degrees the next. I never store a motorcycle I'm currently riding. Can ride all winter off/on.

The marine grade Stabil in a full tank of fuel will do the trick for the tank. Draining and coating with oil will work as well. I would not use WD-40 to coat the tank since the oil in that stuff is very thin. I coated an automotive flywheel with WD-40 one time to fend off rust and it only lasted a month or so before turning red. Draining the carbs is a good idea since whatever fuel is in the float bowls will evaporate and the residue won't do your jets any good. Disconnecting the fuel line from the petcock and plugging it up is a good idea just in case.

Thanks all. It's full of Canadian Tire premium non ethanol gas (or so puregas.org says) with Stabil added. Sloshed it around for a while then ran it for 15 minutes to get the Stabil through the system then closed the petcock and ran it out of gas. Tomorrow will drain the float bowls and disconnect the line after the petcock.

Gotta keep my carbs pristine so it runs good and I can tease the pod haterz Bonus is with pods critters can't make a home in the air box.
Winter, grrr.

We are still finding good days to ride around here