Re: Leaving the bike unattended for six months and care to be taken

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Re: Leaving the bike unattended for six months and care to be taken

6 months is not a long time
It's better to drain the fuel from the tank, add a little 2 T oil to the tank and spread it evenly to prevent rusting.
Some recommend adding a little 2 T oil through the spark plug hole to prevent the cylinder from rust.
But I don't think you need the above points for a period of 6 months
Disconnect the battery and you can apply a bit of petroleum jelly to the terminals.
Take care of the tyres, tyres on a constant position for long time get damaged.
Give the bike a good servicing and keep it lubed.
Buy a good cover and its always better to keep indoors if you can.


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Re: Leaving the bike unattended for six months and care to be taken

[MENTION=52680]rxdude[/MENTION] thanks a lot for the suggestions. i will get it serviced for the third time and take all the mentioned precautions. tires are new and afresh hope it will last long.... anymore suggestions pls inform me.

Re: Leaving the bike unattended for six months and care to be taken

From my experience,
Fill full tank petrol,park the bike on centre stand inside the house(seriously),fuel cock in OFF position,teach someone in the house to start and idle the bike atleast once in a week.
Bike will be as good as you left it.

Re: Leaving the bike unattended for six months and care to be taken

I liked both the suggestions from rxdude and albyjose.. But both are pole apart.
The downside of Rxdude's method is that the tank needs to be flushed with petrol to remove oil. The battery's life is reduced.
The downside of Albyjose method is that the rubber tubings needs to be changed and carb needs to be flushed as the ethanol containing fuel when stored for long duration allows rust build up and rubber dissolution leading to gunk buildup. But the upside of this method is the battery is saved.

Choose what you think is better for you.

Apart from that, replace engine oil before leaving the bike(get it serviced) when you return, use the bike for a week and get it serviced, any rust developed in engine should be flushed out.

Re: Leaving the bike unattended for six months and care to be taken

What you are asking for are tips on short-term mothballing of the bike.

Two courses of action, mutually exclusive.

Course A - If anybody can ride the bike in your absence, nothing needs to be done. Even if it is ridden once weekly, it will stay ship-shape for six months.

Course B - If no riding possible then:

1. Fuel system

(a) Fuel tank. Drain the tank completely. Remove it from the frame, pour in a reasonable qty of 2T oil and rotate the tank on all axes to enable an even spread along the inner walls. Cover it and store it in a dry place.

(b) Rubber hoses Drain all fuel from them, remove them and apply french paste to the outer and inner walls to retain elasticity and integrity over six months. Again, cool, dry storage. If the intake manifold is of rubber, ditto process applies.

(c) Carb Drain, clean and store well covered in a dry area.

2. Electrics Disconnect bty, remove the connecting wires from the terminals and coat terminals with petroleum jelly. Store in a cool well-ventilated area. Remove all fuses and store away.

3. Suspension Deflate tubes such that the tyre walls are detached from the wheel rims. If possible, elevate the bike such that no tyre touches the floor. Change the damper settings to the softest so that pressure is released from the reservoir.

Cover the bike completely with a water and dustproof cover and secure this cover to the bike tightly with a nylon rope.

The above procedure will take you not more than 1 hour of work. This should mothball the bike safely for about one year.

In reverse, don't forget to flush out the tank and fuel hoses with petrol before filling her up. Rest is normal connections etc.

That's it