Storage question

[tomjones2]

Hi i going travelling over the winter for about 6 months and i was wondering if i needed to make any special preparations.

The bike is kept in a garage next to a bolier so it never gets very cold or damp

Is it worth putting the bike on paddock stand?

If paddock stand are a good idea the front one I have is of the type that fits in the head tube and not the fork legs, can it damage a bike leaving it supported by its head tube, I assume that it won't but i though i would ask just in case.




Cheers

[Biker Biggles]

Apart from what you said,you need to drain the petrol out of the tank and carbs,so it does not evaporate and leave your fuel system gummed up with residue.Also,you need to think about the battery.Ideally take it out and work out some way of getting it charged up every month or so.Oil the chain so it does'nt dry out or rust.

[Viney]

Loads of advice around, but to be honest, mine sat in the fornt garden with nothing but an Oxford stormex to keep it company, with no prep at all. All that i got where a few cobwebs, and a flat battery, oh and a bit of surface rust on the discs and a few bolts.

Yours is in doors, so, all i would say is take the battery out

[jambo]

If you can rig the battery up to an optimate do so. If you have paddock stands it stops the weight being on the tyres which could theoretically end up deformed from being in 1 position all the time. Draining the carbs is good advice though.

Generally if I'm going to lay a bike up for 6 months I take the keys out and wander off, but then I tend to accept some work to get it coughing and spluttering back to life again :roll: :lol: .

[Ceri JC]

I'd get the battery out and whack it on an Optimate. I don't know if your bike is carb'd or FI, but if the latter (as mine is), when it came to laying my bike up for a bit, I wasn't able to find an easy way of draining the injectors. Instead, I ran the bike nearly dry then completely brimmed it with petrol (garage was only 500m from home so negligible amount burned on the way home) and chucked some fuel stabiliser in (before riding it home). I then completely filled the engine with oil (it takes absolutely loads, I can't remember exactly, but it's in the region of 10-12 litres!). I covered mine (in the garage) in an Oxford stormex and periodically checked it for condensation, but there was never much at all there.

Once the battery was back in and an oil change later, it started first time and suffered no problems as a result of the storage.

[tomjones2]

Sorry should have added that its a K3 - is it possible for the injectors do get bunged up, if so is it just the same procedure or turning the petrol off and leaving the eninge to run out of fuel

I havnt got a alarm or any extra eqipment, is an optimate neccesary?

Many thanks for the replies

[Biker Biggles]

Don't know much about Fi,but your battery requires maintenance like any other part.If you just leave a battery it slowly discharges itself and batterys like to be kept charged up.If they discharge they sulphate and lose performance until they are scrap.So an optimate is your friend.