putting bike away for long periods.. what to do etc ?

[valleyboy]

Thinking of putting the bike away till next year now,
and as its the first winter I wont be biking in 3 years and 60,000+ miles.... lol

So what to look out for and do?
I know change of oil is a start... wise to get an optimate for battery?
Bike will be thoroughly cleaned before it goes away anyway.... and polished etc... got some auto glym motorcycle protectant for metal parts etc....

cheers

[sarah]

Thinking of putting the bike away till next year now

but summer's only just started:confused:

[ASM-Forever]

But Kawasaki's like winter less than Suzuki's :)

[valleyboy]

I beg to differ, the B1 went through two winters and looked in far better condition than the SV650 did through just one winter.... The SV rotted just by telling the thing it was winter!

This year I just cant be arsed with going out in the cold anymore, I have plenty of cloathing, heated grips etc to nullify most of that, I just dont have the enthusiasm to do it anymore.... but thats biking in general at the moment, plus I dont have to, I dont use the bike for commuting anymore... plus this is a new bike I want to keep in good condition!
Summers been and gone as far as I am concerened.... I cant go out in my summer jacket without feeling cold!

[Stig]

Fill the tank to the brim with fuel, fill the engine to the brim with oil. If you can, raise the bike so the tyres are off the ground. Spray the whole bike less brakes and disks with protective spray. Keep the battery charged with a trickle charger. Job done.

Condensation is what rots bikes when being stored. That's what you need to prevent.

[rictus01]

OK the basics for you.

Where will it be kept? As this is the single most important thing.

Next for how long?

Basics,
1. Clean the bike
2. Run it up to Temp and spray WD40 (or similar) on to the hot engine (it should envelope the bike in a cloud of the stuff and coat the engine and underside of the tank)
3. Lubricate all the cables and release any tension on them (saves stretching)
4. Remove weight from the suspension, (paddock stand and block under the engine or centre stand if fitted and piece of wood between floor and bottom yoke).
5. Drain any fuel in the tank, clean and dry it and remove the tank tap, or for a shorter period fill the tank to the brim, as this cuts down the air gap and likelihood of condensation buildup.
6. Fill the engine (bottom end (not bores)) with oil for the same reason as the tank.
7. Drain the cooling system only if you'll be storing the bike long term (5 years plus).
8. Remove the Battery and keep it somewhere warm, a trickle charger is a good way of having it ready when you want.
9. make sure to polish the bodywork with a hard (acrylic type) polish
10. Cover the bike, depending on where you store it, (it can be prudent to lay some old carpet or summer seat cushions below the bike cover to save inadvertently putting things on top and damaging the bike).

That's just of the top of my head, sure to have missed something.

Cheers Mark.

[Steve_God]

I cant go out in my summer jacket without feeling cold!
What! This last fortnight has been the hottest it's been this year!
(Crazy Kwak riders...) :p

[valleyboy]

Bike will be out of use for possibly up to 5 months..., which is a long time for me...
Storage will be in garage, dont particularly want to take battery out of bike, as that means messing with the alarm :/

will polishing with auto glym resin polish or MER do the trick?

take spark plugs out and tea spoon full of oil down the hole of any use ?

cheers :)

[Stig]

OK the basics for you.

Where will it be kept? As this is the single most important thing.

Next for how long?

Basics,
1. Clean the bike
2. Run it up to Temp and spray WD40 (or similar) on to the hot engine (it should envelope the bike in a cloud of the stuff and coat the engine and underside of the tank)
3. Lubricate all the cables and release any tension on them (saves stretching)
4. Remove weight from the suspension, (paddock stand and block under the engine or centre stand if fitted and piece of wood between floor and bottom yoke).
5. Drain any fuel in the tank, clean and dry it and remove the tank tap, or for a shorter period fill the tank to the brim, as this cuts down the air gap and likelihood of condensation buildup.
6. Fill the engine (bottom end (not bores)) with oil for the same reason as the tank.
7. Drain the cooling system only if you'll be storing the bike long term (5 years plus).
8. Remove the Battery and keep it somewhere warm, a trickle charger is a good way of having it ready when you want.
9. make sure to polish the bodywork with a hard (acrylic type) polish
10. Cover the bike, depending on where you store it, (it can be prudent to lay some old carpet or summer seat cushions below the bike cover to save inadvertently putting things on top and damaging the bike).

That's just of the top of my head, sure to have missed something.

Cheers Mark.

That's what I said but just in fewer words. :lol:

[Beenz]

Just follow the storage procedure in the handbook, oh and all the stuff already mentioned.

Your last kwak had no time to rot, you cleaned it every journey ;)

[sarah]

Just realised, does this mean that you aren't coming to FartFest?

[TEC]

Its a Kwak, dare I say read the manual about storing the bike, it works ;)

But no time now but will post a full list (some all ready covered) later (wont be tonight), used to store my bike (outside in all weathers) a few times when I was away for longer than a month, bit of a pain to do but never failed when taking it back out :)

Oh yeah, if alarmed then you will need an optimate ;)

[valleyboy]

Just realised, does this mean that you aren't coming to FartFest?

nope, sadly no more big events for me this year :/ got one or two more things planned to do on the bike, then thats it...

[melody]

OK the basics for you.

Where will it be kept? As this is the single most important thing.

Next for how long?

Basics,
1. Clean the bike
2. Run it up to Temp and spray WD40 (or similar) on to the hot engine (it should envelope the bike in a cloud of the stuff and coat the engine and underside of the tank)
3. Lubricate all the cables and release any tension on them (saves stretching)
4. Remove weight from the suspension, (paddock stand and block under the engine or centre stand if fitted and piece of wood between floor and bottom yoke).
5. Drain any fuel in the tank, clean and dry it and remove the tank tap, or for a shorter period fill the tank to the brim, as this cuts down the air gap and likelihood of condensation buildup.
6. Fill the engine (bottom end (not bores)) with oil for the same reason as the tank.
7. Drain the cooling system only if you'll be storing the bike long term (5 years plus).
8. Remove the Battery and keep it somewhere warm, a trickle charger is a good way of having it ready when you want.
9. make sure to polish the bodywork with a hard (acrylic type) polish
10. Cover the bike, depending on where you store it, (it can be prudent to lay some old carpet or summer seat cushions below the bike cover to save inadvertently putting things on top and damaging the bike).

That's just of the top of my head, sure to have missed something.

Cheers Mark.

OMG this owning a bike thing gets more complicated!! I just abandoned mine outside last winter with only a bike cover. Obviously I need to remedy my ways.:oops:

[rictus01]

OMG this owning a bike thing gets more complicated!! I just abandoned mine outside last winter with only a bike cover. Obviously I need to remedy my ways.:oops:

well after sitting for six years, not started for four, the CB I used on this years AE required a flush threw with new petrol and a charge of the original battery and it started first time, so it works and that was kept outside.

Cheers Mark.

[Ceri JC]

As others have said, as an essential I'd brim the tank with fuel (dash of fuel preservative in there won't hurt things), brim the engine with oil, stick the battery on an optimate. Every 2 weeks or so, roll the bike forwards a foot or so to help keep the tyres from being adversley affected.

Depends how long you want to keep it stored (at 5 months I'd probably do some of the following too), but also consider putting it up on paddock stands (to take weight off the tyres), really thoroughly oil all cables (to stop them rusting/sticking whilst unused), teaspoon of oil in the sparkplug holes, hard wax on the tank (if metal), store it in a proper condensation free (ideally air free vacuum bag type) bike cover.

Finally, be aware after a month or two without your bike, you'll say "sod this for a laugh" and get it out and ride it anyway. :D

[valleyboy]

Think I may just take it appart and clean it over winter instead :s