[newtowings]

I live in Minnesota and am a new wing owner. I put my bike away for the season a few weeks ago and when I did, I added fuel stabilizer to the tank (and topped it off), made sure the antifreeze was good to -35, pulled the battery, brought it in the house and made sure it had a good charge. I didn't fog the cylinders and never did with my old bike either. the only difference is that my old bike had a fuel shut off. My question is, is there anything else I need to do to make sure there won't be any issues in the spring when I take it out of storage?

 

[L2R]

Welcome to Cold NC. going down to 17 here tonight.

Some don't like rubber sitting on concrete. they lay a board under the front tire.
I use to use stable but now use seaform. I also run it at least 5 or 10 miles to make sure it got into the carb bowls etc. maybe you did that couldn't tell for sure.

I have a good trickle charger and I switch it over every Sunday from lawn mower battery to bike battery etc.

 

[budoka]

Sounds like you did a pretty fair job on the basics/necessities for storage. Is there fresh oil in the engine? Oil with long term use on it can contain nasty things that can do damage over time. Give her a fresh batch in the spring if you didn't already. A breathable cover for the scoot is a good thing, and proper air pressure in the hoops is a must. Come start-up time, don't get in a hurry to flash it up and then run it breifly and hen shut it off. The bike needs to get up to full operating temp for at least a half hour (yes get it out on the road or leave it alone 'till you can) to prevent moisture contamination internally. Full inspection (absolutely everything) is a must before considering your bike roadworthy come next seaon.

 

[newtowings]

Thanks for the reply to my question. I did run the bike around town to work the stable in and covered it with the cover that came with the bike. With my old Vulcan I would just close the fuel valve and run it dry and in the ten years I owned it, never had any problems. Never considered the wood under the tire thing, it is parked on concrete in non heated storage, but I did check the pressure before I parked it. My bikes always get fresh oil come spring. That's another question I have. Traditional vs synthetic motor oil, the guy I got the bike from always used Amzoil and changed it just before he sold it. I'm kind of old school and have always used traditional oil, with frequent changes. The wing looks like oil changes might take a little more time. Just wondering. Looking forward to spring, but in the mean time snowmobiling is always fun. Thanks again and Merry Christmas and good things to all in the New Year.

 

[rigginray6]

Can you explain moisture contamination to me Budoka!!!????

 

[xhdrider]

What is the concern of rubber on concrete--thats a new one, to me anyway.

 

[L2R]

What is the concern of rubber on concrete--thats a new one, to me anyway.

I was waiting for someone to explain as well. I just googled it and a lot of people say to put carpet or wood between the tires but don't say why.

I did find some comments and their line of thought is that concrete stays colder longer. Rubber tires get harder as it gets colder. some say almost hard as plastic. All this is taking place while it is sitting still and flat spotting.
Also, the extreme cold pulls moisture from the rubber making the above situation worse.

Now that I think about it, I remember seeing car collectors putting carpet squares under tires.

I am not suggesting I am an expert or that this is true or false. The originator of this thread was asking what to and I piggy backed on it hoping for an answer. I have done as it is like praying. It may help and it certainly doesn't hurt.

If anyone else can explain it, defend it or dispute it, I would like to know for sure as well.

 

[dynodon]

I have stored old cars for decades (had old cars for decades, and stored them over winters, not for decades for one car!)

NEVER had a problem with storing them on concrete. Why do some collectors or museums put them on carpet or wood? Tires have rubber compounds that can stain concrete or some tile or nice floors. A square of carpet or wood stops the stain, probably has nothing to do with condition of the tire. A tire will always get a small "flat spot" from sitting even overnight on any surface, but it will go away with a mile or two of regular driving. There are new things being sold that have a curved surface to sit the tires in, but I don't think these are necessary.

Had a couple cars with 20 year old original tires, and they were stored on concrete and every spring, they became round again quickly!

As for changing oil, you want to change it AS you store a vehicle....why? Because old oil has moisture and acids from combustion that can eat at metal in the engine. Change the oil right before you store the car, and you have the best chance of little to no deterioration while stored. Don't start the engine every once in a while, unless you can drive the car at least 20 minutes on the highway to get everything fully warmed up to help prevent condensation inside the engine and inside the exhaust system. Better to leave a car sit for months than start it for a few minutes every week. Won't hurt the car much at all.

Synthetics are good for stored cars (any car really) because they don't evaporate as much as regular oil (yes oil can evaporate some), and when you start a cold engine, the synthetic can flow quicker to the bearings and wear surfaces.

Don't store cars propped up on jack stands or blocks unless you also support the suspension. Why? Because you don't want the shocks/struts in a down postion exposing parts that don't normally see air, also, you don't want all the rubber bushings in tension from a drooping suspension for months. Leave the car sitting as it is used to sitting, on its suspension.

 

[rigginray6]

Shutting petcock

Ok my next question would be why do you need to shut the petcock off and run the carbs dry!!???

 

[dynodon]

In the past, fuel had so much contaminants in it that when it dried it left residue or a gummy layer. This would eventually mess up the carb ports/needles. Thus the product "Gumout".

If you shut off the fuel, and run the engine till it dies, then most of the fuel is out of the carb, and there will be less of the residue.

Actually modern fuels are much less of a problem in this regard.

Had a local lawn mower dealer that would recommend a carb rebuild on EVERY mower he worked on. Once, I had a fairly new mower that had the fuel tank just replaced by factory recall and I put fresh fuel in it. Took the mower there for some regular maint. and they said the fuel was bad and the carb needed cleaning. Showed me a glass jar of really brown gooey fuel. I KNEW They were lying because I had just replaced the fuel in that tank the day before. They are now out of business.

But back to fuel gumming up the carb. I had a 62 Catalina with 389 engine and tri-power (three 2 bbl carbs) about 10 years ago. I raced it, and stored it each winter. Sometimes just during the summer the gas would evaporate several times a year. After I owned the car for about 5 years, I took the carbs apart assuming they were "gummed" up. They were clean as could be. I didn't use any fuel additives, just bought quality modern fuel.

Today's fuels, especially with the ethanol in many of them, will keep a fuel system really clean. Many fuels have an added fuel system cleaner on top of that. That is why it really isn't that necessary to add SeaFoam or similar additives all the time. It won't hurt, if used according to the instructions, but it just isn't really necessary.

Fuel injected bikes, like the GoldWing don't have fuel bowls and they don't evaporate a lot of gas when shut off, so this isn't a problem for those bikes, and why they don't have fuel shut-off's anymore.

Oh, and that shut-off also could prevent other problems in older carb equipped bikes, if the fuel float would stick, the bike could leak a LOT of fuel, not good if you store your bike inside where it is heated and the furnace kicks on!

 

[budoka]

Can you explain moisture contamination to me Budoka!!!????

Moisture contamination can occur when a 'cold' engine is started up and allowed to warm somewhat and then is shut off and allowed to cool back down. Some of the internals are up to a fairly high (operating) temperature but many others are not. Conflicting temperatures on various parts and you have a recipe for condensation. This condensation remains inside the engine and accumulates on various components and then the process of oxidation begins. This is also very true in the exhaust system and usually more so since water vapour is a by product of combustion, and proper system heat is necessary to clear out (evaporate) this moisture. Deasn't mean it will always happen when you don't warm an engine fully, but it only takes once.

 

[dynodon]

I don't think storing your Wing on the center stand is any sort of problem. A motorcycle is designed to be used that way, where a car is not designed to hang by it's frame only for months at a time.

The main problem with a car is all the rubber bushings that just twist with suspension movement, but basically take a set at normal ride height. When jacked up for short periods of time it isn't a problem, but just hanging there for months put those bushings (that don't rotate, but just flex) in tension they aren't used to.

with a motorcycle, there aren't the same type of rubber bushings in the suspension, so store your Wing on it's center stand, that is best for it since the oil will be level in the engine, and coolant level also.

I doubt there would be any problems from storing on the sidestand either.

 

[budoka]

Definitely use the centerstand. Because of the opposed clinder layout of the GL engine, prolonged storage on the sidestand can cause engine oil to seep past the valves and cause a big smoke cloud on start-up. This is more likely to happen when you shut the bike off with it already on the side stand with the engine running, but still could happen over a long time stored that way too. I put a piece of old carpet under the front wheel/tyre as well.

 

[L2R]

Definitely use the centerstand. Because of the opposed clinder layout of the GL engine, prolonged storage on the sidestand can cause engine oil to seep past the valves and cause a big smoke cloud on start-up. This is more likely to happen when you shut the bike off with it already on the side stand with the engine running, but still could happen over a long time stored that way too. I put a piece of old carpet under the front wheel/tyre as well.

Please explain why the carpet under the tire, this was part of an earlier debate.

 

[rigginray6]

Thanks Budoka I understand better now. I was warming the bike up for 1/2 hour a week I hope I did not cause any probs!!!

 

[rigginray6]

Also thanks Dynadon for the info on fuel.

 

[budoka]

Please explain why the carpet under the tire, this was part of an earlier debate.

It's just something I've gotten in the habit of, I doubt it does much of anything, but the carpet is softer than the concrete, and maybe (just maybe) it helps prevent a flat spot on the tyre?

 

[dynodon]

carpet, I explained about that in reply #8, but here it is again:

NEVER had a problem with storing them (tires on cars) on concrete. Why do some collectors or museums put them on carpet or wood? Tires have rubber compounds that can stain concrete or some tile or nice floors (and some painted floors). A square of carpet or wood stops the stain, probably has nothing to do with condition of the tire. A tire will always get a small "flat spot" from sitting even overnight on any surface, but it will go away with a mile or two of regular driving. There are new things being sold that have a curved surface to sit the tires in, but I don't think these are necessary.

Had a couple cars with 20 year old original tires, and they were stored on concrete and every spring, they became round again quickly!

 

[budoka]

You're very right about the compounds leaching into tiles and painted floor surfaces Don. Usually happens with brand new tyres on showroom floors though. Doesn't seem as bad as it was several years back, but we still carpet our display machines. I just figure anything is better than the bare concrete in my garage.