Ever Store Your Bike For A Year?

Fill it with Non-ethanol gas while you are at it.

If it were me I would do everything you said , except I would drain the tank after doing an oil change (or have relatively fresh oil in the bike ). then I'd run all the gas out of the fuel lines .
I might still have the wifey turn the bike over once a month and keep the bike on a ctek battery charger. Obviously it won't start but it will cycle the moving parts.
IMO starting bikes and letting them idle without running them under load on the track or street does nothing but bad stuff to the bike.
(fouls plugs and inside the engine).

And especially want to say thank you for your service - stay safe

Bad idea to run the bike in natural every week, to recharge the battery you need to ride the bike. Put the battery on the tender and leave it on and it should be good

Why not just drain all fluids and don't worry about the battery? Starting it just to warm up little isn't gonna do ..... Plus it will give you reason to buy a lithium battery when u get back which would still start even after a year of sitting.

Haven't gone a whole year, but I once stored mine for over 9 months... I did an oil change and put about 150-200mi on it after. My mechanic at the time said that storing a bike with fresh oil is not recommended. obviously made sure all the rest of the fluids are good and lubed the chain. Put the battery on a tender, put her on the stands after a thorough cleaning and put a cover over it. 9 months later filled her up with gas and she started right up! Hope this helps. Thanks for your service and be safe out there!

Ride the bike warm it up and do an oil and filter change, clean oil is better than dirty oil.

Try and fill the tank with non-ethanol gas, probably add some Stabil to it as well.

Put battery on a Tender. Maybe even take it off the bike.

Do not start it until you are ready to ride it again.

Put a cover on it to keep the dust and dirt off.

Maybe tape up the air intakes, depending upon your storage location, it's not unknown for critters to move in and nest in the air box.

Have been down this road many times, from bikes with metal gas tank to bikes with plastic gas tanks..
the 1st couple times, went all out.... pull the plugs sprayed in fogging oil, relatively new oil, stabil, battery tender, bike up on stands with a nice soft cover.

next couple times, on stands, nearly new oil, non ethanol fuel, stabil fuel treatment, ona battery tender, and had the bike started once a month.

last 2 times, nearly new oil, disconnected the shorai battery, had the bike up on stands, non ethanol fuel, not started once. came home hooked up the shorais, and all three of the bikes fired right up.

Yes I was in the military.

Depends on the fuel tank: If you have the regular OEM fuel tank, you can keep good (non-ethanol) fuel in it, I never had any problems as long as one stores the bike in a dry place.

If you have an aftermarket CF tank installed, drain the tank. The inner tubes in those tanks are made from rubber instead aluminium like the OEM ones. Fuel slowly destroys these rubber tubes even thou they should be resistent (very common problem on the older MVs).

ChrisE said:

Ride the bike warm it up and do an oil and filter change, clean oil is better than dirty oil.

Try and fill the tank with non-ethanol gas, probably add some Stabil to it as well.

Put battery on a Tender. Maybe even take it off the bike.

Do not start it until you are ready to ride it again.

Put a cover on it to keep the dust and dirt off.

Maybe tape up the air intakes, depending upon your storage location, it's not unknown for critters to move in and nest in the air box.

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Couldn't say it better. Also taping the exhaust outlets is recommended in those kind of places.

I did basically the same thing when I did a year in Korea. My old R6 though. No issues at all. Only ran it once or twice a month on its stands. Non-ethanol gas is key. They make an app that tells you where you can get some, it's called Pure Gas.

maslov said:

My mechanic at the time said that storing a bike with fresh oil is not recommended.

Click to expand...

Interesting...any idea what the rationale was for that?

My Ducati dealership told me to do the change before storage, because combustion by-products can be corrosive, and while that's something an engine usually deals with, allowing it to sit without any of the parts moving would allow that corrosive stuff to sit in one place and possibly cause pitting on some of the components.

I've also seen in some winterization guidelines say to change the oil before storage, then drain it and put fresh in after storage. They suggested just usuing 10W-whateverslayingaround for the storage oil to save a few $$$ because you don't have to worry about its friction reducing properties, it's just serving as an "oil bath" to prevent corrosion (I use 300v and would't want to put that in it just to drain it out, unused, a few months later)

The "Gunny Fitz Long Term Storage System"

Members-
This is a long post, which I apologize for, but it contains some of the best info and advice I have received since buying my bike in 2012!

Anyone who knows me is aware that I RARELY- actually VERY RARELY ride my 2012 Pani Tricolore anymore due to severe medical issues, and Id say it sits in my garage more than anyone on this forum-hands down! lol
(Really something to brag about huh?)

I've read just about everything there is online regarding storage ideas and for the last 3 years have found this to be the best system for "Long Term Storage" - keep in mind everyone has their own way of doing things but i have NEVER EVER had one issue at all over these years that required anything more than getting a fresh tank of fuel.

Long ago I had the privilege of meeting and becoming friends with a guy who is the VP and main Sales Rep for this company who sells long term storage charging systems (NOT Trickle Type Chargers at all here!) But more of a Battery "Maintainer" which has literally been kept plugged in, with power on, for an entire 2-3 seasons with zero damage to the battery at all. Its still the stock battery it came with too!

This is the Heart & Soul of this entire process my fellow members. Im sure several of you have it, as I recall referring some of you directly to my friend there at the company itself. You couldn't find a nicer guy too!

Tecmate ? OptiMate 4 Dual Program

I will even show you what he wrote in his initial email to me dated 12/4/12 which after just reading it now, remember that it was actually a Christmas gift from him after we met and he had heard my story.
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Dear 1stSgt Fitzgerald

It is our pleasure to provide a gift to someone who has been of service to the country, as you have.

To get the very best out of your battery, remove it from the bike, then hook up the OptiMate 4 to the battery using the battery clips.

Allow the charger to stay connected to the charger in this manner for 24 hours.

During this time the charger will not only ensure that the battery is fully charged, but will bring all 6 cells to an equalized charge, thereby optimizing the performance of the battery.

After the 24 hour period, disconnect battery from the clips, replace in bike, connect via the permanent battery leads and walk away.

The OptiMate 4 will ensure that your battery is correctly maintained, for any length of time you do not ride. Kept plugged in for even over an entire year too!

We would love to see a picture of your custom bike.

Let me have any questions you may have.

Kind Regards

Mike Cooper
Vice President - Sales & Marketing
TecMate North America
Tecmate
Office : 905 337 2095
Cell : 905 334 6463
Email : [email protected]
Skype : mikecooper-tecmate

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With that, the other steps I take are completely removing the bike from the ground using Pit Bull front and rear end stands -for obvious reasons to avoid flat spots in both tires. Cover it using a form fitting (in my case Ducati Superbike breathable cover) and have the plug for the Optimate 4 running underneath the cover on the left side, where the pigtail comes out, and is permenantly attached to the battery. I would NEVER wash the bike with water of any kind which would obviously leave water pooled in any small nooks and crannies which you would never even know about. A simple thorough clean using my favorite "Honda Polish" is all it takes.

The gas tank is TOTALLY topped off and the proper amount of Stabilizer is used within that tank of fuel. When it did come time to ride it I used my special hose to siphon this fuel out of tank and leave just enough (with fuel light on) and ride to the gas station and fill with Premium. This year I Did NOT change the oil but that was something I did in the past - but find no reason to do so if this has been done PRIOR to tucking it away for the winter - or whatever is the reason for storing it away long term.

Do NOT forget to check and adjust your tire pressure when it comes time to uncover the bike before that first ride, and give it some time to warm up completely before throwing a leg over it for the first time you ride it in -however long it sat! You two will definitely need to get acquainted with each other again after that period away from each other, so I surely didnt go right into a stand up wheelie out of my driveway!

Friends - As I stated at the beginning, this is ONLY my own personal long term storage method which Im sure can be challenged and definetely is not the by the book, best, or only way to prep our premium investments for taking that long term nap regardless of reason. It's merely MY WAY of doing things as I have done over MANY years of doing this - ALL with Ducati's and perhaps someone took away something worth a try or something minor out of it to use on their own. That would make my day!

I purposely left Mike's name and contact info on here so that anyone who is interested in purchasing one of TecMate's systems from them - you are free to call or email him directly and use my name as a reference as well. The last time I saw him was at the AIM Bike Show in Orlando, FL while staffing the Bellissimoto booth with Randy & Lyle and even shared the booth with Andrew Cox of the infamous Cox Racing Group- with all his awesome Radiator Guards! I was also lucky to meet Leon (LJuice) and several other forum members there in person too. Well, I've probably taken up too much of your day and written another novel which Im known for already! My apologies to all- this is one of many PTSD symptoms I live with (Writing way too much and too long) which I'm aware of and obviously not doing too well of controlling.
Research the TecMate products and see how highly they are rated!

Stay safe and stealthy my friends!

Gunny Out..............................