Run engine during storage?  By  krylon80 (Read 1,842 times)

CARS AND BIKES ARE DIFFERENT don't be so arrogant you aren't the only one here with experience. I have plenty of experience with improperly stored bikes, I used to make good money off of people who used the start it every little while method. Any air gap in the tank can cause problems. Repeatedly starting the bike then redraining the fuel in the bowl is silly and will make it necessary to refill the tank. Drain the carbs and just let it sit with a full tank of stabilized fuel. The best idea in here is just riding your bike...

Whatever, describing your attitude is not name calling. Snow and ice would be the only thing that should stop you... I hear they use plows and deicing methods occasionally... Anyway no nerves struck here we'll do as you say and let folks decide for themselves.

JUST SO YOU KNOW USING ALL CAPS LIKE THAT implies arrogance especially when you say things like others "do not have experience" like you supposedly do.
Listen to Alley so he can tell you how to clean the crud out of your fuel system next spring...

One--yeah, there's plows and stuff. I still will NOT (yes, caps used on purpose and for emphasis, not arrogance) ride my scooter on plowed streets. Because a plowed street is still covered in packed snow which can get glazed and extremely dangerous for four wheels let alone two. Plowing does NOT clear the streets down to bare pavement, for those who don't live in snowy states. Lucky scootists.

Two--looks like both of the above parties are wont to use all caps. Which btb I didn't read as arrogance at all, merely emphasis. Let's just say you each have your own experiences from both sides of this question. So they're different. So what? Doesn't necessarily make one more right than the other. Just makes your experiences different. Who knows what else those bike-owners did besides drain/not drain--start/let sit? Maybe the one who didn't drain also hadn't changed oil or anything for several years. Maybe the one who drained kept refilling 'cause he would decide on nice days to ride.

My own experience--the first year, I unplugged my Battery Tender Jr and ran my bike each Sunday while I sat and read the comics. Then replugged in the tender. The following years, no. And it's run fine every spring after sitting all winter. In fact, my bike sat for almost two years (thanks to a workman's comp claim), plugged in, undrained, unstarted, with something added to the gas. When my dr finally released me, my bike died the first attempt to start, then ran fine after.

Now, I do NOT recommend this. I'm guessing I had dumb luck on my side. Or my then-mech did something that kept things fine through that long sit. I don't know. I'm not a mechanic in any way. All I know is despite sitting two years, and despite me not driving it much ever, and despite sitting through every winter, my mech this spring still found no crud or anything to clean out. Yes, he drained the old gas and put in fresh, but that was all he had to do beyond the usual spring tune-up/oil change.

Add that to the confusion of various opinions.

>'Kat

I like to ride mine as much as I can in the winter. I just don't like my scoot to sit.

Once it gets below freezing, the 10 mile trip to work gets pretty cold-- plus my face shield gets iced up from my breath. So I, unless absolutely necessary, refrain from it as best I can. Really the coldest parts of my body are my hands, neck, and face--- after the fact, from that long of a trip. My hands have been numb several times--and having to take my bulky glove off to pump gas doesn't help.

Here in northern Indiana, the winters can be brutal at times. We do get lake effect snow where I'm at, even being a few counties away from Lake Michigan.

I'm fortunate enough to have a garage with a space heater in it-- that helps. There is really only maybe a 2-3 week period (temperature wise) to where it can be "unbearable" to scoot, or just not worth it. I mean, I'm able to ride at least enough to keep the battery charged, overall throught the winter.

I try to stay off the roads when they are still snowy (plows can't keep up, or aren't out yet), when it's icy, and when the snow is on the road, packed down like 'Kat said.

As long as I feel that I'm not a hazard to myself or anyone else on the road, and the temperature is bearable, I'm good to go.

I get the "itch" after a few days of not riding, you too? Lol

I try and run my scoot as often as I can in the winter, and if I need or feel that I need to charge my battery.. I can, because I have a charger/maintainer. So either way I'm covered, unless I get really lazy.