Other than an oil change w/Motul synthetic and hooking up to a battery tender while on the center stand, I am curious as to what needs to be done to my '00 VFR w/34K on it. I will ride it when I can this winter when PA weather allows, but far less than the nearly 4-5x weekly it is used to. Kind of worried about using Stabil or some other product if I plan on riding it some, unless that wouldn't harm anything. I have heard of people letting the tire pressure out a bit as well. My bike is stored indoors in a semi-heated garage.
Tried to be as thorough as possible. Any insight is appreciated -- thanks.
add the staybil. it will NOT hurt your engine even if you added it to every tank full and rode everyday.
. lube your chain. lube your cables.
Seafoam helped keep the jets in the ST from clogging as quickly. Some people use Marvel's Mystery Oil as a stabilizer as well.
The Marine Stabil is better, it has better water/ethanol protection than the regular type. As far as the dropping the pressure of the tires, I don't understand the logic . Tire issues from storage usually come from getting flat spots from the tires sitting on the same patch. If you rotate the tires every so often you help prevent this. Having them be underinflated would seem to increase the risk of the flat spots.
Some folks also say to bounce the front end up and down every once and a while to keep fork seals lubed. Don't know how easy that would be to do with just arm pressure as the forks are fairly stiff.
If you're that worried about flat spots on the tire, get some stands. A pair of stands is cheaper than a pair of tires.
Or leave it on the centre stand and block it up under the headers.
Or bring it to someone in a warm state to keep it warm for you. :ohmy:
+1 to seafoam to gas...dont put it in the oil though it WILL destroy your clutch plates and will eat some seals
Thanks for all the input here.
I had recently run the Seafoam through my gas as a hail mary due to my FI light coming on -- it has not come on since, and I surmise that the light coming on was caused by over-oiling my K&N filter. I did also put it into my crankcase for my last oil change -- ran it about 50 miles then drained it. I did put in new synthetic oil and it got quite dirty so I guess there is still some Seafoam in there. Plan in another oil change this weekend. Reaper, have you had a negative experience with Seafoam -- I read good things about it elsewhere here, and some bad. Would it not also harm components as well if it were bad? Curious as to your experiences.
well i guess i was just one of the unlucky ones.... i put seafoam in with the oil to clean out the old stuff... then my clutch was slipping like hell. when i took the clutch apart to see what was going on. i found that most of the friction material was missing on the plates. maybe the clutch was going bad anyway and the seafoam was the straw. i know seafoam isnt a solvent based, its petroleum based
Lots of good advice here. For the past 15 years I have done the following and had very good results.
1) Wash and wax the motorcycle
2) Fill the gas tank and add Stabil. Run it for several miles - for me that is home from the gas station.
3) Change the oil- use whatever you normally use as you are going to run it in the spring.
4) Lube the chain. Periodically check and lube the chain if you see any rust developing.
5) Put the battery on a battery tender. I leave my battery in the motorcycle.
6) Wait for spring
why would change the oil to let it sit?? change it in the spring.
why would change the oil to let it sit?? change it in the spring.
To get rid of the byproducts, (acids), from combustion in the old oil.
why would change the oil to let it sit?? change it in the spring.
To get rid of the byproducts, (acids), from combustion in the old oil.
do you really think that it make THAT much of a difference??
i hate to tell you but after seeing bikes that are 50 years old sat for 15 years,
and run 30,000 miles with oil added when needed (NOT CHANGED)
the so called acid sitting for 8 weeks doesn't do crap.
the so called acid sitting for 8 weeks doesn't do crap. 8 weeks? Winter is 24 weeks here. :tongue:
Not at the rate we're going.
why would change the oil to let it sit?? change it in the spring.
Why not? It needs to be changed in the spring anyway and this way it doesn't sit over the winter with dirty oil. Not an oil expert but over time combustion by products get in the oil and can make it acidic/corrosive etc.
well you gotta change it... so i do before i store it
I will ride it when I can this winter when PA weather allows, but far less than the nearly 4-5x weekly it is used to.
If you're honest about getting out when you can don't do a thing. Even if you only ride every 3-4 weeks you'll be fine.
Re-reading this it didn't sound right.... not accusing you of lying. Should read like "If you're being honest with yourself", or "If you're serious about getting out when you can".
I will ride it when I can this winter when PA weather allows, but far less than the nearly 4-5x weekly it is used to.
If you're honest about getting out when you can don't do a thing. Even if you only ride every 3-4 weeks you'll be fine.
Now there is the best answer!
Hmmm.............I admittedly don't know ANYTHING compared to some of you guys. But, I do have a 1995 VFR with almost 91,000 miles on it. I have done what "JONEILL" has done since I bought the bike new in 1995. I ride all year long including Winter. But there have been times when the bike has sat for many weeks for a variety of reasons. Anyway, I also just put some Stabil in there.....run it for a few minutes...........park it. Has always worked for me.
Anyway......Greg ( gll429 ) ........coincidentally I was thinking of using Seafoam basically to clean it out, etc. That is what drew me to this thread in the first place. Bottom line......should I try Seafoam or not ??
Thanks. And Happy New Year to all of you.