Storing my SV

[pirate50]

I'm leaving for 3.5months for work. Any suggestions on how to prepare my bike to sit outside on my patio (covered, of course) until November?

[Burst]

Read your owners manual. It gives the basics there.
Pretty much you just want to drain the tank or add some fuel stabilizer so the gas won't go bad, change the oil and???
Not sure what else. The gas is the biggie. If it sits too long it can start to gum everything up.

Also, you may want to empty the gas out of the float bowls.

[buymenow00]

What about the battery and jacking the bike up off the tires? There have been some recent threads on the both of the other SV boards (Garys' and SVRider.com's) on long-term storage.

[SV650canuk]

This is how I've stored bikes in the past-we're talking 5 months of Canadian winter:

1. Fill tank full, add fuel stabilizer, run bike to make sure floats are full of stable gas. Emptying the tank could lead to water condensation in the tank. The big problem in extreme cold is water condensation-that's why our cars all rust to crap in five years.

2. Run bike until warm, turn off and seal exhausts with duct tape-prevents internal condensation build-up.

3. Remove battery and occasionally trickle-charge.

4. Put bike on stands and cover.


BUT...I've never owned a water-cooled bike before, is it ok to leave the coolant in the bike (it's not really water anyway, ethylene glycol, and it's probably better to leave it in than to drain and allow air exposure and corrosion to start [?]).

Thanks!

[Tillers_Rule]

Originally posted by Burst
The gas is the biggie. If it sits too long it can start to gum everything up.




I've always heard to top off ALL the fluids, including the gas tank when storing a vehicle for an extended period of time,
Then just drain the gas when your ready to start it up again if your worried about it being in there too long:confused:

[harbiho]

Check out this website......

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/winter-storage.html

[silverbullet]

i just stored my bike. filled tank up, changed oil and oil filter, filled tank with gas stable, and stored indoors.

if u store outside u might want to cover up exhast pipe with plastic bag so mice won't get in

Sam

[Shügbüg]

Originally posted by silverbullet
i just stored my bike. filled tank up, changed oil and oil filter, filled tank with gas stable, and stored indoors.

if u store outside u might want to cover up exhast pipe with plastic bag so mice won't get in

Sam
If mice really wanted to get in (do they?? :confused: ) a plastic bag won't stop them...duct tape would be better (like suggested above). My two cents. Course, since I live in So. Cal. I don't have to store my bike (I can ride in the winter!) so I don't really know anything about storing bikes long term. :D

[SuperSpud]

I'm curious how people in the colder climates are storing their SV's and if there's any winterizing/dewinterizing that you do. Currently, my bike is stored in an uninsulated garage, which is free of the elements but still 20 degrees F cold.

[Bear]

Mine's also in an uninsulated garage where it gets pretty damn cold.
Heres what I do:
change the oil
fill the tank and put in fuel stabilizer
pull the battery, put it on a trickle charger
pull the spark plugs, put a little oil in, replace plugs
plug intake and exhaust with slightly oiled rags to keep moisture out
put a cover over it
I think that's about it.
Oh yeah, then I go home, think of all the good memories and cry myself to sleep on the long, lonely, cold winter nights.

[SuperSpud]

Is it too late to do that in the middle of winter? After it's been really cold for three weeks.

[Bear]

Actually the stuff that I said is what would be done during storage for probably a month or more. None of it is really to combat cold weather. As far as I know cold weather doesn't have too much of an effect on a bike.

[Chowder]

Well, it's almost warm enough over here in CT to take the ol' SV out. It's been sitting in the garage since October... anything I absolutely should do before I start riding again? Oil Change? Tire pressure? Chain? I've got no clue. hahaha.

[linp]

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/winter-storage.html#14
Taking the bike out of storage
ESTIMATED TIME: 1 afternoon
Remove the cover.
Remove any large locks you might have used to secure the bike.
Make sure the tire pressures are set properly for normal use.
If the bike is up on stands, carefully lower the bike off the stands.
Wash the bike to remove any metal-protecting cosmoline/WD40/Chain Wax.
Install the clean, well-charged battery.
If your bike has a fuel petcock, turn the fuel system on. If your fuel petcock has settings like ON/RES/PRI, set it to "PRI" for about 20 seconds, then switch it to "ON." If your petcock has settings like ON/RES/OFF, set it to "ON." If your bike has a fuel pump, make sure the kill switch is set to "RUN."
Remove any plastic/rubber covers that you put on the air box intakes, exhaust pipes, and air box drain.
Move the bike to a well-ventilated area and start it... let it run it for 20 minutes, or long enough for the fan to come on twice. (Be careful about the build-up of poisonous carbon monoxide fumes in enclosed spaces.)
If applicable, turn the fuel system off.
Have factory trained mechanic perform a full tune-up.
Before burning that full tank that you stored your bike with...
If you stored the bike for more than two months, do an oil change. "What, again?!" you say? Yeah, it's probably a good idea. The cheap oil you stored the bike with probably absorbed a bunch of icky combustion byproducts that the pre-storage oil change didn't remove. Hey, that's why you used cheap stuff -- you're getting rid of it. Feel free to use $9/qt synthetic ambrosia this time, or whatever motor oil makes you feel best. You do not need to change the filter this time, but do make sure you recycle the old oil properly.
After burning that full tank that you stored your bike with...
use fuel system cleaner additive (e.g., Techron) for a couple of tanks
change spark plugs

[The Green Bastard]

Just took my 02 SVS out of my living room from a long cold winter of being waxed and when I started it this morning it ran like shit... I cleaned out the old gas and put in new Hi test and it still ran like shit.....will idle fine, sounds fine but when throttle is applied it has nothing to give.... almost like it was running on 20% of what it is capable.... Gummed up carb?? what can I put in there to free it up? Methyl Hydrate???? Any suggestions?

[Tillers_Rule]

Damn, Id say your carbs definitly are the problem. You may need to take them out and rebuild them, but dont quote me on that.

Id go to the local auto store and pick up some carbuerator cleaner, wouldnt hurt anything, and it may be all that you need. Also, drain the tank completely, get some fuel tank cleaner, then refill with some known good gas.

Good luck, let us know how it turns out, whatever you decide to do.

[The Green Bastard]

After doing some research.... I found out the problem with my storage problems were from having the bike in my living room for the winter...In Oct. it was stabilized and prepared for storage. Apparently since it was inside the stabilizer did not work well enough and the carbs got gummed up. I drained the old gas, put fresh gas in, drove it for a while and still no better. So I called the dealer from where I bought it and said....It is good riding here, my friends are gone for the first ride of the year and my goddam bike wont go, now what???? He is coming from out of province to pick it up and bring it back to the shop to fix it for free....I guess since my friend's just bought the following bikes from them, 04' GSXR 1000, 2 CBR 600 RR's, 04' SV1000, 03' Volusia 800, 2 Honda 599 naked jobbies......GREAT SERVICE. I am a pilot and was telling my woes to some guys at the airport and they said that when they put away lawn mowers and 3 wheelers etc they put Avgas 100 Low Lead in em....never have a problem with breakdown/gumming up or crystallization in the float bowls etc. Something to think about.

[lisa]

I might have to store my bike for about a year - WTF do I need to do with it - any special prep involved?

thanks,
Lisa

[Knightshade]

full tank of fresh gas, lube the moving parts, change the oil, wash and wax it, remove the battery, and cover it up. might want to put it on front and rear stands if you have them.

won't have to worry about the carbs since you don't have them..

I'm sure i missed something though.

[cyclox]

Pretty much what knightshade said. But be sure to add some sort of fuel stabilizer to the gas.



http://motorcyclecity.com/Cold_Weather_Storage.htm

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/faq/answer23.asp

[DOC]

Bring it on by, I'll take care of it for you (ha!).
DoC

[NukleoN]

Lisa...you need to store your bike and MotoKatze needs to use a bike when she comes out..you two need to talk! :D

[lisa]

thanks guys.

[savetherock]

Well today is a sad day. I am off to go overseas where my bike is not welcome for a year, so I have to decommission it and ship it to my parents. In order to ship it for free with the military I have to remove all the fluids including gas, oil, radiator, and no battery. Then it gets shipped to my parent and sits there until March of 2006 when I come home. Does anyone have any info that I should know about letting my bike sit for a year. Anything I can do to preserve it from the grips of oxidation?

[jicko]

For some personal reasons, I haven't been able to ride my SV for the past 2yrs. The bike had been in storage. I finally dug it out yesterday. And certainly... PROBLEMS....

1) What do you guys recommend me to check before riding it again?

2) Battery... the battery is of course dead.... and after jump startinging it, the guages went all crazy.... but then, after a couple of jump starting, and running idle for a little while, it seems to have come back... yet... since I don't think I want to just go ride on it right the way, all I can do is running it idle and hoping the battery will charge, but that didn't happen.... so whenever I turn the bike off, it won't start anymore...

3) It seems to go overheat .... but it can be due to the weather and that I'm running idle with half choke

4) When I turn it off after maybe like 10min for running it idle.... there is a POP out of the exhaust.... may I know what may that be? Any idea??

ANY help will be greatly appreciated....

PS. HOW do I check if I have enough coolant?

[agirls]

God damn it, you merged this while I was typing my reply and I lost my reply. Invalid thread or some BS!!

[harbiho]

1. Empty your tank and start off with fresh gas.
2. Change the oil.
3. Change the plugs.
4. Heating may be because of the half-choke. The loud pop can also be caused by the half-choke.
5. Take out the battery and have it load checked. It may be totally drained by now and time for a new one.

If it doesn't hold idle after you've done everything above, then you need to get the carbs cleaned out and that doesn't mean dumping some carb cleaning stuff in the tank. You will need to take the carbs apart and totally cleaned.

Good luck!

[agirls]

Again-

Go buy a Clymer's service manual. Much more user friendly than Suzuki's service manual. I have both and never use the Suzuki one. Before starting it, I would have dumped the gas, replaced with fresh, dumped the coolant, replaced with fresh, replaced the battery, checked the air cleaner, checked/replaced the spark plugs, and cleaned those carburetors!! Alot of work, but it is needed if you want it to run smoothly. Am I forgetting anything?? Oh yeah, how the hell did it sit for 2 years??!! You should replace those tires before you do any serious riding too! The popping noise I think is because the air fuel mixture is not right, but I'm not positive. I'm sure someone else will know why.

Oh yeah, replace the oil too.

[jicko]

I think the most problem would be the battery for now....

I would need to figure out how to dump the fuel and the coolant... i didn't store it with full tank.... (sigh)...

Tires? They are a brand new set of Pirelli Diablos...... i *just* replaced right before not riding.... they have like less than 100miles on them....

[harbiho]

Originally posted by jicko
... i didn't store it with full tank.... (sigh)...

Tires? They are a brand new set of Pirelli Diablos...... i *just* replaced right before not riding.... they have like less than 100miles on them....

Your tires should be okay.

Partial tank means less gas to drain.

The backfire will be because of bad gas, dirty carb, fouled plugs, half-choke or a combination of all of the above.

[agirls]

It's not that hard to figure out how to dump it. I've changed the coolant before. Never needed to change the fuel, but it's just a hose. Anyhow, in case you don't know, you can download the Suzuki service manual. Go to downloads which is located at the top of the page. Then find the right chapters.

[harbiho]

Don't forget the coolant drain plug at the clutch cover.

[soulofadra6o]

check your tires if there's any sign of rot...also cleaning carbs should be a fairly doable job if your smarter then the average joe mechanic...the hardest part will be taking them off, the rest you can pretty much memorize where it went once you take it apart and clean it i would change the battery, clean the carbs no matter what...it doesnt make sense to half ass the restoration after a 2 year sitting period

[jicko]

Do I just lift the tank up, unplug the fuel hose(btw tank and pump) @ the fuel pump to drain the fuel?