Draining fuel and carbs for winter

[bill_face]

Hello all.

I'm not going to be riding my bike ('79 GS550E) for a few months for various reasons, and have decided to drain tank and carbs (as opposed to fuel stabilisation)

I read on here somewhere a recommendation for attaching an air compressor after draining ( presumably to blow out any last bits of fuel). I don't have an air compressor so decided to press ahead and ignore this step. However whilst draining I thought that i might be able to do something by either
- turning the engine over a few times to suck the last bits of fuel out
- or getting one of those pressurised air cans (used for cleaning keyboards) and blasting some of that into the carbs.

Any thoughts on the best way to proceed would be most appeciated.

Incidentally when draining the carbs they drained from the brass screw hole as opposed to the little nipple I was expecting. Presumably, they are blocked. Would that of affected draining potential?

Cheers

Phil

 

[zed1015]

I personally wouldn't drain the tank and carbs dry.
You are increasing the potential for oxidisation in the tank and carbs and other issues with the drying out and hardening of 'o' rings, fuel pipe etc which may not recover and require more work with replacement.
The best method is to keep the fuel tank brim full with non ( or low) ethanol fuel at the very least.
Ideally start the bike once a week or so and run it long enough to get it hot and evaporate the water vapour by products of combustion..
That method has served me well for the past 50 years or so, Never used or needed any stabilisers or such like.

 

[Agemax]

I do the same, fill it with super unleaded, ESSO or BP Ultra is the lowest ethanol content fuel in my area. Start it up and let it run till it gets hot, i do it every 2 or 3 weeks. Once the warmer weather arrives and its time to ride, just start up and off you go.
Never used any stabilizers or additives in my bikes, never needed them.

 

[bill_face]

Thanks for the input. I am trying to avoid the periodic starting it up scenario as I will be away. I asked the guy in a shop locally who sells old bikes that stand in his showroom for years and he said he empties tank and carbs

 

[rphillips]

I too like keeping things full as possible. No Ethanol if at all possible, Ethanol is never good for anything and the longer it sits the worse it gets. A full tank will never rust inside because of lack of oxygen. Metal has to have oxygen to produce rust. That being said, a few yrs. back, I emptied a KZ1300 fuel tank and put it in my garage, within 6 wks. the entire inside of that tank was completely coated with surface rust. Also had a wrecked GS1000 sit in an old shed for appx. 12 yrs., completely full of gas and after getting gas out and inside washed out, it looked like new inside. Sold it to a guy here at GSR. Also starting eng. every couple of weeks has got to be good, but many times my bikes sit from Nov. to Feb. or March, and have no problem starting, that's with no Ethanol, I never put Ethanol in a bike for the last few tanks in the fall.... Everyone has opinions, this is mine and it comes with no guarantees.

 

[trevor]

I fill my tanks to the brim with Chevron 94....start the bikes a couple of times a month. And being in Victoria BC I try to ride them too...

 

[chuck hahn]

If the tank has a liner i see no reason to not drain it. If its not lined i would fill it full as recommended above to keep condensation space to absolute minimum. As for carbs, yes drain them and even if you dont have a compressor blow with your mouth as hard as you can a few times. The point of the air is it will dislodge any fuel in the tiny holes in the jets.. which is the culprit in the spring once it has hardened and plugged them up. I would leave the fuel line off the petrcock and put a tight fitting vacuum cap over the nipple. This will prevent any gas leaking into the crankcase if there should be a petcock failure.
Some have said to plug the fuel line to keep bugs from getting into the carbs. OK, so youd have to plug the ent lines also if your worried about bugs

 

[Big T]

I also fill the tank and ride it a bit on a nice day.
the little nipple is the overflow, so no gas should come out there when drainy

 

[bill_face]

Thanks again.

So do I blow really hard into the main fuel line from the tank?

And I'll fill the tank back up with some zero-ethanol fuel before I go as I presume it isn't lined

 

[chuck hahn]

yes. the idea is to create air turbulance swirlimg in the bowls to open up the tiny holes.

 

[Nessism]

I recommend using fuel stabilizer in the gas, and filling the tank to the top. Run the engine long enough to get stabilized fuel though the carbs. You can then drain the carbs and not worry about any small amount of remnant fuel in them.

The Suzuki Owners Manual for each bike specifies a storage method. Can't hurt to follow the procedure laid out by the boss.

 

[Mr.humbucker]

I recommend using fuel stabilizer in the gas, and filling the tank to the top. Run the engine long enough to get stabilized fuel though the carbs. You can then drain the carbs and not worry about any small amount of remnant fuel in them.

The Suzuki Owners Manual for each bike specifies a storage method. Can't hurt to follow the procedure laid out by the boss.

I now do the same. I had been filling the tank and running the bikes (when I remembered to) monthly but nearly every year I'd have to pull and clean the carbs as they ran poorly in the spring. I wasn't paying attention to the eithanol levels etc ... I will from now on though. I use a stabilizer and drain the carbs (messy job) but I think it is worth it if you can't or won't fire up the bikes monthly. I also disconnect and monitor the batteries on my bikes with a smart charger. Nothing more painful than having to buy a new battery when the old one dies due to a lack of proper maintenance. Ask me how I know.

 

[Suzukian]

Bowing the float bowls dry can cause oxidation from the dissimilar metals in there. Brass Jets in aluminum carb housings. I prefer to use a lot of Fuel Stabilizer, some Seafoam, and fill the tank up with the proper amount of Stabil, and Sea-Foam. This keeps the tank from rusting. Before I start the bike, I drain the float bowls. My bikes always start right up doing this method. If you were going to totally store a bike and wanted no fuels, as this was intending a multi year storage, I would fill the tank with Mineral Oil, and do the same with the crankcase, and brake lines. We did this for General Aviation aircraft, and it really keeps the plane the best way for very long term storage. Thee Mineral is totally reusable.

 

[Nessism]

Bowing the float bowls dry can cause oxidation from the dissimilar metals in there. Brass Jets in aluminum carb housings. I prefer to use a lot of Fuel Stabilizer, some Seafoam, and fill the tank up with the proper amount of Stabil, and Sea-Foam. This keeps the tank from rusting. Before I start the bike, I drain the float bowls. My bikes always start right up doing this method. If you were going to totally store a bike and wanted no fuels, as this was intending a multi year storage, I would fill the tank with Mineral Oil, and do the same with the crankcase, and brake lines. We did this for General Aviation aircraft, and it really keeps the plane the best way for very long term storage. Thee Mineral is totally reusable.

Any gas in the float bowls will evaporate during storage. That's why it's a good idea to dump it out, or maybe run the bike until it stops, then dump out the remnants. Filling the crankcase with oil, up to the filler, is mentioned in the owners manual. I'd fog the cylinders too. What I would NEVER do is put oil in the brake system. NO, NO, NO. Change the brake fluid if you are worried, to get any water out of the system. But never add anything other than brake fluid to that system.

 

[chuck hahn]

I emailed Berrymans about whether thier additives such as fuel system cleaner and fuel injector cleaner would damage composite motorcycle floats and they say no. So "theoretically" in the spring you could fill the carbs with a can of sauce and let them soak a while to dissolve any varnishing. I have some old floats and am tempted to buy some and submerge a float for a few days just to see what happens to it.

 

[Suzukian]

Any gas in the float bowls will evaporate during storage. That's why it's a good idea to dump it out, or maybe run the bike until it stops, then dump out the remnants. Filling the crankcase with oil, up to the filler, is mentioned in the owners manual. I'd fog the cylinders too. What I would NEVER do is put oil in the brake system. NO, NO, NO. Change the brake fluid if you are worried, to get any water out of the system. But never add anything other than brake fluid to that system.

I was referring to very long term storage, like multi year. I have helped pickled a couple of 300SL Gullwing Mercedes Benz's, and vintage aircraft. This is the norm. The mineral oil preserves the rubber, does not absorb moisture like brake fluid does. Again, very long term storage, not seasonal. Brake Fluid will absorb moisture right through the rubber lines for long term storage and deteriorate the rubber. Why do you think those Rubber lines close up on the inside sometimes? Mineral Oil is Neutral. It does not absorb moisture, will do nothing negative to anything in or on your bike, in terms on storage, but again, I emphasized LONG TERM STORAGE. I prefaced my remark with that. Read the whole posts in context, please.

Mineral is sprayed on all aircraft that are sitting on the Runway tarmac as part of the corrosion maintenance. The whole motor, wires,everything, is sprayed with a mist of mineral oil. the pan has a cut out for the front wheel on tricycle landing gear models and capturing the run off, but that oil hits everything and protects it. Flush brake fluid through a brake line that has been preserved with mineral oil, flushing till all you have is Brake Fluid, and you will have a very smooth running system. Again, this is for multi year storage, O.K.?

I prepare my bikes with a mixture of SeaFoam and Stabil for the tank. I will fog the motor, that's a good point to bring up. I don't empty the float bowls, as they are treated with Stabil, Bone dry float bowls are not a good idea and I don't park the bikes for more than 5 or 6 months. When I am ready to go, I empty the float bowls, put it on prime to refill. and start my bikes. I have never had a failure in starting a bike I prepared in the over 45 years I've been riding. I don't know how or why your float bowls evaporate fluid, I have not run across that problem. That is dead air space, with a vent tube, and like I stated, I don't have any idea where you float bowls are emptying out too. I have taken carbs apart where the gas has turned into a dark shellac type fluid. If they are dry, they were drained. I have seen many Jets with the tops of their nuts sitting in the bottom of the float bow, lucky the threads come out, as there is no pressure on them. The electrolysis rotting the jet heads off.

My experience is not limited to motorcycles, it includes sailboats, motorboats, aircraft, electronics (I repair to component level) and I am a Master Machinist and have programmed 4, 5 and 8 axis CNC machines. I did 3D printing back in 1983 when it was top secret. Just so you know. I don't intellectualize in posts, I only post from experience.

 

[bwringer]

I recommend using fuel stabilizer in the gas, and filling the tank to the top. Run the engine long enough to get stabilized fuel though the carbs. You can then drain the carbs and not worry about any small amount of remnant fuel in them.

The Suzuki Owners Manual for each bike specifies a storage method. Can't hurt to follow the procedure laid out by the boss.

This is The Way.

Do NOT start it up every month or whatever; you'll do a lot more harm than good.

 

[rphillips]

Interesting, bwringer... I'm always interested in learning. Always have thought it was good, though I don't always do it, to start eng. and let them run enough to circulate oil through eng., just to be sure bearings don't kind'f get dry, and fuel through carbs. just so fuel doesn't sit long enough to start developing deposits. Wondering the harm that may be from starting every now and then. I've always heard when we start a bike, to let it run long enough to dry the condensation out of the exhaust so the moisture doesn't sit in there and let rust get started from the inside.

 

[93Bandit]

This is The Way.

Do NOT start it up every month or whatever; you'll do a lot more harm than good.

I'm curious what your reasoning is? Seems to me if starting it once a month was hard on it, you wouldn't be able to ride it...

If you keep the tank topped off with fresh fuel, what's the harm?

 

[trevor]

I'm curious what your reasoning is? Seems to me if starting it once a month was hard on it, you wouldn't be able to ride it...

If you keep the tank topped off with fresh fuel, what's the harm?

Yes, I'd like to hear why it's "bad" too...