Triumphrat

ROBD · 12-04-2005

Instead of draining the bowls with a hose, can't I just turn the fuel off and let it run out of gas? Also, what should I do with the battery? Should I keep it on a constant charge or just charge it every week or two. Is it safe to store a battery inside?

bennybmn · 12-04-2005

I've heard the running it dry technique is ok (someone else may correct me) but if you put stabil in it and run it, so the stabil gets in the carbs, that is better I think. You can take the battery off the bike, just keep it on a block of wood, not on a concrete floor! I use a trickle charger, leave it right on the bike.

farky · 12-04-2005

Alot of people use a "Battery tender". It comes with connections that you can hook up to your motorcycle battery and leave them on. The other side of the connection you can hook up the charging device. Just leave it plugged in. The tender will do all the thinking for you. It's like a quick disconnect thing if you decide to ride on a nice winter day. It will take care of your battery all winter giving it the juice that it requires without overcharging it. As far as the gasoline thing, If i know that some of the stabilizer has reached the bowl's it is normally good to go in the spring. Anyways, this has worked for me over the years.

Jerry

Roadglide · 12-05-2005

Yah, drain the bowls with a hose.

muss · 12-05-2005

you mean you aren't going to ride it all winter. just kidding. i was out on saturday, when i left the house it was 31 degrees F. made for a chilly ride but it was nice to get out.

anyway, i found this on google.

Winterizing Your Motorcycle

badrufus · 12-05-2005

I'd recommend putting a fuel stabilizer in the tank, running the bike enough to get some in the carbs, turning off the petcock, and then draining the float bowls with a length of 3/16" ID fuel hose. If you drain it into a clean container, you can just pour the gas back into the tank. Running it dry doesn't really get all the gas out of the floats.

markbvt · 12-05-2005

I like to keep my bike more or less ready to ride in case we get one of those unusually warm winter days and there's not too much salt on the roads. So I simply do an oil change in late fall/early winter (just did it Saturday -- FWIW, I switch to 10W40 for the winter), fill up the gas tank, and add Sta-bil. Then I run the bike long enough to get the stabilized gas into the carbs. Last winter I didn't even bother to remove the battery, although I will this winter. Storing a battery inside should be fine, just don't put it on the floor.

Last year I was able to ride on New Year's Day and one day in early February, then resumed riding regularly in mid-March. Hopefully this winter will be similar.

--mark

panda · 12-05-2005

I'll go along with marks comments, adding I keep the bike ready, and if i dont get to ride it, i charge the battery every three weeks or so..
remember to keep tank full ( to mnimise condensation) and to check tyre pressures as these can fall dramtically in very cold weather.

SickBoy · 12-06-2005

You don't need a hose to drain the bowls, any small cup will do. I think the last time I did it, I used the plastic top off of some carb cleaner to catch the gas.