Storing my motorbike.

Magic_x_uk

Magic_x_uk

Magic_x_uk

Soldato
Joined
11 Oct 2005
Posts
5,712
Location
Derbyshire
Hi, at present. sat in my garage for the last 14 or so months undercover is my Bike,
A Yamaha Fazer FZS600

I am not riding it for the time being and have SORN it. Cancelled the insurance. Reason being is we have had a baby and I have no time nor interest at present to ride.

The bike has an alarm etc fitted and it is connected to a trickle charger plugged into the wall.

Tank has around a quarter of a tank of fuel.

Sat on center stand.

Is there anything else I should do, whilst it is being stored, to protect it etc.


Many thanks
 
Anchor in the floor and a massive chain through the damn frame. Thats about all that will stop a determined scrote or five from pinching it if they are determined to do so!

Other than that, don't see an issue with what you've done. Unsure how long you would expect to have it sitting before other things like draining all fluids etc become things to consider, but I'd not bother unless you plan on leaving it sitting for a decade. :p
 
If you plan to leave it for a few years untouched I'd brim the tank with petrol and stuff rags in the end of the exhaust, helps keep condensation out over the winter months. Then give it a liberal coat of ACF50 over the entire bike bar the brakes and tyres.
Also worth putting thick carpet under the tyres.

Put a good quality cover over it and leave it on charge.
 
As above but drain the carbs if it has them and leave the fuel tap off.

Unless you want to keep the alarm working I'd remove the battery and store it in the house.
Either way I'd guess you'd need a new battery if left for a couple of years though.
 
I wouldn't be regularly running an engine with no load on it, certainly not weekly for a year or so.

Ideally I suppose you should drop a little oil down the bores as well as all the above. Rags in the intakes wouldn't hurt either but remember they're in there!

When you come to restart it I'd be draining all fluids and filling with fresh, new plugs and filters etc.
Also spin it over with the plugs out until you get oil pressure, then spin it over a few more times to get plenty of oil around the engine.

Don't forget brakes either, I normally push the pads/pistons right back into the caliper if leaving a bike over winter.
 
radderfire said:
Shouldn't you run the engine regularly, like weekly, just to keep it in good condition? Isn't it never a good idea to leave an engine sitting idle for long periods?
Click to expand...

Not unless you're actually going to take it out for a proper run to get it up to temp.
Just leaving it spinning in neutral is at best useless and at worse will just cause more issues.
 
If you enjoy riding on round tyres, you're going to want to take the weight off them. The center stand will be fine for the back wheel, but you'll need to find a way to relieve the front. The best way is to use paddock stands but anything will do really, get creative. I've even seen someone fix an eye bolt to a beam and use a chain.

Of course leaving tyres for an extended period of time also brings with it the risk of perishing rubber but you'll have to evaluate that yourself when the time comes to ride again.


Congrats on the baby :)
 
Main things I'd do is brim tank (and maybe add bottle of fuel stabiliser) and push the brake pads back a little so they're not sitting on the disks for years otherwise they're likely to sieze. Or you just squeeze the brakes every month or so to keep it free
 
I’d sell it. 14 months with no sign of future use?

Sell and buy something when you can ride it more regularly.
 
Yeah true, if it's not sentimental, get rid of it. I've only every stored my Hornet because of sentimental value, I'd sell other bikes rather than long term store.
 
As said above, brim the tank and add some fuel stabiliser, if you have stands get it up on them to look after the tyres.
 
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