carb drain question

[blackcabbie]

hi all


if i want to long term store the gen 1 fazer 1000, does turning the fuel tap under the tank off and running the bike until it stops drain all the fuel, or is there still some left in the float bowls.....


cheers

[Dustydes]

Quick answer is yes

Google winter storage for bikes

[Tmation]

I have used this stuff for many years, my Gen 1 spends months in the garage in storage


https://www.goldeagle.com/product/sta-bil-fuel-stabilizer


You can get it from Amazon if you can't find it in a local motor factors.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_2_7?url=search-alias%3Dautomotive&field-keywords=sta+bil&sprefix=sta+bil%2Caps%2C299


Just follow the intructions

[blackcabbie]

Got a street triple now. A bit lighter as I'm getting older. Don't want to sell the Fazer. Bought it new at same time as tmation from same place in Southend. Decided to drain petrol from carbs and empty tank. Put it in back of garage for now

Sent from my HUAWEI GRA-L09 using Tapatalk 2

[Dustydes]

If your draining tank its worth taking off drying out and putting some 2 stroke oil in and swilling around to coat all surfaces.
Rinse with petrol before use.
An empty tank will rust from condensation.
Or store in a warm dry pace in house.

[Tmation]

Got a street triple now. A bit lighter as I'm getting older. Don't want to sell the Fazer. Bought it new at same time as tmation from same place in Southend. Decided to drain petrol from carbs and empty tank. Put it in back of garage for now

Worst possible thing you can do, you will end up with a rusty tank. If you use the sta bil in your tank, just run the engine or ride around for 15 to 20 minutes then brim the tank off.


How long is "long Term"


Always store your bike with fresh oil in it
Get the tyres off the ground
push the pads away from the discs
You can pull the plugs and squirt some oil into the bores and turn over a few time before refitting the plugs
Disconnect the battery or use an optimate

give the bodywork a good polish
cover the brakes with plastic bags and give everything a good coating of ACF50
If you have room to get around the bike use a VAC bag to seal it off from the elements (even in a garage) or cover with soft towels and cloths and a bike cover

As Dustdes said, Google bike storage

[blackcabbie]

tank shouldn't go rusty..... garage is internal and nothing else has gone rusty in there

[Dustydes]

Well at least drain the tank.
Petrol is hygroscopic
I wouldn't risk it as the tank will attract moisture with warming and cooling of the steel causing condensation.

[BBROWN1664]

Petrol is NOT hydroscopic. Hydroscopic things absorb water. Petrol floats on water which is why some petrol tanks have rust holes in the lowest points.

Depending how long you plan to store it decides the plan of action.

If only a few months, fill the tank to the brim to stop any moisture getting in through the breather tubes etc and just leave it in the garage unti you want to fire it up. The battery will need to be maintained.
If it is for more than a few months, then yes, drain down the tank and coat the inside or fill it to the brim and be prepared to drain it before you want to use it again. The float bowls should be emptied too to stop any varnishing in the bowls.

[unfazed]

hi all
if i want to long term store the gen 1 fazer 1000, does turning the fuel tap under the tank off and running the bike until it stops drain all the fuel, or is there still some left in the float bowls.....
cheers

Petrol is NOT hydroscopic. Hydroscopic things absorb water. Petrol floats on water which is why some petrol tanks have rust holes in the lowest points.

Depending how long you plan to store it decides the plan of action.

If only a few months, fill the tank to the brim to stop any moisture getting in through the breather tubes etc and just leave it in the garage unti you want to fire it up. The battery will need to be maintained.
If it is for more than a few months, then yes, drain down the tank and coat the inside or fill it to the brim and be prepared to drain it before you want to use it again. The float bowls should be emptied too to stop any varnishing in the bowls.

And to add, running the bike to drain the carbs with the tap turned off is not good for the pump as it is trying to pump nothing.
Drain the float bowls by loosening the drain screws

 The only fluid in a bike that is hydroscopic is the brake fluid and changing that for fresh fluid prior to storage is a good idea also.

[Dustydes]

Petrol is NOT hydroscopic. Hydroscopic things absorb water. Petrol floats on water which is why some petrol tanks have rust holes in the lowest points.

Depending how long you plan to store it decides the plan of action.

If only a few months, fill the tank to the brim to stop any moisture getting in through the breather tubes etc and just leave it in the garage unti you want to fire it up. The battery will need to be maintained.
If it is for more than a few months, then yes, drain down the tank and coat the inside or fill it to the brim and be prepared to drain it before you want to use it again. The float bowls should be emptied too to stop any varnishing in the bowls.

Google Hydroscopic

Fuel will attract water molecules out of the air which will not mix but settle at the bottom of a tank mixing with oxygen to create rust.
Short term no harm but long term, rust

Water sinks in petrol which is why petrol floats on water.

[AyJay]

If you want to be pernickety, most petrol sold in UK stations these days has a percentage of ethanol in it. 5% and it's going up to 10%. Ethanol will separate out over time and it is definitely hydroscopic so a rusty tank is definitely a concern.


Practical Classics did an article about it a year ago and they left a gallon in a plastic container and it separated out and they then syphoned off the petrol from the top leaving the ethanol. Having said all that, I've laid my ZZR up for 4 months a couple of times and it's been fine. That bike is fuel injected and the tank is pretty much airtight which I suspect helps, but the Fazer certainly isn't.


You can get fuel stabilisers if you're going to lay it up for a long time but I wouldn't worry unless you're going for more than 6 months.

[Dave48]

Petrol is NOT hydroscopic. Hydroscopic things absorb water. Petrol floats on water which is why some petrol tanks have rust holes in the lowest points.

Depending how long you plan to store it decides the plan of action.

If only a few months, fill the tank to the brim to stop any moisture getting in through the breather tubes etc and just leave it in the garage unti you want to fire it up. The battery will need to be maintained.
If it is for more than a few months, then yes, drain down the tank and coat the inside or fill it to the brim and be prepared to drain it before you want to use it again. The float bowls should be emptied too to stop any varnishing in the bowls.

Google Hydroscopic

Fuel will attract water molecules out of the air which will not mix but settle at the bottom of a tank mixing with oxygen to create rust.
Short term no harm but long term, rust

Water sinks in petrol which is why petrol floats on water.

If you really want to be pernickety the word is HYGROSCOPIC (from the ancient Greek).Yes they had a word for it before FAZERS were dreamt of


There are 3 possible factors involved in water collecting inside fueltank:


1 Rain water entering past faulty fuel filler cap seal
2 Water condensing out of atmosphere due to temperature difference between air surrounding bike and air inside tank
3 Water vapour absorbed by the ethanol content of modern fuels(5% at present increasing to 10% eventually)


If you are going to store the bike for any length of time-say over winter-then it makes sense to either brim tank & add a fuel stabiliser so that bike will hopefully restart on this fuel after lay up, not forgetting to drain float bowls to avoid residue build up & damage to rubber seals OR, alternatively, empty tank and remove from bike, invert & swill some 2-stroke oil around inside-not sure how good this procedure is for fuel injected bikes with fuel pump built into tank itself?(Someone on here will know).


The bottom line of course is that the fuel tank is one of the more expensive components on the bike & well worth a little effort to avoid corrosion issues-doesnt take much to block filter & jets with consequent frustration,expense,poor running issues.


There are well publicised  articles on winter layup/long term storage of bikes.