Yes, I have searched, and read around, but is there a lot of harm in having another discussion?

Mostly, I just want to be sure I am not missing anything with winterizing my GS. My last motorcycle, I was able to shut off the fuel easily (without pulling the tank) and then I'd drain my carbs, among other things.

With the GS, I am not so sure I want to shut off the fuel and then drain the carbs, so this is what I did to winterize it.

-Added stabil, drove to gas station, filled tank as much as possible, drove home, added a little more stabil, then let it run for 5 minutes and shut it down. This is to get as much stabil in the system as possible
-lubed chain one last time before riding it one last time
-parked it on a wooden stand i built to get the tires off the cold cement floor (wisconsin winters are brutal)
-pulled the battery, charged it, and am storing it indoors
-put a cover on the bike to keep dirt/debris from falling on it

That's about all I did, seems simple enough, but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything critical. Come spring, I plan to drain the oil, put new oil, then bring it back to life. I will charge the battery once a month during the off season.

Happy winter ya'll.

IMHO draining fuel is a good way to dry out the seals in the carbs.  I agree with your decision to leave the fuel in there.  I'd just drain the bowls and refill them come spring to be sure you get any water that may have accumulated out.
There's always a risk of overflow so I would be sure to turn the TANK petcock off.


Only thing I might add is come spring you might want to get oil in the top end somehow before cranking it over.
Sitting for months will drail the oil from the head and cylinder walls.  Ideally you would take the valve cover off and fill the oil there, but squiring some into the cylinders and cranking the engine by hand will prime the oil pump and wipe some onto the cylinder walls.

It might only take a second for the oil to start flowing, but firing up to 5000 rpm with no oil even for a second can scratch up the cylinder walls really good.  This small step will add a lot of longevity to the engine.

I've personally had better luck with the carbs when I drained them.  Leaving the fuel in the bowl all winter caused varnish to build up in the passages and caused more problems that took longer to go away in the Spring.  IMHO, old ethanol fuel is rougher on seals than drying out over 3-4 months is.  I usually put in some seafoam, ride it around to get it through the system, and then top off the tank, drain the carbs and shut off the fuel.

In addition to the other things you mentioned, last winter I also used some Stabil Fogging oil in the cylinders to prevent corrosion due to moisture.

Quote from: bombsquad83 on November 11, 2016, 11:54:36 AM
I've personally had better luck with the carbs when I drained them.  Leaving the fuel in the bowl all winter caused varnish to build up in the passages and caused more problems that took longer to go away in the Spring.  IMHO, old ethanol fuel is rougher on seals than drying out over 3-4 months is.

I wonder if splitting the difference is at all a good idea.  Drain the fuel and refill once a month or something.

I have always treated my fuel with MMO (Sta-Bil in the past) and then leave the fuel in the bowls, mainly because I was warned about dry carbs from my father decades ago. I have had as many as 7 Licensed Turn Key Bikes, I have 7 Battery Tenders and a Gallon of Marvel Mystery Oil. I used to use Sta-Bil...but MMO claims to do the same thing and from what I can tell works just as good as Sta-Bil (smells the same anyway) Point of the story is...I never knew when I was going to get back to a bike, this year or next year? So every time I filled a tank I added 2 ounces of MMO (I add 4 when storing for the winter) all I have ever had to do is hit the start button to bring a bike back to life...even after sitting for months. And as you can see my bikes are also in a semi heated garage.

Thanks for the info gents. I am now on the fence on draining my bowls, lol. I always drained them on past cycles, but I may just leave the fuel in this winter and hope for the best. Bike is stored out of the elements, but it definitely gets COLD in the garage, well below 0, often.

Like oil choice, do what gives you the most piece of mind.

haha love your garage Stevo.  that's awesome.  looks like you take life on 2 wheels to heart!  *high five*  (pardon me for not staying on topic).   Back on topic -  would you really even need to drain the bowls if you start it and let it run for 10-15 minutes a couple of times a week? Seems like it would be worth the effort on many fronts to run it that way if so.    Or if you only run real gasoline and not this corn gas crap? 

Quote from: SirHansford on November 14, 2016, 08:09:11 AM
haha love your garage Stevo.  that's awesome.  looks like you take life on 2 wheels to heart!  *high five*  (pardon me for not staying on topic).   

I'm currently at the 5 in my sig and I believe I'm at 31 total since 1968? Carb'd bikes require  the most maintenance ,additives and good fuel and such, the bowls on carb'd bikes are open to the atmosphere, EFI bikes have a closed system...the only thing air gets to is the fuel in the tank. There did I keep it on topic?

Sir Hansford - starting an engine like that a few times a week isn't a good thing. It puts unnecessary stress on the battery & starter motor, cycles VERY little gas thru the carbs, and accumulates condensation in the engine oil.

Basically, if you're going to start up a bike in the winter, it's best to take it for a 20-30 minute ride.

Thanks for the great insight Rich! Much appreciated.  I spent a great portion of my life in valley in Arizona and southern and central Cali,  though I'm now in north carolina.  These low temps and whatever that white stuff is that falls from the sky around Dec - Feb is new to me.  Having to learn proper practices and you guys are a fantastic resource!  Thanks again!

Quote from: SirHansford on November 15, 2016, 09:26:41 AM
Thanks for the great insight Rich! Much appreciated.  I spent a great portion of my life in valley in Arizona and southern and central Cali,  though I'm now in north carolina.  These low temps and whatever that white stuff is that falls from the sky around Dec - Feb is new to me.  Having to learn proper practices and you guys are a fantastic resource!  Thanks again!

Huh...  I did the opposite.

Spent most of my life in Chicago and dealt with the miserable cold and wet and that insufferable white stuff.  The last few years motorcycles has become a defining part of my life, so I said enough of this crap and moved to...

Drumroll...

ARIZONA!