Hi everyone,
has anyone had any problems starting the bike after it has been parked for a long time? I left mine in the garage during this summer when I left for my vacation (3 weeks), and when I got back I went through hell to get it started  

Has anyone had any similar experiences? I have to leave my bike parked for a very long time during winter here in Sweden (bikes are not driven here during winter) and I'm dreading what's going to happen when I try to start it up again march-april next year....

Any tips? What should I think about when leaving the bike parked for so long (besides the battery)?

I drive a '04 GS500F.

kind regards
Dion

Close the tank petcock and drain the carburetor. Fuel gumming is one of the most frequent causes for engine problems after extended storage. Be sure to have the tank full though, to prevent rust. There are special additives that you can add to the fuel to improve corrosion protection.

A few ccm of oil through the spark plug holes after this procedure won't hurt either (though this is usually done for more prolonged periods. Crank the engine over a few times  after you have added the oil to distribute it. and don't complain about the blue smoke when you fire her up in spring.

The whole shebang is actually described in the owner's manual.


Three weeks, btw, should not be the slightest problem, unless you have needle valve / petcock issues or a hidden current drain.

Thanks for the tips! I'm gonna check out the manual as well. I agree that three weeks should be nothing, and I'm not sure why it was so hard to start. Maybe I'll take it to the shop to have it checked out. But I've had problems starting it even after shorter periods... so maybe this is something I should look at. However, when I left the bike for its first service (may), I told the mechanic to check out that problem and he said he couldn't find anything wrong...  

But I think I'll check it out anyway.

regards
Dion

Next time turn the petcock to PRI a few minutes before you try to start it.  See if you're just short of fuel in the carbs after the long period of inactivity.

Exactly that happened to me last winter. After 3 weeks of inactivity the bike would not start at all... Fortunately I went  on to gs500e.co.uk and was told the same thing - et voila it started first time after 5 mins of priming...