Storage

Hi Guy

In around about September of this year I am going to quit my job and take a trip around the globe. This means I will have to put my beloved bike(s) into storage for about a year or so. Has anyone any experience of doing this and any tips for long term motorcycle lay up.

Regards

Andy

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Pipe & Slippers

[jocflier]

A year or so is a long time..A couple of things first.Remove the fuel from the tank..I know, i know,but some people just forget.
Remove the spark plugs and put a little never seze on the threads and reinstall hand tight.You don't want have a problem with removing them after a year time..

Take a little WD40 and wipe down anything that might get rusty during this time.You can remove this when you get back with a elect.contact cleaner.Push your brake caliphers all the way end.This will keep the piston "wet" and help keep the pistons from rusting.

Take a rag or duct tape and close off all opening to the engine.intake,exhaust.
This will keep bugs and water from getting down into the engine area.Drain tranny,engine,and rear end oils.You may want to remove the seat and store in a sealed box somewhere.remember bugs and rats..

Remove the battery.Fill with water and put it on a battery tender.If no tender, throw it away.It won't last that long.If you have a tender be sure to put the battery on a piece of wood and not on concrete.Concrete is bad for batteries..

There use to be a company that made a inflateable tent that your motorcycle fit inside and kept all the moisture away from your bike.Have seen them at bike shows.You might want to check them out depending on where you are storing your bike.Hope this helps...........
Rick

[Mike H]

Hi Andy ..

Wow a trip round the world eh.. (Now consumed with envy) best solution to your problem .. do it on the bike.

No .. Ah well, sounds like Ric got all the bases covered with his suggestions.

The storage bag (vac bag) Ric mentioned is available here in the UK thro good old M&P Two sizes .. Standard £30 and Jumbo £33. Details on page G11 in new catalogue. For £30 seems like a good idea to me.

Now, have you had proper councelling to prepare you, for not riding a bike for a year ? Witdrawal symptoms start after about two weeks ..

Thanks for the tips, the vag bag seems like a good idea. Does any one know what that stuff is that they spray on new cars while they are standing in the storage lots?

Don't worry, I don't need councelling as I intend to do part of the trip by bike, but it's more practical to hire or even buy a bike abroad than to have mine shipped. BMW are running a tour of NZ next spring which sounds mighty interesting, on hired GS's, and I'm sure the are plenty of places in the States to get in a bit of biking.

Regards

Andy

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Pipe & Slippers

[levert]

Hi Andrew.

Agree with everything that jocflier said except maybe the gas tank. With a six month layup we always fill the gastank to the top and add stabilizer, this way there will be no condensation in the tank(rust).It is never a good idea to run the tank dry with a fuel injected bike! With one of those temperature controlled tents(quite neat things )I suppose you could drain all the gas out.

Have fun!!

[dfaber]

R1100s tank is aluminum and doesn't rust. Also, the FI pump should not be run (long) in an empty tank, but you can empty the tank with the bike off, and fill it up before starting again, natch.

For six months I would go with Stabilizer, but for a year I would drain the tank, maybe spray some de-fogger in there, and seal it up.

[levert]

Dfaber,

Many years of driving my old R100gs,makes me forget that my tank is not steel!Just glad I haven't tried to put a magnet tankbag on!

[roger albert]

Hi all,

Yeah, a full year is more than I like to rely on stabilizer for. Even though the tank is Al, its not impervious to corrosion. I'd consider fogging oil in the tank (just a bit)
and in the cyls - plenty there. jocflier's tip on pushing the caliper pistons back in is a great and often overlooked one. I would put fresh fluid in there before storage though. i.e. do a prestorage flush/bleed. Very cheap protection for the brake sys when combined with the pushin. Back on the tankj thing. If you blow out your injectors, you can use a full tank of stabilized gas as a cheap tank protectant. I just drain it (and burn it in my old truck with mostly fresh gas) and put new stuff in before even attempting to start the bike. Actually helped a neighbor do that successfully a few years back. Didn't yet have and FI bike myself, much less an Al tank (he did, 851)

Andrew, if your travels run you across TX, stop by. I can probably dig up a bike cheap or even free to ride (free if its one of my old beemers, cheap if its a friend's rental company)

later
roger

[PeteS]

It may or may not be relevant, but how about getting both tires off the ground? I would think that after a year, the tire wouldn't be very round. I know in storing cars, you put the car on blocks to save the tires, and I believe also let the air out of the tires. Just a thought.

The fuel is the main thing that worries me. I'm going to Change all fluids, a full service and all the other things that have been suggested.

My worry is that any fuel left in the injection system will gum up. I've seen carbs that have been left with petrol in them for long periods and they usually need a total strip down to clean them up. If it had carbs I would drain them, but the FI is a bit of a mystery. If running them dry is a bad thing then can you run a light oil through them or some other non evaporating fluid?

Roger, thanks for the invite. I'm taking with me a laptop in the hope of staying in touch with friends and family via email. I haven't made any specific route plans, just take it as it comes. I'll let you know if I'm heading your way. What spots are good for tourists in TX?

Regards

Andy

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Pipe & Slippers

[D Hammond]

Andrew,
As with Roger you'd get a warm welcome here in NZ. I could rave - but suffice to say it has great motorcycle roads and some of the best scenery contained all in a small country. The South Island has some magic GS accessable tracks too.
Also the exchange rate is very good for you at present.
We're out here in the middle of no-where but you'd never forget the experience.
For any more specific NZ info drop us an email.

[This message has been edited by D Hammond (edited 06-27-2000).]

[jocflier]

Andrew;

If you are worried about the injectors.Just remove them.Takes about 5 min.at most.You can remove the whole throttle body assy. from the bike if you want.If you want i will print the pages from the BMW service manual and fax them to you if you like.It is only two pages..

NOTE o not remove the potentiometer from the throttle body.(the little black box on the side of the body)It will have to be re-set at the dealer if you do...

If you make it out to northern California area.(around San Francisco area)maybe get together with the wife and i for dinner..

Good luck Rick

All these invites are great. It would be excellent opportunity to meet with fellow enthusiasts. I will keep a note of the email addresses and hopefully keep tabs on this BB so I can keep up with the latest 11S developments. By the time I return there will probably be loads more tuning goodies available.

Thanks for the offer of the manual pages but I will getting hold of a CD manual soon so I will refer to that. Maybe I will remove the complete fuel system and flush it out.

Regs

Andy

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Pipe & Slippers