Word of warning for adding Fuel Stabilizer.

Low rider

Low rider

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When somebody says to add a cap full. Just make sure the inner styrofoam liner in the cap will not fall into the tank.
It is a son of a ***** to get it out of there.

Lesson learned last year.

And I always take the time to tell all the Water Wetter users to take it out, if the bike will be in freezing temperatures.
 
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I use the marine grade fuel stabilizer (blue/green?), I've had the pink stuff fail me, twice. I blame it on the ethanol in the fuel, so now I store with only Shell 91/Ultramar 91 and have not had a problem since.

-Jamie M.
 
Haha! I just winterized today and went to put the Sta-bil in my tank, turned the cap off and that little styrofoam ****er fell out of the cap and almost went into the tank itself
 
Too soon people. I put it away early last year and regretted it until December. I say hold off on the winterization. There are still some good days left.
 
Doesn't the Styrofoam just dissolve in the gas?

I stop stabilize and store the bike. The most I will do is pull the battery and put it on the stand. The rest is just over rated

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daisoman said:
Too soon people. I put it away early last year and regretted it until December. I say hold off on the winterization. There are still some good days left.
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I'm planning on parking my bike this weekend, but if it's warm, I'll hold off too.

Jamie, how did the pink fuel stabilizer fail on you? I am sure if you just park with a full tank of gas for 3-4 months, nothing will happen to your bike and it will start without any problems in the spring. Fuel stabilizer is just an extra precaution.
 
October 15th and people are winterizing already? sheesh.. i commuted daily to work on the bike right up until xmas week last year and plan on doing the same this year except on rainy days. Luckily i leave for work after 10am when the sun is up, but i have to ride home in the dark after 9pm, some chilly nights, but until there is frost/ice out there i'm riding.. :cool:
 
ViperZ said:
Jamie, how did the pink fuel stabilizer fail on you? I am sure if you just park with a full tank of gas for 3-4 months, nothing will happen to your bike and it will start without any problems in the spring. Fuel stabilizer is just an extra precaution.
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I put in the recommended amount of Stabil fuel stabilizer and filled her right to the top with Sunoco 94. Come spring time I tried to fire my baby up. Make a few puffs and sputters but she wouldn't run (2000 CBR 929, less than a year old). I drained all the fuel out of the tank and filled her up fresh with Sunoco 94. Destroyed the battery tried to get it started so hauled out my car battery. I eventually got it to start but it would barely idle, had no power when trying to accelerate, would stall at lights. It was a mess. Took it to brooklin cycle and they said the fuel injectors were clogged and sent them for cleaning,testing. When I got them back BRUMM bike fired up perfect, all the power was back! They told me to start my bike and let it idle fully up to temp a few times through out storage to keep the fuel in the injectors/lines a little fresher.

Did the same thing the next year, Stabil, Sunoco 94. Started it three times over the winter, the third time it was a lot harder to fire, bouncy idle and when I tried to rev it, it would just die out sometimes. I hoped it'd start fine in the next month or two when I took it out of hibernation but no luck. Same deal, $380 to get my fuel injectors cleaned again, put back in, bike STILL wouldn't start or run properly! I siphoned out all the old gas and put in some fresh Shell 91 and after sputtering and backfiring a bunch she smoothed out and ran fine.

So my conclusion was: The bike wouldn't even run on the old Sunoco 94 after storing for the winter with Stabil. And the Ethanol in Sunoco 94 caused hard varnish type deposits on my fuel injectors causing them to just dribble fuel out :(

Ever since I've stored it with Shell 91 or Ultramar 91 (neither have ethanol), and Stabil marine fuel stabilizer: http://www.goldeagle.com/brands/stabil/faq.aspx#marine_formula

No issues.

-Jamie M.
 
I've also used the marine sta-bil with success, even with reg 87 octane although last season I played it safe and filled up the tank with Shell 91 to go along with the 1/4 tank of 87 already in there. I'm not exactly sure what the difference between the marine formula and regular sta-bil is when it comes to fuel stabilization. The manufacturer's website seems to promote the marine formula for everyday use and the regular formula for fuel storage but of course, personal experience wins over manufacturer claims.

I have heard from boaters that Star Tron is also good as well. Also make sure you get new bottles of fuel stabilizer every couple of winters if you have some left over as this stuff does have a shelf life.

​Q: What is the difference between STA-BIl Fuel Stabilizer, Marine Formula STA-BIL, and the new STA-BIL Ethanol Treatment products?
A: STA-BIL® Fuel Stabilizer is designed for use during STORAGE of any gasoline equipment or vehicle stored for 30 days or more, or used infrequently. It will keep gas fresh for 12 months, and help prevent corrosion, and gum and varnish formation. It is effective in all gasolines, including Ethanol blends, including E-85.
Marine Formula STA-BIL® Ethanol Treatment was designed for use at every fill up for marine engines (boats, jetskis) to protect against the damaging effects experienced when using Ethanol blended fuels -- including corrosion caused by water attraction, and fuel system plugging caused by deposit loosening.
 
Do people really need to winterize for a month or two? I don't think I ever winterized.
 
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The speed at which phase separation occurs varies. It's largely dependent on environmental factors. I've read that it can occur in boats in as little as 3-4 weeks. For a motorcycle sitting in a garage for a month, you're most likely fine. For a 3 -4 month winter hibernation though and at $10/bottle it's cheap insurance and better than paying hundreds for carb or injector cleaning plus lost riding time come spring.
 
Boom King said:
The speed at which phase separation occurs varies. It's largely dependent on environmental factors. I've read that it can occur in boats in as little as 3-4 weeks. For a motorcycle sitting in a garage for a month, you're most likely fine. For a 3 -4 month winter hibernation though and at $10/bottle it's cheap insurance and better than paying hundreds for carb or injector cleaning plus lost riding time come spring.
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LOL, i've never winterized the last 2 seasons. Fired it up once and it started. Are u guys running $1 spark plugs?
 
RockerGuy said:
LOL, i've never winterized the last 2 seasons. Fired it up once and it started. Are u guys running $1 spark plugs?
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Congrats on saving $10 ($5/winter). Keep doing what works for you and those of us who use fuel stabilizers will keep doing what works for us. That's all there is to it.
 
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Used red stabil last year and shell 91 without issue (except i forgot how my choke works and flooded the engine :() But i am thinking of using the seafoam and 91 this year. Anyone else use the seamfoam as their fuel conditioner?
 
Boom King said:
Congrats on saving $10 ($5/winter). Keep doing what works for you and those of us who use fuel stabilizers will keep doing what works for us. That's all there is to it.
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Some bikes especialy carbed bikes are more prone to issues with storage than others.
 
Not even close to putting the bike away. Hope to ride till the salt goes down. Will store bike with K100G/Shell 94 for the remainder of the Winter. Just got heated gloves. Use my heated winter ski jacket. Going for a ride today.
 
The bottom line is:
- by filling the tank to the top you reduce the amount of possible condensation in the vented tank to a minimum.
- by adding fuel stabilizer, you reduce the negative effects of fuel 'destabilization' so to speak, but Canadian weather actually really helps in both cases, since fuel deterioration and condensation are very minimal in weather below 0C
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