Do you turn your fuel off and let your bike run out when your done riding?

[DeputyDog]

I generally turn it off when ever I am done riding. Just habit.

 

[BadBrad]

I don't turn the petcock off nor do I run it dry. But as someone already said, fill it prior to storage to prevent rust build up. I use seafoam as well but I'm sure any gas preserver is better than none at all.

 

[mcgroom]

Fuel "stabilizer" was a great idea prior to the increased use of ethonal (shit). It works great on the gas but does nothing for the up to 10% ethonal in some gas.

My day job is equipment sales and most everything comes dry from the factory. When we set them up, we run fuel through them to ensure proper set-up.

If that unit is not sold within a few months, we almost always have to take the carb off, tear it down and clean it up because of the fuel break down.

It is extremely nasty stuff and breaks down quicker than ever.:bang:

Race gas
Sea Foam (have not tried but others on here like it)
and I am sure there are others that work.

Either way, most bikes don't sit for 3-5 months even during the worst riding seasons. If you get it out, top it off with fresh gas.:up:

Personally, I don't shut the petcock off as I should and there hasn't been a winter since I have been riding that the carb hasn't come off for one reason or another.

I am also not a big fan of the mid-winter warm-ups every couple of weeks unless you are actually riding the bike for 15-20 mins. My understanding, (limited), just starting a bike does not allow it to get hot enough to burn the internal condensation that can more harmful than just letting the bike sit.

To each his own and I will be the first to admit to going out to the garage and firing the bike up (when together) after a few rum/cokes just to here the pup if I haven't in a while.

"Do as I say, not as I do".

 

[O-man]

I turn the petcock off, but don't run the fuel out.

 

[zipnz]

Like was said before, to each his own. Personally, I do not close the petcock when I'm done riding. I think that whatever amount of gas is in the lines, carb, or bowl would act to keep the seals from drying out over a long period of time. Additionally, when I do park the dog for an extended amount of time, I will fill up with 100LL avgas. Reason being is that avgas does not have the additives that regular gas contains which I believe is the culprit that "varnishes" or gums up a carb. If you think about it, how often do light aircraft languish in hangars for extended periods of time? When I do go flying, I just hop in and she fires right up! FWIW.
Paul

 

[Gas Man]

Normally I simply shut the fuel valve at the end of the days ride.

I've let a bike set to long (all winter) with the fuel turned off and the fuel left in the carb evaporated. The varnish type material that was left plugged up some of the smaller carb ports. Had to totally clean out the carb in order to get the bike running properly again.

When storing for the winter I would suggest either leaving the fuel valve open and take your chances with leaks or close the valve and run the motor until it quits. Just don't let the fuel in the carb evaporate.

Another tip I can offer from the school of hard knocks is store your bike for the winter with a full tank of fuel. Stored one with a half tank one winter and found condensation had rusted the inner top half of the tank. What a mess that was trying to clean all those little rust particles out of the fuel system. Then going through a three step process to recoat the inside of the tank and finally adding a fuel filter to minimize any future problems.

None of these problems were on my Bigdog but suspect it could happen to any bike given the chance.

Most definately store the bike with a full tank of gas. Working in the industry I can tell you. Our 5 million + gallon tanks have floating roofs to keep the air out... not only for epa but also to keep it fresh. Tell ya anything?

I started putting in StarTron additive in my bike this year. It is supposed to take the ethonol out of the gas so the bike runs smoother. I fill a 5 gallon gas can and add this as well for the snowblower and weedwacker also. Friends of mine that own a marina have been using this stuff for years and have said they have not had any problems with the boats carbs gumming up. I'm going to try it this riding season as well in the BD and see how it does. Now to answer the post question, no I keep my petcock on.

I'm not a chemists but I'm pretty sure that nothing is magically removing the ethonol out of the gas other than burning it.

You boys better just bite the bullet on this E. Feds are already looking to increase it to 12 or 15%. Just sayin...

Fuel "stabilizer" was a great idea prior to the increased use of ethonal (shit). It works great on the gas but does nothing for the up to 10% ethonal in some gas.

My day job is equipment sales and most everything comes dry from the factory. When we set them up, we run fuel through them to ensure proper set-up.

If that unit is not sold within a few months, we almost always have to take the carb off, tear it down and clean it up because of the fuel break down.

It is extremely nasty stuff and breaks down quicker than ever.:bang:

Race gas
Sea Foam (have not tried but others on here like it)
and I am sure there are others that work.

Either way, most bikes don't sit for 3-5 months even during the worst riding seasons. If you get it out, top it off with fresh gas.:up:

Personally, I don't shut the petcock off as I should and there hasn't been a winter since I have been riding that the carb hasn't come off for one reason or another.

I am also not a big fan of the mid-winter warm-ups every couple of weeks unless you are actually riding the bike for 15-20 mins. My understanding, (limited), just starting a bike does not allow it to get hot enough to burn the internal condensation that can more harmful than just letting the bike sit.

To each his own and I will be the first to admit to going out to the garage and firing the bike up (when together) after a few rum/cokes just to here the pup if I haven't in a while.

"Do as I say, not as I do".

Seafoam... FTW
http://www.bigdogbiker.com/forums/t...winter-storage-ruff-running-so-much-more.html

And agreed. Don't start the bike to "warm it up" or "circulate the fluids". It does more harm than good. He already spoke about the contaminents but also consider heat and humidity. When you do so you create it, and then when it cools it creates condensation in metal items. Think exhaust and cylinders... what happens to bare metal when that happens? DING DING DING... Johnny to win the game... "RUST".

As far as the petcock... when parked over night or long. Off. During the day when I'm riding... just leave it on.

I wouldn't suggest running the bike out of gas. Many bad things happen when such. You now have air in these passages... remember what we said about the full tank? Then think about your motor... you are leaning it out till it dies... hmmmmm

 

[Cobrafast1]

I agree with GASMAN... Just warming up is not good enough. Go for a nice ride and get that baby hot. One it charges the battery if you go for about a 1/2 ride. Two.. condensation is limited in the engine during cool down.

As for the petcock. During the day while riding, it's on. Once in the garage, it's off, but I don't run it down to empty.

Note: Years ago when my dad passed away, he had a lawn mower in the garage. He hadn't used it in years and the gas all evaporated. So I thought I'd start it just to see if it still ran. Nope.. the gas had left a black tar residue in the tank and the carb was so gummed up, it was like a brick.

So much for the lessen about leaving gas in the tank for a long time.

When I was living in Michigan, I had a boat for many years. I'd fill the tanks on it to full (250 gallons) before storage, just to keep the condensation down, even though it was in heated storage. Less air in the tank, less condensation. I fogged it once out of the water after circulating antifreeze in the engine. Then they would transport it to the warehouse for the winter.

It started every spring on the first try.

 

[barhopper]

I never shut my gas off.

 

[MisterMister]

I always turn my fuel off when I'm done riding. If it's just a quick stop for a pack of smokes or something like that, I don't. I only run the carburator out of fuel when I store it for the winter. Never had a problem

 

[erldawg]

No petcock to turn off (EFI) I put fuel stabilizer in the tank ride it down to the gas station fill it ride it home then store the bad boy......No problems...:up: