presummer prep

[wolfman1265]

ok.. i was gone all winter and i dont think that my bike was taken care of like it should have been.. it was in a non heated but insulated garage.. it was not moved for 2-3 months and it was not started. i got back and went to start it in pretty cold weather to see if it would start.. and of course, it wouldnt. it seemed like it was wanting to start, but i did it for about 15 minutes and then the battery died. since it was almost starting do you think it is anything major.. or do u think it is just the battery and that it was cold.. ??? thx sorry i am new to this stuff and i am tryin to learn

[cowboy]

Try new sparkplugs and check to see if your gas is still good.

[wolfman1265]

can i just tell if the gas is good by looking in the tank and listening to it to see if it sloshes around well??

[cowboy]

It will smell diffrent if it goes bad.You could just drain it and get new gas if your not sure.

[AirportFF]

Best bet is to just drain the tank and start with some fresh gas. That'll at least eliminate that problem. You also might want to add some fuel addative to the new gas. It might help break up any deposits in the carbs.

Was the fuel valve closed?

[T_Sebastian]

or better yet, didja open the fuel valve before ya tried to start it?

prolly bad gas though.

[wolfman1265]

it was just the battery

[fegs]

Goes to show that if you are going to store your bike for winter, take the following precautions:
- Shut off fuel to carbs (if stored for long period of time, drain the tank)
- Battery charger or other
- Depending on location, antifreeze will be a good idea

Summer arrives:
- Make sure you have good, clean fuel
- make sure your battery is ok (charged, etc)
- If its that time of the year, complete all your maintenance (oil change, etc)


fegs...

[NoizeBoy]

Up here in Detroit, I run into the same thing each spring, regardless of how I prep it before storing. I just finally got up and running this past weekend and found it was combination of gas / battery. Everytime it would get closed to turning over, the battery would give out. I eventually just replaced the gas with new, jumped off a car batter, ang got it going.

I was determined to start it once a week minimum this year to avoid spring time problems, but had my tank off getting painted for 2 f-ing months. Oh well... I think I just need to move somewhere warmer so I can ride all year round.

[Galager]

I simply do the following when going to put the Shadow down for the winter:

-wash bike thoroughly
-put in the recommended amount of Sta-bil to the fuel tank
-ride to a gas station and fill up, mixing up the Sta-bil thoroughly
-ride home (crying because I know its the last for awhile)
-shut off fuel tank petcock and run engine until the leftover fuel runs out (this leaves you with a full tank of treated gas and empty carbs)
-remove the battery and attach it to the battery tender in my basement (keeping it fully charged all winter)
-fill the tires with air, I shoot for the high side putting in 36 lbs in the rear and 30-32 in the front (to try to avoid flat spots)
-lock it, cover it and cry some more

There are other measures you can take, but in the spring (once I open the petcock and get gas in the carbs) it started right up. If anyone has any other suggestions or if I am making any mistakes, please chime in.