Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Put up America for the winter

Its almost time to put the America away for the winter.
I put 93 octain gas in and also roil purple gas treatment in.
What do you do to put your motorcycle away for winter storage?

Stabil for the fuel. No reason to put 93 octane in. Octane number is the fuels resistance to pre-ignition not a better fuel. So the lower number actually ignites easier and burns better in a lower compression engine. You should run the lowest octane fuel you can without pinging. If your engine pings move up one grade until it stops. That whole regular, premium bit is a sales gimmick.

I am sure that it varies regionally, but in the upper mid-west the higher octane fuel is also the only fuel without ethanol in it. The pumps are clearly marked as to the amounts of ethanol.

And the price is higher.

I would try not to store the bike over winter with ethanol mixed fuel.

all grades have it here unless specified otherwise.As you said it tel;ls you on the pump. I know a couple places here that sell ethanol free fuel but it's pricey.

Put mine away the other day, pulled the battery, made sure the tank was reasonably full - 87 octane, put in some Stabil, called it a day. Been my routine for decades. Never had a problem starting in Spring, didn't matter what brand or type - kawi, yami, harley, trump, suzi - they all fired up assuming the battery had been on a trickle charger through the winter.

Ethanol free fuel is easy to find in Idaho. But pricey. Sometimes I used it, sometimes I didn't, no difference in performance or start up after sitting thru the winter.

Problem with ethanol fuel is it's tendency to attract moisture and to dry out rubber. On older vehicles it can pit the valve seats but I haven't seen that myself. I run it in my 1940s and 1950s tractors with no issue. I would rather run ethanol free leaded fuel but it's too expensive. It would actually be cheaper to do the valves every once in a while.

No alcohol free gas left here in Ontario. We would run 91 because it was the last to get the minimum 10%. Friends that are putting their Miatas away for the winter like I am along with the Triumph are suggesting Marine Stabil they are saying it is better now that all gas has ethanol. Any comment on that?

I've had good luck with Stabil for years with the ethanol stuff. My XT250 and the BA start up easily in the Spring.

I appears the marine is more concentrated Red Stabil 1 0z does 2.51 Gal US Blue Marine 1 oz to 10 Gal US It lists here for about 25% more for Marine so that makes it a better deal for someone putting away their cigarette boat for the winter. ;-) or if you have many vehicles in storage.

The SM is put away for the winter. It is up on the lift, with the thought that maybe I will get the remote oil filter setup that I made way back, finally installed. I always seemed like a good idea. I just need to order 2 fittings and make up the hoses. But like many other projects it slid down the list. This might be the winter for it!