winterizing question

[kevxs]

hey guys, i'm getting ready to put it away for the winter in my backyard. i've noticed while working on it that when i turn off the petcocks they still drip a little sometimes. i want to just fill it up, put stabilizer in it and leave it alone. do i run any kind of risk of having the fuel overflow the carbs due to that drip problem? i still have the octopus setup so i'm thinking it'll be ok but wanted to ask. will my carbs be ok with stabilized fuel in them all winter? how much stabilizer should i put in the tank?

thanks

[lee_dutcher]

i would just take the carbs and tank off and store them inside then pluge the intake manifolds with socks or somthing....

[natemoen]

Winter is a great time to fix all those little things like the leaky petcocks. But yeah it could overflow your carbs in time if the gas can get to the carbs.

[Incubus]

I like to winterize my XS by filling the tank every few days and running gas through the carbs at highway speeds. Of course, this is not always possible. Sometimes my path does not include the highway.

Others may have different methods.

Patrick

[skids]

You could get a couple of lengths of tubing, disconnect the existing tubes from each petcock, and hook-up the new lengths in a u-shape to each petcock nipple. This would work on specials. Standards can hook a length of tubing with a plug at the end of each. I used golf tees for plugs once.

[cywelchjr]

I winterize mine like Incubus does. If the fuel never sits then it never gets a chance to go bad, and it's never in there for even a week.

[natemoen]

I winterize mine like Incubus does. If the fuel never sits then it never gets a chance to go bad, and it's never in there for even a week.

Not all of us have that luxury!

[Incubus]

Not so, Nate. Years back I worked at UPS in Elm Grove, Wisconsin, just east of you. One of my coworkers rode his Panhead to work every day, all year round. Of course, he had lost his car along with all his other property in the divorce and really didn't have any choice, but his success demonstrates it is possible to ride all year, even in the tundra of the northern states.

He used to tell me that ice and snow were tricky, but the temperature was never an issue.

Patrick

[natemoen]

Not so, Nate. Years back I worked at UPS in Elm Grove, Wisconsin, just east of you. One of my coworkers rode his Panhead to work every day, all year round. Of course, he had lost his car along with all his other property in the divorce and really didn't have any choice, but his success demonstrates it is possible to ride all year, even in the tundra of the northern states.

He used to tell me that ice and snow were tricky, but the temperature was never an issue.

Patrick

Ok, I will agree that it is possible. I used to live in north eastern north dakota and there was this one guy that you would see driving around in a sidecar rig all decked out in red and black leather.

So is it possible, absolutely yes. Is is smart, well that is determined by the person evaluating the question...

Would i drive all winter? Everyday, no. Nice winter days without ice on the roads, yes!

[natemoen]

And on a side note, I was driving down Bluemound Road in Elm Grove the other day and passes a UPS building, that I had never noticed before. Wonder if thats the same place!

[Incubus]

That's it.

[CatatonicBug]

If it were me, I would say to fix the leak first, THEN pack it up for winter. Fixing a leaky petcock shouldn't be all that hard. You should be able to remove the knob and check the rubber innards for wear. If they are ok, try bending the spring washer a bit more to add pressure to the gasket. You can also lube the gasket with a light film of vaseline to help with the seal, and allow it to spin more easily.

The stabilizer has a measurement on it, so just go by the recommendation, and maybe a tad more. Be sure to run the engine a while after adding the juice to the fuel, to be sure it gets all the way though the system.

[WMarshy]

You could just drain both your tank and carb bowls...thats another option... Thats what I do and have no problems with gas in the oil or varnish in the carbs come spring. Of course you could take them both off and drain them and clean/fix the leaks over winter too.

[nightpilot]

If you run it out of gas does all the gas get out of the bowls etc, so no varnish develops? also if you just run it a little once a week even not going on the road wont that be enough gas moving through to avoid varnish. ?

[natemoen]

If you run it out of gas does all the gas get out of the bowls etc, so no varnish develops? also if you just run it a little once a week even not going on the road wont that be enough gas moving through to avoid varnish. ?

I dont think you will run it COMPLETELY dry just by letting it run out of gas

Maybe, but your still sucking old gas back into the carbs from the tank.