Sometimes riding is not an option over the winter. When i lived in VT and the roads were snow/ice covered from thanksgiving to april and the outside temp never rose above freezing for those 4+ months you can forget about riding.

Plus where i had the bike stored out of nesesscity was in the back of my shed/garage with all the winter stuff piled in front of it (snow blower, tractor with plow, 4 wheeler with the salter, shovels, etc) and it would take half a day to move everything to get the bike back out in the spring.

Just something to keep in mind.

 

Thanks for the thread. I plan to top up the tank today and fill all of my gas jugs for the winter emergency fuel supply. I've always topped off the tanks and drained the carbs because of extensive carb rebuilding on farm trucks that had varnished bowls but a good point was made that these gravity fill bikes don't let the fuel evaporate and condense to goo, the tank will simply add fuel if you leave the petcock on.

So do you folks that leave fuel in the carb and a full tank also leave the petcock on? Risk with this is that the fuel tank will overflow the carb and drain onto the floor or will the crankcase.

 

I do not leave the petcock on due to risk of overflow, and I drain the bowl.

 

(I'm biting my tongue here....)
Keep gas in your bike and ride the damn thing. I ride the old ZX9 in the teens and blustery snow, for Pete's sake. Yes; some days you just CAN'T ride, (with ice and sub-zero temps), but otherwise get out there.
Sorry to be crusty.

 

Hey, I ride my bikes all year. Snowmobiles, nahh, can't do that.

Some people move away from their bikes for a season and have no alternative.

So back off Mr. Crusty

 

E-10 fuel can break-down when left unused over time if untreated. There are many fuel treatment products on the market that state their product works best. Break-down meanings: the ethanol separates from the gasoline. When it separates, the ethanol and its associated chemicals retain moisture that will cause rust and or corrosion in the fuel system as well as cause some plastic/poly products to deteriorate. When the fuel breaks-downs it clogs injectors and carburetor jets.
That being said, I run my bike every chance that I can over the winter, when done I shut the petcock off and run it dry. Never had an issue yet. I have read in boating magazines that it is best to keep the fuel level low so that if the fuel does break-down there will be less of it to deal with. Now obviously there is a big difference between the large fuel tanks on a boat then those on a bike. Good luck with your storage practices.