[adouglas]

If you and your mate are about to have a kid, FORGET about running the bike, finding parts, maintenance... pretty much anything having to do with the motorcycle. Even if you intend to, it will not happen. Take that to the bank.

There's a high likelihood that the bike will wind up staying in the storage unit well into next summer if not longer. You're about to enter a situation where you might not ride that bike for a year or more. Best to treat it as long-term storage. That way if you do fire it up again in spring, you're fine. You'll also be fine if you let it sit for two years.

And as hard as it might be to accept, there's a good chance you're going to wind up selling the bike, either for time, money or family harmony reasons. Your attention to good storage will pay off there too.

So:

- Good move to drain all the fuel. My normal routine is to store it with a full tank of stabilized fuel, but then I know I'm going to be riding within six months.
- Change oil and filter just before you park it. A stored bike should have fresh oil in the crankcase.
- Get the bike up off the ground (you do have stands, right?). Tires left for a long time develop flat spots.
- Do stuff you'll forget about next spring, like lubing the chain.
- Either plug it into a battery tender, or if you don't have power, take the battery out and do that at home. Battery tenders rock because you don't have to remember to go charge the battery.
- Consider spraying some fogging oil into the cylinders, or putting a little bit of engine oil in through the spark plug hole and turning the engine over to distribute it. Again, this is for long-term storage.
- Cover/plug holes that can allow critters to get in if there is any possibility they may do so. That includes exhaust and air intake. LEAVE YOURSELF A NOTE REMINDING YOU TO TAKE THE COVERS/PLUGS OFF.
- Take the time now to clean the bike so it'll be all purty when you pull it out of storage.