Opinions on draining carbs please :)

[joyinc]

Ok, I have a feeling I'm gonna feel silly for posting this, but I checked the wiki and the DIY threads, and I'm not really sure what I'm looking for I guess...

I'd like to know what to do about winterizing the 250, as opposed to a FI bike... last year I was on a cbr125, so to winterize it I filled the gas tank, added stabil, changed the oil, lubed the clutch cable (didnt know how to do the brakes so i left it), took out the battery, and parked her in the shed...

I've heard different things about what to do with carbs, but i'm not really sure? I drain them?

I've also heard that its good to drain your gas tank when the season is over, but i dont know how to do that....

Is there a thread somewhere with this info? I also ran a search for "winterize" and nothing came up...

Pictures and videos are VERY appreciated! It was youtube videos that helped me change the oil

i think I could figure most of it out, but I dont know much at all about carbs, so it's a little intimidating!

Thanks so much in advance, and sorry again if this has been asked already and I just couldnt find it

ETA: Dang! as soon as i posted, i saw a bunch of similar threads. weird, i wonder why search didnt show them before

[Alex]

Yup, definitely check out all the threads that are now linked from the bottom of this one.

[joyinc]

it all looks so overwhelming... i wish the ninja was FI!

[g21-30]

You would still need to winterize it (FI model).

[adouglas]

Some context:

Start with first principles and learn WHY you should (or should not) drain carbs and tanks when parking the bike for an extended period.

If left untreated, fuel goes bad after several weeks. It can gum up. If treated, it will still go bad eventually, but it will take several months. So if you're parking for three or four months over the winter, you can stabilize the fuel and forget about it. But if you're going to park the bike for a long time, you should get all the fuel out of the bike by draining it.

So whether you drain or keep everything full of stabilized fuel really depends on how long the bike will be parked.

Regarding the tank, either keep it full to the top with stabilized fuel, or drain it completely and open it to the atmosphere (put something over the filler port to keep critters and crud from falling in there). The reason is that condensation will occur in the tank if there is trapped air in there. Condensation is water, and water in your fuel system is a Bad Thing.

If you go the stabilization route, don't use red Sta-Bil. It doesn't deal with ethanol all that well, and these days most gas has a lot of ethanol in it. Use the green Marine Formula Sta-Bil, or Seafoam.

If you go the stabilized-fuel route, don't bother with the carbs… just make sure you run the bike long enough to get the stabilized fuel in there (several minutes, or a ride of a couple of miles).

If you want to drain them you'll need a long 3mm Allen wrench (hex key) and some tubing. If you pop the right bodywork off the bike and look at the carbs, you'll see an Allen bolt on the side of each bowl, and a little nipple on the bottom of each one. Put your tube on the nipple and lead it away from the bike, preferably into a container. Turn the bolt. An ounce or two of gas will drain out. Tighten the bolt again. Repeat for the other carb. Done. The carb bowls are now empty.

If you open the bolt and gas keeps running forever, either you've got a stuck float, a bad fuel valve (the one on the bottom of the tank) or you've left the valve on the PRI position. My fuel valve was bad and this is how I found out about it.

To drain the tank, remove the left-side bodywork and find the fuel valve at the rear bottom of the tank. It will have a couple of hoses coming from it. The fat one leads to the carbs. That's the fuel line.

Take the fuel line off and put a hose on the nipple, leading to a container large enough to hold all the gas. Turn the valve to the PRI position and the fuel will drain out.

Removing your battery is a good idea. Put it on a good charger (Battery Tender) over the winter.

Also… Change the oil immediately before parking the bike.

Cover the bike over the winter. Get it up off the ground so the tires don't get flat spots.

[joyinc]

Originally Posted by g21-30

You would still need to winterize it (FI model).

yeah, i'm ok with stuff like changing the oil... it's just dealing with the carbs that i find confusing right now

Originally Posted by adouglas

If left untreated, fuel goes bad after several weeks. It can gum up. If treated, it will still go bad eventually, but it will take several months. So if you're parking for three or four months over the winter, you can stabilize the fuel and forget about it. But if you're going to park the bike for a long time, you should get all the fuel out of the bike by draining it.

The off season here is about 5ish months... i think last year i winterizied in late oct and started out again mid march...

Originally Posted by adouglas

If you go the stabilized-fuel route, don't bother with the carbs… just make sure you run the bike long enough to get the stabilized fuel in there (several minutes, or a ride of a couple of miles).

serious? i can just leave them? that'd be much easier for sure.

[joyinc]

For storing the bike for the winter....

some people are telling me to drain the carbs... others say if i stabilize the gas and run it long enough to get in the bowls thats better than emptying them.

i'd really appreciate some opinions on this if you have a sec!

thank you!
Posted via Mobile Device

[Alex]

/moved to new-gen tech

(a search on "winterize" should pop up a whole bunch of relevant threads as well...)

[joyinc]

oops... sorry i posted from my cell, i thought thats where i had it lol. thanks

i've searched, but none of the threads i've found seemed to answer that question
Posted via Mobile Device

[Alex]

Makes sense, no reason that we can't start a new thread about it... Lemme see if I can find any in the meantime...

[Alex]

Hi Joy -

The ones I found were:

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=54094
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=29183
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=52643
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=30956
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9801

The first one was one of yours from a little while back on the same topic, right? Seem like it might make sense to merge this thread with that one, and then just bump it for more opinions if there are ones out there, OK?

- Alex

[joyinc]

I had asked the same question in that thread and no one answered, thats the only reason i posted it again with a more specific title

whatever you decide is ok! thanks for all your help
Posted via Mobile Device

[Snake]

I am of the opinion that it is better to run stabilizer through your fuel system and run it long enough to get it in the bowls. Keeping fuel in the system keeps all your gaskets from drying out. That is the way I have done it for years with no problems. The carb experts out there may have a different opinion but this has always worked for me.

[randomwalk101]

fill up tank with fresh gas, add 1 bottle of stabil and some seafoam...run bike for a few minutes....park and star her every other week or so...done.

[Snake]

^^^ Same process I use but make sure to read the bottle and use the correct amount for our size tank as some bottles will treat 15 gallons.

[bob706]

Originally Posted by joyinc

For storing the bike for the winter....

Winter? Store the bike? Two concepts that boggle the mind

[mrlmd]

Once you winterize the bike, leave it there 'till spring. Do NOT start it up every few weeks. Put the battery on a tender or on a charger once a month to keep it fully charged, Running the bike for 10-15 min every few weeks will drain the battery faster than leaving it sit because more "juice" is taken out in starting than put back in with a 10 min. idle.
The dose of Seafoam is 1 oz/gal gas, read the dose for Stabil off the bottle. Overdosing will either prevent your bike from starting or make it run like crap then you'll be looking to solve another problem.

[Alex]

/merged 'em. Hopefully there will be even more traffic on this thread, and it will be easier for folks to follow along later when searching for the same thing.

[joyinc]

Originally Posted by Snake

I am of the opinion that it is better to run stabilizer through your fuel system and run it long enough to get it in the bowls. Keeping fuel in the system keeps all your gaskets from drying out. That is the way I have done it for years with no problems. The carb experts out there may have a different opinion but this has always worked for me.

i was kind of hoping to hear that It has me confused because I always hear people say you shouldnt drain your tank because of condensation, so wouldnt it affect the bowls the same way? It makes sense logically to stabilize the fuel and leave it (note though, that is my own logic, and i've never winterized a carb'd bike before)

Originally Posted by bob706

Winter? Store the bike? Two concepts that boggle the mind

I wish I lived in florida

Originally Posted by mrlmd

Once you winterize the bike, leave it there 'till spring. Do NOT start it up every few weeks. Put the battery on a tender or on a charger once a month to keep it fully charged, Running the bike for 10-15 min every few weeks will drain the battery faster than leaving it sit because more "juice" is taken out in starting than put back in with a 10 min. idle.
The dose of Seafoam is 1 oz/gal gas, read the dose for Stabil off the bottle. Overdosing will either prevent your bike from starting or make it run like crap then you'll be looking to solve another problem.

last year on my old bike I just took the battery out and stored it in my house. The bike sits in a shed outside and I dont have power out there, so it means leaving an extension cord across the yard in the snow... I know some say dont bring the battery inside, but it seems easier for me, i dunno...

Originally Posted by Alex

/merged 'em. Hopefully there will be even more traffic on this thread, and it will be easier for folks to follow along later when searching for the same thing.

awesome! thanks for all your trouble!