Winterizing your 250R?

[Rayme]

Be sure to take the battery inside. It doesn't make much sense letter it freeze. I usually bring it inside the home and put on the charge for a couple hours every weeks or so. Make sure it's in a well ventilated place..not that it's any dangerous than inside a garage/baby barn...Charging a frozen battery sounds counter intuitive.

The reason the gas goes bad is because of evaporation, it's more prone to evaporate in the carbs than the fuel tank, so it's a good thing to drain the carbs so there's no gas to evaporate and leave gunky residues.

As for oil, drain your oil before winter and just put in the cheapest oil you can get at walmart and let it sit in there for winter...Then put your favorite oil before starting it.

I did all that and had zero problem starting the bikes after 5-6 months.

[Greg_E]

Remove battery and bring inside where it is warm, install when needed.

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by kkim

Check your owner's manual for what Kawasaki recommends, though I would never follow some of their suggestions based on what I've read of winter storage.

Yeah, they say to drain the tank.

They also say you should be able to "operate the fuel tap while riding without taking your eyes off the road." The fuel tap is located behind the left side cover and can't be operated with your hands anyway.

Oh, and they say to have it turned ON to drain the tank, when IIRC you drain the tank by turning it to PRI.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by adouglas

They also say you should be able to "operate the fuel tap while riding without taking your eyes off the road." The fuel tap is located behind the left side cover and can't be operated with your hands anyway.

Oh, and they say to have it turned ON to drain the tank, when IIRC you drain the tank by turning it to PRI.

those instructions were most likely copied over from the pregen manual or some strange mixture of both. one must be really careful of things they read in those manuals and use some common sense.

[minuslars]

I just thought I'd mention that premium gas has the MOST ethanol in it. It's the ethanol that acts as the "octane booster."
It seems to me that regular gas with a bit more stabilizer would be the way to go.

That, and perhaps having the bike in a nitrogen bubble to prevent oxidation (i.e. rust) lol

[kkim]

Originally Posted by minuslars

It's the ethanol that acts as the "octane booster."

That's another first for me. Source?

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by minuslars

That, and perhaps having the bike in a nitrogen bubble to prevent oxidation (i.e. rust) lol

Pfeh. Primitive. Stone knives and bearskins.

I'm thinking stasis field.

[empire00]

Originally Posted by kkim

That's another first for me. Source?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating

in ethanol fuels the ethanol acts as a octane booster.
ethanol has a RON of 116
the gasoline component is lower with the two averaging out to 91 RON for 87 octane gas.

[MtnCruiser]

If you are really worried about using stabil or the effects of ethanol in the gas you can also drain the tank completely and coat the inside with fogging oil and it will be fine. A shot of fogging oil into each cylinder is a good idea also.

[kkim]

I'm missing it. Where in there does it say they use ethanol as an octane booster?

[Alex]

Ethanol does in fact act as an octane booster. Federal regs require the major oil companies to include a certain portion of ethanol across their entire gasoline production. Varies by company, and has been going up each year, but a good guideline is somewhere around 6%. Many states cap ethanol usage at 10%, as many vehicles won't perform well if the percentage was any higher than that.

In areas where the refiners are using a good chunk of ethanol in their gasoline, close to or equal to that 10% rating, they end up having to use less of some of the other octane enhancers that would otherwise be necessary, as the ethanol content itself ups the effective octane rating. In other words, refiners don't go right to the ethanol as the primary octane enhancer, but if they have gone down the ethanol route for regulatory reasons, the ethanol does help the gasoline meet the expected octane ratings at the end product.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by minuslars

I just thought I'd mention that premium gas has the MOST ethanol in it. It's the ethanol that acts as the "octane booster."
It seems to me that regular gas with a bit more stabilizer would be the way to go.

So, is the bolded text true?

my understanding is that ethanol fuel has the same amount of ethanol in all the grades across the board. octane additives are added proportionately to obtain the octane rating desired prior to the ethanol being added... at least that's the way it's done on island.

[Alex]

The bolded text is not necessarily true. It's not necessarily false either. The unhelpful but unfortunately more correct answer is "it depends".

[kkim]

Gee, Alex... do you have a part time job in Washington, D.C.?

[Alex]

Nope. But perhaps it would suit me. Not trying to mislead or misdirect folks, it's just that gasoline production is more complex than can be described easily. The refineries futz with things day in and day out depending on the particular nature of the crude they are running that day, the current load on the different areas of the refinery, the product mix they are trying to end up with that day, and the different pricing available and even contractual requirements they are trying to fill that day. All of that boils down to a whole bunch of different ways they can refine the crude to get it to something at the end of the line that meets whatever applicable specs they need to to call it "gasoline".

[Talonne]

Is Seafoam a good stabilizer for over the winter? Also, is draining the float bowls still necessary if I use Seafoam, since it claims to "clean" the carbs and liquefy gum/varnish deposits?

[BlueRaven]

should the petcock be turned to prime before draining the bowls or just leave be?

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by BlueRaven

should the petcock be turned to prime before draining the bowls or just leave be?

No, I think not, but caveat... I don't have first-hand experience.

My understanding of how this works is that PRI lets gas flow out of the tank and into the bowls without the engine running. ON allows no fuel to flow until there's vacuum (caused by the engine turning).

So if you switch to PRI when you drain the bowls, it'll take a very, very, long time before fuel stops flowing, because you'd actually be draining the whole tank through that tiny little hole....

[BlueRaven]

I always thought if i put it in prime it would cut off the flow from the gas tank. Tells you what i know but i guess i'm new at this as well.

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by BlueRaven

I always thought if i put it in prime it would cut off the flow from the gas tank. Tells you what i know but i guess i'm new at this as well.

PRI stands for PRIME, as in priming a pump, as in putting fluid into it.....

[ARF07]

Hey guys, I just read through this thread today, as Tennessee (at college) is going to cool down here pretty soon. There is a gas station here that has ethanol-free gas. It's more expensive, but I usually run in anyways. Does the winterizing process change at all w/ the ethanol free gas as opposed to the regular? I'm just having a tough time understanding what happens because of the components of the gas in the tank, and what happens because of the temp change.

[divingtigger]

Gonna be doing this this weekend. I always used Seafoam in my other toys (boats ect..) with no issue in the carb so maybe, but I'm going to drain the bowls anyways

[komohana]

aloha,
friend of mine rides an 883 and she's deploying to the middle east for a year.
information here helped her with storage issues and she wanted me to pass along her appreciation for the knowledge we shared here.
so...THANX EH!


i love it here! uh-huh!

[Talonne]

Originally Posted by divingtigger

Gonna be doing this this weekend. I always used Seafoam in my other toys (boats ect..) with no issue in the carb so maybe, but I'm going to drain the bowls anyways

Ok... I guess I should. I am just afraid of messing something up somehow.

I will be doing this soon as well... We're getting our first snow flurries of the season tomorrow.

[headshrink]

The way we winterize here in CA is:

1) Start engine
2) Ride
3) Rinse and Repeat

[Syphen]

Originally Posted by Talonne

Ok... I guess I should. I am just afraid of messing something up somehow.

I will be doing this soon as well... We're getting our first snow flurries of the season tomorrow.

Jessica, I stored the Ninja 250R last year by changing oil (to a cheap 10w40 oil.. amsoil in the summer only), washing it, pouring half a can of sea-foam in the tank, and filling the tank to the very brim. I run the bike for 10 minutes or so to get the seafoam well mixed and into the carbs. Turn the bike off, put it on stands and once again top the gas tank to the brim. Remove battery, kiss the bike good night and put a cover on it. Keep the battery indoors over winter and charge it periodically OR put it on a battery tender. I also store my F4i in a similar way because with the fuel injection system, there is no petcock. It will be fine.

The bike fired up within seconds when I dug it out after a 5 and a half month sleep and I've been storing bikes like this for 5 years now without issues. If a bike has a fuel petcock (my old CBR600, or my CBR250RR) then I will drain the carbs by running the bike but some people say this allows the seals in the carb to dry out. Just do it like I mention above and you will be perfectly fine.

[ScorpionNinja]

Originally Posted by headshrink

The way we winterize here in CA is:

1) Start engine
2) Ride
3) Rinse and Repeat

lucky you man!

heh

[anomolli]

Originally Posted by kkim

I use a Battery Tender Jr. It trickle charges a battery when low and knows when the battery is topped off and will shut itself off to prevent overcharging. It then goes into a "maintain" mode and will charge the battery when the battery charge drops a bit while stored.

You leave it plugged in all winter and your battery stays fully charged. The kit comes with a small connector that you can install on your bike that makes plugging/unplugging the charger a breeze.

@kkim

I'm looking at the battery tender on motorcycle-superstore, but seems like there's two flavors, a 6 or a 12 volt one. Which one should be used? Thanks!

[Plasmatoast]

12volt should be used

[CRXTrek]

I'm not Kelly.... but it's a 12 volt.

[anomolli]

thanks very much. :-)

[kkim]

I see you got an answer. sorry, for some reason I don't get an auto notification to this thread when there was a reply until now.

good luck with your winter storage.

[Allen]

Originally Posted by headshrink

The way we winterize here in CA is:

1) Start engine
2) Ride
3) Rinse and Repeat

That's been what I've been doing for years. It's never failed.

[ScorpionNinja]

Originally Posted by Allen

That's been what I've been doing for years. It's never failed.

your lucky as hell!!! hehee

[CC Cowboy]

Is covering the entire bike with vasoline still used to winterize it?

I've heard that if you keep the bike in the living room it will stay warm but it is hard to start and run the engine once a week to keep the gas, oil, and battery stabile.

If you live in Florida do you still have to winterize, even if you ride all winter?

[Allen]

Originally Posted by ScorpionNinja

your lucky as hell!!! hehee

Let me qualify that statement........Today it was 45 deg. and drizzle. Not a great day for riding. Anyway I have the gear for it and pick my days to ride, especially during Dec. and Jan.

About 1/2 the locals winterize the other half rides.


But the idea of rubbing Vaseline all over a baby Ninja is new to me. But I'm open to new ideas..........Maybe I'll try it while the wife is at work.

[gamma500]

Originally Posted by Syphen

Jessica, I stored the Ninja 250R last year by changing oil (to a cheap 10w40 oil.. amsoil in the summer only), washing it, pouring half a can of sea-foam in the tank, and filling the tank to the very brim. I run the bike for 10 minutes or so to get the seafoam well mixed and into the carbs. Turn the bike off, put it on stands and once again top the gas tank to the brim. Remove battery, kiss the bike good night and put a cover on it. Keep the battery indoors over winter and charge it periodically OR put it on a battery tender. I also store my F4i in a similar way because with the fuel injection system, there is no petcock. It will be fine.

The bike fired up within seconds when I dug it out after a 5 and a half month sleep and I've been storing bikes like this for 5 years now without issues. If a bike has a fuel petcock (my old CBR600, or my CBR250RR) then I will drain the carbs by running the bike but some people say this allows the seals in the carb to dry out. Just do it like I mention above and you will be perfectly fine.

Pretty much what I have done for the last 40 years...Stabil instead of Seafoam. My experience with an empty gas tank and dry carbs has been rust and hung up float valves and dry seals even when I fogged the tank. A fully fogged gas tank will wash off some of the interior residue/scum and end up in the petcock/filter area where it evaporates leaving a gummy residue which buggers up this area and will enter the carbs when you regas up and start.

[divingtigger]

Keep saying that I'm going to winterize the bike, maybe this weekend, it will be 13 degrees c around 10 for the rest of the week...after that who knows, it has snowed off and on though

[anomolli]

Does everyone here pretty much change their own oil and filter? I've been reading through this forum as well as the service manual and it seems like the initial task takes a bit of investment on my part. Meaning, i have to buy the rear stand, tools, etc. to get the job done. So i'm just wondering if people take it to the mechanic to get the oil changed and then drain the carbs and add stabilizer themselves? Or is it the culture to kind of get your hands dirty yourself?

[gamma500]

You can change the oil on a NewGen just with the side stand down as long as you ziptie the front brake handle down to make sure she doesn't roll when you put a little oomph to the drain plug and filter bolt. Your stock tool kit even has the wrench sizes you'll need. Don't even need to remove the lower fairings if you don't want the extra room.

Anything I can do to keep the Dealer's apprentices away from my bikes is a plus as far as I'm concerned. Check out the plier serrated marks on your fill plastic plug when you get her back cause they didn't feel like putting a piece of protector on it !