Motorcycle care and storage
8-4
8
1. Make all necessary repairs and
perform any outstanding mainte-
nance.
2. Follow all instructions in the Care
section of this chapter.
3. Fill up the fuel tank, adding fuel
stabilizer according to product in-
structions. Run the engine for 5
minutes to distribute treated fuel
through the fuel system.
4. For vehicles equipped with a fuel
cock: Turn the fuel cock lever to
the off position.
5. For vehicles with a carburetor: To
prevent fuel deposits from build-
ing up, drain the fuel in the carbu-
retor float chamber into a clean
container. Retighten the drain bolt
and pour the fuel back into the fuel
tank.
6. Use a quality engine fogging oil
according to product instructions
to protect internal engine compo-
nents from corrosion. If engine
fogging oil is not available, per-
form the following steps for each
cylinder:
a. Remove the spark plug cap
and spark plug.
b. Pour a teaspoonful of engine
oil into the spark plug bore.
c. Install the spark plug cap onto
the spark plug, and then place
the spark plug on the cylinder
head so that the electrodes are
grounded. (This will limit spark-
ing during the next step.)
d. Turn the engine over several
times with the starter. (This will
coat the cylinder wall with oil.)
WARNING! To prevent dam-
age or injury from sparking,
make sure to ground the
spark plug electrodes while
turning the engine over.
[EWA10952]
e. Remove the spark plug cap
from the spark plug, and then
install the spark plug and the
spark plug cap.
7. Lubricate all control cables, piv-
ots, levers and pedals, as well as
the sidestand and centerstand (if
equipped).
8. Check and correct the tire air
pressure, and then lift the vehicle
so that all wheels are off the
ground. Otherwise, turn the
wheels a little once a month in or-
der to prevent the tires from be-
coming degraded in one spot.
9. Cover the muffler outlet with a
plastic bag to prevent moisture
from entering it.
10. Remove the battery and fully char-
ge it, or attach a maintenance
charger to keep the battery opti-
mally charged.
NOTICE:
Confirm
that the battery and its charger
are compatible. Do not charge a
VRLA battery with a convention-
al charger.
[ECA26330]
TIP
If the battery will be removed,
charge it once a month and store
it in a temperate location between
0-30 °C (32-90 °F).
See page 7-28 for more informa-
tion on charging and storing the
battery.
