Summer storage.......... gas

[SumpBuster]

No ethanol premium, stabil,and start them monthly or sooner, fully warmed up, track running, and if wet and got the urge, take em down to the dragstrip. I had a 73 skiroule, sachs 440, stored and the crank needle bearings rusted. Still have that old crank!
I even start the groomers. If it snows in july, Im ready.

 

[Doc Harley]

Don't drain fuel, don't add fuel.
Using since 2000 +/-
Cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles, PWC 's, small engines, etc.

Seafoam....it's what dreams are made of.

 

[sailor joe]

store all my sleds full of supreme with seafoam. no issues yet. also doubles as an emergency gas stash for summer power outages.

lol, I do the same thing with my boats, one has 100+ gallons and the other 30 gallons...never know when you might need it...like now with these fuel prices.

 

[Fast]

I'll preface this thread by saying yes I have the owners and service manuals and know what the recommended method of summer storage is as far as gas goes. What I'd like to know is has anyone drained their tank and run the sled dry for long term storage? I've always had great luck doing this with my 2 stroke SRXs snd have never had any buildup in the carbs or tank. Even with stabilizer I just don't have a lot of faith in the gas these days and figured draining the system would be better. I did use stabilizer last spring and then drained as much gas out in the fall as I could before filling with fresh supreme but I am just curious if anyone has drained their sled and how it worked.

Add seafoam run the sled and warm it up then drain the tank, works for me

 

[stgdz]

Don't start the sled once a month. Just leave it alone till it's ready to start again.


All though coming off two strokes its hard for me not to put a few squirts of fogging oil down the spark plug holes.

 

[Sidewindo]

For my sleds I find best to make time to fill up with fresh supreme gas add the yamalube fuel stabilizer then change the oil and filter after last ride. The second start to get the oil level right and circulate the stabilized fuel then top up again to help eliminate moisture. I don't start them unless I have to move them for some reason or other until late in the fall. I leave the battery hooked up all summer but I disconnect and fully charge before first start. Depending on which sled I siphon the fuel and burn in the grizzly before startup

 

[twyztid]

Don't start the sled once a month. Just leave it alone till it's ready to start again.

Yes, this is exactly my opinion as well. Leave it alone.

Also, Stabil is about the worst fuel stabilizer that you can buy. It just leaves a film on the top of the fuel in the tank. If it gets disturbed, it doesn't work properly anymore. Seafoam, Pri-G, and others work FAR better.

 

[fourbarrel]

I'm guessing draining the system and running everything dry went away once efi took over carbs.

 

[jonlafon1]

Also, Stabil is about the worst fuel stabilizer that you can buy

X2 Absolute garbage

 

[rla1]

Yamaha fuel stabilizer and condioner for storage.I used to use seafoam but yamaha boat mechanic told me seafoam is so good that it will soften up anything you might have in your fuel system and could plug up injectors(jets) after long term storage.Said to use seafoam when running/ driving it continuously but not for storage.Also said stabil is garbage.

 

[jonlafon1]

Yamaha ACC-FSTAB-PL-32 Fuel Stabilizer & Conditioner​

Sleds storage.. Boat all year round/every fill up

 

[Sevey]

Read an article that explained a stabilizer like Stabil is meant to create a layer on top of the fuel level to keep the fuel from reacting with the air - things like absorbing moisture etc. It is not really meant or is able to do anything with the internals of the fuel system - like break down moisture and move it through, clean etc. That’s where the sea foam comes in. It’s good at that.

Just my 10 cents. I am not a big fan of running these engines in the off season on a regular basis. That creates a lot of moisture inside from not being able to get the engine and oil fully up to temp, but i do believe every few months to run it to keep the fuel system charged is not a bad idea. If the system starts to dry out it the fuel will lacquer and may leave deposits. Better to run it and keep everything primed.
MS

 

[earthling]

Read an article that explained a stabilizer like Stabil is meant to create a layer on top of the fuel level to keep the fuel from reacting with the air - things like absorbing moisture etc. It is not really meant or is able to do anything with the internals of the fuel system - like break down moisture and move it through, clean etc. That’s where the sea foam comes in. It’s good at that.

Just my 10 cents. I am not a big fan of running these engines in the off season on a regular basis. That creates a lot of moisture inside from not being able to get the engine and oil fully up to temp, but i do believe every few months to run it to keep the fuel system charged is not a bad idea. If the system starts to dry out it the fuel will lacquer and may leave deposits. Better to run it and keep everything primed.
MS

Better to run it 'up to full operating temperature' to keep everything primed. It will hit operating temp sitting on a stand, it won't get super hot but hot enough.

I also rotate the drivetrain.

My bike sits in what I call hover mode, the front end is off the ground with a rod through the front axle tube and the rear is held up by the center stand, on a tender (Noco 1), and in a protected environment. This allows me to get the drivetrain moving and rotate the front tire.

I don't have a picture of the attak in its storage mode but the chassis is held in the air by three points with very little weight on the suspension, just enough to keep the shocks out of the top of travel, and I keep a rubber block under each ski carbide, with the track sitting on a sheet of perforated rubber/plastic mat (I think it was the back door welcome mat at one point) that has a grid of holes in it. Everything gets air flow, fluid film on the shock shafts. Same as the bike, this allows me to easily lift the rear a bit higher (track stand) and put some motion through the drivetrain (rev it up). Once it hits operating temp and the drivetrain has done its thing I let it idle for a bit and shut it down. All of this will transfer over to the SRX in a couple of weeks but it is still sitting in 'last chance to get to quebec' mode.

Besides, sometimes you just have to hear the motor do its thing.

 

[Simplespeed]

Put on jack stand and start and run them every couple of months to keep motor oiled and fuel flowed …. 1/3 tank of fuel of whatever I was using …. Add fresh fuel in Fall and ready to ride… All maintenance and cleaning done in spring before storage… Simple and it works…

 

[KnappAttack]

Put on jack stand and start and run them every couple of months to keep motor oiled and fuel flowed …. 1/3 tank of fuel of whatever I was using …. Add fresh fuel in Fall and ready to ride… All maintenance and cleaning done in spring before storage… Simple and it works…

Obviously you've never opened an engine up doing this method. Not what I would recommend at all.

Its best to not run them at all and introduce any more condensation than you have to. Running them just introduces a huge amount of water and condensation that will not get burned off and evaporated because its not running long enough. It's the hardest thing on them you can do. If you'd take the engine apart and look at it you'd swear it would never run properly again, the valves & seats rust, the pistons & head corrode and the internals look like crap the more its run and cycled.

Put it away and dont run it again until your ready to ride for the season. Not running the engine is best. The engine will still corrode a bit but nothing like when you run it every few weeks or months. I typically fill with fuel, then run it thru on a lower power setting like the 240 tune or dump the old fuel out and use fresh if running on the 300 tune right away. Full tank is best at minimizing condensation.

The thing is this, wether you leave the engine sit, or run it monthly, the engine will not die, it will still fire up and run decent either way, but running it monthly is much harder on it than just leaving it sit there without running it at all.