Okay, now I'll respond to the many responses. Thanks, first of all, for
those answers.
I've lived up north for more than thirty years, so I've had lots of
experience with twenty feet of snow each year, year after year. For those
of you in Utah, I ask you to imagine 240" snow with NO mountains within
hundreds of miles. That's what you need to know before you think you
understand "lake effect snow".
First of all, doing nothing but putting the engine away for the winter with
no prep will be a regret. Your engine will be hard to start next spring.
You cannot convince me otherwise -- come up and pull the starter and prove
me wrong!!!!! Fill the tank, run it "just so", etc -- it won't start easy
next spring. I remind you that we have already had about a foot of snow,
and about 20 feet (*read that as 240" or 20' of snow) will fall each year.
About five years ago Nancy and I had to shovel/scoop/plow a ten-foot drift
out of the way so I could leave on Memorial Day for Key West. For those of
you that don't honor that day, I couldn't get the bike out 'til late May!!!
I hope you believe me -- we get lots of snow!!!!!!!!!
Sorry, all of you that say that nothing but a full tank will do -- it isn't
enough to do just that. Helpful, but you don't live up north. I've tried a
full tank at the end of the season. For those of you that say that a full
tank with a little bit of oil will do -- maybe, but I'd still ask you to
come help start the engine come spring. It doesn't work very well.
I've used Sta-Bil, I've used STP stabiliser, and so on. They work, and
little else will make it easy. You're welcome to tell me that you've had
oher luck, but you'll have a damned hard telling me you're right, I'm wrong.
I'll drain the Nutec, I'll put it in the '54 Oshkosh if necessary -- but I
still wonder about everyone else's results.
I keep the warehouse at about 50 degrees F and am happy to start the bikes
upon request, but I think I'd rather keep 'em dry and run only for an
audience until April. The local TV station will be here in a couple of days
to do a feature on my bike -- I'll send an address for it if I can. Even if
they don't let me give an URL I'l give 'em Glen's email address for a good
reference, and Kieth's if they want to hear from that side of the
fraternity.
You are all welcome you visit me next spring. You may all bring starter
ropes, recoil starters, rollers driver by your pickup --- I need help in
getting the fleet running next spring.
Glen: Do you really have a bazooka in the timng trailer?
Jon #436 1350 M/PS/G
Marquette, Michigan
(that's way up north)
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-land-speed@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-land-speed@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of ardunbill@webtv.net
Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2001 2:27 PM
To: land-speed@autox.team.net
Subject: Oldish Gas
Hi folks, a short while ago a List member asked what people do about gas
over the winter, etc., but there wasn't much response. I meant to put
my two cents worth in on that.
Everyone's experience is different, but personally I've never bothered
with any "Sta-Bil" product in motorcycle or any other gas tanks in the
45 years I've been at it. And never had any trouble with any kind of
varnish or crud clogging up anything. However, I have been living down
here in Coastal Virginia for 37 of those years now, where even in
January and February you'll get some days warm enough to get your bike
out, so it doesn't sit for six or eight months dis-used.
The "counsel of perfection" used to be to keep your motorcycle gas tank
full during periods of non-use, and that would prevent internal rusting.
I always did so, plus put in an ounce of oil with each fill-up for good
measure. But my faith has now been shaken, because just in the last
year or so the inside of my '88 Baby Ninja's tank has started to rust a
little over the whole surface despite the above practice. I don't know
why this is happening, but I suspect that the New Wave in anti-pollution
pump fuel formulation, with alcohol, MTBE, ether, whatever, in it, is
effecting this new corrosion I'm now seeing. For which, Big Brother,
many thanks!
Oh well, since this particular bike has been a tremendous sales success,
and is being offered again for the 2002 sales season, unchanged since
1988, I can buy all the new or good used replacement tanks I'll ever
need, if rust eventually ruins my original tank. The bike has just
turned 70K miles incidentally, and runs like new, still cruises
effortlessly at 70-75 where legal(actually, nowhere right around here,
but it IS allowed).
I do know that for many years I have kept my lawnmower gas for up to two
years in the can, and it still ran normally. A sealed can, so the
volatile part of the gas can't escape.
I do agree that it is best not to keep your race gas longer than one
season, sealed in a can(it better be, or it will evaporate by the gallon
out of a vented tank rather quickly, which could be a fire hazard). If
any's left over I run it in my motorcycle or lawnmower, both of which
run the same on it as they do on 87 pump fuel, except that they then
display the light grey lead deposit in the tailpipe.
Someone mentioned snowmobiles and snowblowers as disposal systems for
leftover race gas. Such devices are not known hereabouts. One reason I
live here in the Dismal Swamp! Cheers Ardun Bill
///
/// land-speed@autox.team.net mailing list
/// To unsubscribe send a plain text message to majordomo@autox.team.net
/// with nothing in it but
///
/// unsubscribe land-speed
///
/// or go to http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool
///
///
|