stabil or drain

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I've had the best luck with Stabil and MMO added to the gas and just leaving it in the engine. Add the MMO and stabil at the pump, fill it up. I would double the suggested MMO dose, then take it for about a 30 minute ride. After the ride change the oil and park it.


Now if you plan on storing it for up to a year or more then I would consider draining everything. Any carb I've ever drained ended up giving me problems with the float sticking more times than not. So if I planned on storing something over the winter time I treated it as I mentioned. No problems! There are other ways people store their gas engines over the winter, I suggested what worked best for ME.
 
Leave the fuel in topped off with a stabiliser - you dont want moisture to oxidize the aluminum parts in the carb and have the gaskets dry out. +1 to add a bit of light top oil to the fuel too, maybe tcw3. I always had more problems when completely drained across a season and NO problems leaving the fuel in.
 
I've taken to running and filling everything at the end of the season with mixed two-cycle oil, dosed with Stabil.

I had the same issues. If I drained, then my float valve would stick, and once you are headed down that road, it took a carb rebuild to resolve that.

So when I think I'm close to my last month of the season, I dose the fuel with Stabil and run the two-cycle mix, even in my four-cycle gear.

That appears to be the winning combination as I'm finishing up my 10th season now with my $200 Wal*Mart lawn mower.
 
I've let carbs sit 6 months with Stabil and the gas was stale already and the carbs had to be disassembled and cleaned. That was 20 yrs ago. Never again. I have 8 motorcycles and only use 2 of them, the other 6 sit anywhere from 1 yr to 10 yrs between rides. I drain the gas, put them under cover and forget them until I feel like riding them again and then I add gas and all is well. Never once had a problem.
 
Originally Posted By: RonH
I've let carbs sit 6 months with Stabil and the gas was stale already and the carbs had to be disassembled and cleaned. That was 20 yrs ago. Never again. I have 8 motorcycles and only use 2 of them, the other 6 sit anywhere from 1 yr to 10 yrs between rides. I drain the gas, put them under cover and forget them until I feel like riding them again and then I add gas and all is well. Never once had a problem.


Have to agree with you. I also have eight bikes. I have four in active service (licensed & insured for the street). Two are vintage two stroke Yamaha RDs and two other are four strokes a KLR650 and a Valkyrie. Long term storage bikes get everything drained. Winter storage machines get the carbs drained, fuel tanks filled and two ounces of SeaFoam added.

Being a very active restorer of old bikes, I have reconditioned too many carburetors to remember. Just this week, I completely disassembled, cleaned a re-assembled four carbs off of two 35 year old Yamahas that I recently purchased. The bikes had sat unused and unattended in a barn for many years. What I've found in the carbs over the years is usually fuel residue varnish build up on the pilot, main and needle jets and a bit on the bottom of the float bowls. I've never seen aluminum oxidize on the inside of a carburetor. Never. You will have less trouble by draining the carb than leaving it full of fuel. Stabilizer or not.

As far as stabilizers go, Stabil is probably one of the worst products being sold for that purpose. A few year ago, I left a partial bottle of Stabil sitting on a shelf in my garage. Several months later I went to use it only to see that it had turned to a brownish jelly. I've been using SeaFoam ever since.
 
Originally Posted By: javacontour
I've taken to running and filling everything at the end of the season with mixed two-cycle oil, dosed with Stabil.

I had the same issues. If I drained, then my float valve would stick, and once you are headed down that road, it took a carb rebuild to resolve that.

So when I think I'm close to my last month of the season, I dose the fuel with Stabil and run the two-cycle mix, even in my four-cycle gear.

That appears to be the winning combination as I'm finishing up my 10th season now with my $200 Wal*Mart lawn mower.


Would you float valve stick open or closed?
 
If you use a double dose of marine stabil (blue) you can let fuel sit for 12-18 months with no problem. I have stored boats for 2-3 years with marine stabil (3x dose).
 
I have used Stabil for shorter terms like 3-4 months with not a single issue. First thing I do when i start riding is run some seafoam through the fresh gas.

I will say one thing. In my old car that had a six pack I had to rebuild all three 2 barrels every year. I added stabil and the carbs stayed A OK for a period of two years. But thats in a car.
 
i had the pilot jet on my bike clog closed.

when i drained it of Howell 002 race fuel.

W T H !!!

yep that one threw me for a loop.

i really really like a product called Pri-G
i had some in some gas in my poulan chainsaw. had not started it in 3 years. fired on the first pull. say what you want about the saw, but the fuel HAD to be semi-good to do that!
 
I would top the tank off with fresh gas and seafoam. Some of the old Yamaha tanks like to rust out if left empty in high humidity conditions for too long. Drain the carbs if you are worried about them - but if it is only seasonal storage I would not worry too much, just run a fresh tank of gas/seafoam in the spring.
 
Marine Stabil is more concentrated, and will keep fuel fresh much longer. I use it every winter, and the Triumph fires right up come warmer weather.
 
I have just always filled the bike with gas, put in the recommended dosage of stabil, rode it 5-10 minutes, put the bike away. Never had problems
 
I run my Honda genny dry after adding gas with Stabil in it. I drain the carb bowl also. The machine sits 6-8 months before I run it with a load. No probs.
 
Some Stabil, Seafoam and MMO, full tank of fuel, cover her up and wait till spring. Works every time..
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This time of year I fill a couple of 5 gallon cans with gas, add 1 oz. of TCW3 (2-stroke oil), and then add a couple of ounces of Stabil. I keep my motorcycle tank topped up with this mixture and keep driving until the snow flies, then I'm ready for storage after just changing the oil and filter. This mixture means my cycle is always ready for storage, even if the weather changes suddenly. And, I can start it right up in the middle of the winter on a warm day if I should decide to.
 
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