short term storage question

[Nightpoison]

Ok, so I'm new to motorcycles. I just purchased my first one a couple weeks ago, and I'm taking it home this Friday. i tried to keep it at the dealer as long as I could for winter, but needs to come home on Friday. So here is the question. What steps should I take for short term storage. I'm hoping the weather will start warming up a bit, for riding in early March. Till then any suggestions on what I should do?

doing searches and some research has pointed me in the direction of the following steps.

1) flush the carbs, most common thing I found was run the engine till it dies with the fuel turned off.
2) gas tank full, with some stabilizing thrown in
3) Battery tender, however I'm going to remove the battery as its going to be stored in a shed with no heating for the next month or so
4) Picked up a Rhino cover http://www.autoanything.com/car-covers/69A4263A0A0.aspx to keep any critters off of it and throw in some silica packs for moisture. I also have a wheel chock and lock to keep it upright, not much room to store it in the shed.
5) inflate tires to max psi to keep them round.

if its only going to be in there for a month or month and a half am i going to far with any of these, am i missing anything, what say you?

edit, sorry you probably would like to know the bike 1974 Honda CB750f

[timmyho414]

sound like you've got everything cover.

maybe block the exhaust, and intake if possible, to keep critters out.

any pic of the CB?

[butcher bergs]

Use lightly balled up tinfoil for the exhaust and intake. Moth balls also help, so I've heard.

[jasnmar]

Swap 1 and 2.

Flushing the carbs is good, but it won't get it all. You want whatever's left in there to be at least treated (I'm just saying to treat the fuel. Run it for a bit, then shut off the fuel so that the fuel in the carbs has whatever additive you decide to go with).

[Kurlon]

Drain the carbs, there are drain screws on the bottoms of the bowls. Running till it dies won't get them completely empty.

On the battery, it's the cold that gets to them so if it's in an unheated area keep it on a tender. Otherwise, if you're taking it out, sneak it into the house. Also, don't store it on concrete, put wood between it and the concrete if you're setting it on the floor.

[Nightpoison]

sound like you've got everything cover.

maybe block the exhaust, and intake if possible, to keep critters out.

any pic of the CB?

sound like you've got everything cover.

maybe block the exhaust, and intake if possible, to keep critters out.

any pic of the CB?

[Nightpoison]

That makes sense, thanks.

Swap 1 and 2.

Flushing the carbs is good, but it won't get it all. You want whatever's left in there to be at least treated (I'm just saying to treat the fuel. Run it for a bit, then shut off the fuel so that the fuel in the carbs has whatever additive you decide to go with).

[OreoGaborio]

3) battery as its going to be stored in a shed with no heating for the next month or so
5) inflate tires to max psi to keep them round.

Bring the battery inside and don't worry about the tires unless they're bias ply.

[GearHd6]

Drain the carbs, there are drain screws on the bottoms of the bowls. Running till it dies won't get them completely empty.

Yep, what he said. You should be able to access two drains from each side of the bike. Shut off the gas, then open the brass colored drains until all the fuel stops running out, then close the drains back up. That is the best way to store carbs. Running them dry is almost worse than just leaving the bowls full. That small amount of fuel left in the bowls will go bad before a full bowl will.

[stoinkythepig]

Yep, what he said. You should be able to access two drains from each side of the bike. Shut off the gas, then open the brass colored drains until all the fuel stops running out, then close the drains back up. That is the best way to store carbs. Running them dry is almost worse than just leaving the bowls full. That small amount of fuel left in the bowls will go bad before a full bowl will.

I've been running my motorcycle carbs dry for 12 Winters and over 100,000 miles without any issues at all. I don't think the bowls have ever been off the carbs. I do the same to my chain saws, string trimmer, leaf blower, lawn mower, roto tiller, pressure washer, and snow blower as well. None of them have had any carburetor issues since I started doing that.

[GearHd6]

I guess you've got to do what works for you. I have seen some nasty carbs that people have stored that way. If there is a bowl drain screw then I'm going that route.

[Kurlon]

12 winters ago gas was different...

In the past 5 years I've had to clean or help clean lots and lots and lots and lots of carbs stored either with a little gas, gas and stabil that failed, full gas but no stabil, etc. Modern pump gas is crap and shouldn't be left to sit. Your experience may vary, knowing how fussy CB750 carbs are my advice will still be to drain them fully if they're going to sit for any length of time.

[Billy]

Another thing worth mentioning, make sure there is actual antifreeze in the bike and not JUST water. If it's JUST water, you wont have a bike to ride in the spring time.......

[keeena]

1-2 months isn't that long in storage and you'd probably get away w/ not doing anything other than maybe trickle charging the battery.

Generally for winter storage: I agree w/ draining the carbs if you can. If its too much of a pain, I personally just run them 'dry'. I would put the battery on a tender whether or not the battery is in the bike. And definitely do what you can to keep rodents out of the bike if outdoors/shed. Lubing the standard stuff (chain, cables, etc...) wouldn't hurt.

Gotta correct the myths 'cause I hate hearing them:
- Storing a battery on concrete is fine; it's not gonna blow up, discharge faster, etc
- Batteries (disconnected, in storage) actually lose their charge more slowly in cold weather. Effect is somewhat minor.

Congrats on the new bike!

[Degsy]

The whole "battery on concrete floor will drain/damage it" thing is a myth. I used to believe this one but i have read in far too many trusted sources that its just a myth.
Maybe back in the day of thin-walled batteries it might have been an issue, but not nowadays.

[RandyO]

Kerosene soaked rag the intake snorkel and exhaust is simplest and best rodent control for airbox and exhaust,

[gamorg02]

I've had good luck treating the gas, then keeping the carb bowls full. I also make a commitment to keep them full as the bikes i've had allow that to be easy with fuel pumps or gravity fed, by turning the key once a week-ish/few days or turning the petcock on. If i didn't have access I'd run them dry/drain them.

[carsick]

Another thing worth mentioning, make sure there is actual antifreeze in the bike and not JUST water. If it's JUST water, you wont have a bike to ride in the spring time.......

Good general advice, however the OP has an air cooled bike.

[whynot]

Nice bike, all good measures.

On the cover, I'd be sure to use a breathable cover, not a waterproof outdoor cover which will trap moisture and promote rust. An old sheet or spread will do, IME.

On the carbs, I go further, after draining the bowls, I remove the idle mixture screws (after running them in gently and counting the number of turns) and blow some brake cleaner through the passages til it drains out the float drains. Then maybe some compressed air, low PSI, gently, into the mixture screw holes. When you''re sure all is dry, re-install the mixture screws (usually there's a small spring in there, too) to the same position they were in, which you know since you counted the number of turns it took to seat them (gently). Those idle passages are tiny, and evaporating fuel can leave residues that block them. My '65 CB77 (sold!) was very sensitive to this, and prompted me to buy an ultrasonic bath from HF. I do this on my Brit bikes, too. Or you could skip this step for now, and if it won't idle when you go to re-start, then you could blow out these passages.

That's what works for me. Others' experience may differ.

Also, when I get a new-to-me bike, I look for a model-specific owners forum. Search the Web for "CB750 forum" and see what comes up. Sometimes these forums have links to Honda factory service manuals and parts books.

[stoinkythepig]

Even if I'm only parking the bike overnight, I fill the idle mixture passages with molten aluminum in the evening and re-machine the passages in the morning. I also fill the tank with pure Soviet-Bloc-Eastern-European carb cleaner and run it through the bike on every other tankful. So far, it's working pretty well as I'm only on my 7th set of carburetors in 5 years.