In Need of some helpful advice

[MandyJo98]

Hey there guys, my name's Mandy and I'm an owner of an 05 FZ6. I bought it off a friend of mine about a year ago. However, long story short, I'm a college student juggling school and 2 jobs on the side so yeah, my bike didnt get too much of my attention. BUT on a good note, I took my motorcycle learners course and just got my DL a couple weeks ago. And now with Spring Break here, I'm ditching everything and putting all my attention on my bike. I just d/led my manual *hoping its the right one* and plan on working on it.

So here's where I need your advice/help:
"Silver Bullet's" been sitting under my carport for the past year, only being riden a couple time. And I live in Texas so we didnt have much of a cold winter. I turned her on and found out her battery was dead so i quickly went to wal mart and juiced her up over night so she's ready to roll. BUT Im going to change her oil and filters but am wondering if theres any advice you can lend me on a bike thats been sitting for awhile. Thanks again, appreciate all your help!

Mandy Jo

 

[RJ2112]

Replace all the fuel in the tank, and add some injector cleaner to the fresh fuel.

Check the tire pressures. Adjust the chain. Replace the brake fluid in both the front and rear brake systems.

Good luck!

 

[Ryan T]

Hi,

Since it's been sitting for awhile, the fuel is pretty suspect. A few options here, add fuel to current amount and run/ride it (not the best option but the easiest), add fuel stablizer, fuel, and then ride it, or purge the old gas and add new gas. Fuel injector cleaner wouldn't hurt. Here are a few other items I'd check/change

check air pressure in tires
check the tires for flat spots, dry rot, etc
check air filter
clean and lube the chain
check chain slack and adjust if necessary
check/lube cables if necessary (probably not a big concern here)
check all coolant level
Change the oil and filter (you've already mentioned that)
Ensure all lights work correctly
Check/clean/lube kick stand
Brake fluid replaced

Knowing all of these are done and your bike is in gret condition makes for a much more enjoyable ride.

Have a wonderful time.

 

[MandyJo98]

Ok here may come a dumb question.. By replacing all fuel in tank should I just let it run out or is there some kind of plug? My best bet is there is no plug.. but still asking

 

[Ryan T]

After mine sits up for a while I'll add a higher octane fuel to what's in the tank and some fuel stablizer if I have it and then ride it tell it's close to empty and then I fill it up again and it's good to go.

I'm sure others may do something different but this works for me.

Also, invest in a battery tender, you can add it to the bike and then it's easy to charge it whenever you want without pulling the battery/lifting the tank.

Cheers

 

[Ryan T]

Ok here may come a dumb question.. By replacing all fuel in tank should I just let it run out or is there some kind of plug? My best bet is there is no plug.. but still asking

How full is it with the old fuel?

 

[RJ2112]

No plug.

The easiest way to remove all the fuel from the tank is to take the tank off the bike and tip it out. You can get pretty close to that without tank removal, if you have ever siphoned fuel from a tank before.

If the bike runs okay, it's more of a recommendation than an absolute. Probably unnecessary, if the bike was stored with fuel stabilizer added.

When a bike sits for many months, the constant exchange of cool and warm air inside the gas tank volume will eventually concentrate any moisture in the air into actual water droplets in your fuel tank. The moisture goes in, but cannot get back out. Water doesn't burn, but it will rust metal. Fuel injector cleaner will help dissolve the build up of munge from the breakdown of the gasoline in the tank, too.

 

[mstewar1]

Like rj said, you may as well just pull the tank off and flip it upside down.

While you're at it, as Ryan suggested, take a look inside the air box. It may just be urban myth, but I've heard critters can get up in there. And since you'll have the tank off, it'll be easy to get to...

 

[st_croix_wis]

I've got a 2005 FZ6 and the battery was weak when I tried to start it last Sunday. That's the first time I've had any problem with it after a winter. If you just charged up the old, I would suggest a new one; that's what I'm doing. Five years is pretty old for a motorcycle battery.
Also, be careful! The bike gets very very fast after 6000 rpm.
Have fun!

 

[Shamus McFeeley]

The problem with fuel these days is most of it contains ethanol. It gets added to gasoline at most gas stations to somewhere around 10% usually. The problem is that ethanol is hygroscopic, which means it attracts water. Ethanol can be especially troublesome with a carburetor engine. On a fuel injected engine like the FZ, all you should need to do is add a fuel injector cleaner like RJ2112 suggested.

However, not all cleaners are the same. There are many to choose from and they all run the gamut of gimmicky claims. What you want is something like Seafoam, B12 Chemtool or Techron. The product that will really help get rid of water however is something called Heet. This product is made specifically to remove water from fuel.