My Quandary

[Blockhead_imp]

I won't bore you all with the long story but the short story is that I had a complete tear of the rotator cuff a few weeks ago. The doctor scheduled me for surgery March 10 and says best case scenario is no bike for six months. I've heard nightmare stories about recovery time for this procedure and it's a depressing thought.

Anyway here's my question: being that my bike has been mostly in hibernation the last few months due to winter and now it's looking like another six months of not being ridden, should I do anything special to keep it up to snuff?

This time of year I've always kept it in a heated garage hooked to a battery tender and usually able to get it out once a month so I never felt the need to 'winterize' it.

Thanks in advance for suggestions....

 

[Rocky_imp]

Just MHO, but the bike seems to have been stored in the best possible conditions so I wouldn't worry much about it.
Make sure there is some stabilizer in the gas and you should be fine for six months.
Depending on how old the oil is (miles on it) you might want to change the oil if you're physically able to do it.

A bit of advice: I've had shoulder surgery. If you want the shoulder to be as good as it can be, work very hard on the physio and don't give up or slack off.

 

[rboe]

I'll double down on the PT afterwards. It will hurt. It will be work. But the pay off is well worth it and in about a year it will be like nothing happened.

Don't do the PT and life will be hard, you may no be able to ride again - in comfort, or pick up your bike if it falls.

This is a classic case where the bike will fair better if you don't treat yourself better than you treat your bike. I had my left shoulder repaired in college (second time around), collar bone repaired almost two years ago. 6 months after surgery I was able to complete the Extreme Course in Flagstaff, so good things happen if you do the PT. Just don't push it too hard. This is a common injury and fix so if your Dr. is good this will be a minor bump in the road for you. Good luck!

 

[the Ferret]

Motorcycles can sit for a very long time without adverse effects. being an inanimate object, for the most part they don't know if they were turned off yesterday or 25 years ago. It's the fluids and things that contain the fluids that suffer. My suggestion for laying it up for 6 months would be the same for a winter layup. Fill gas tank with gas, put in 1 oz per gallon of seafoam ( 4-5 oz on a CB) ride for 10 miles and then park. remove battery and take it inside and put on a battery tender. Put bike on centerstand, check air pressure in tires and set at factory specs and if you have a small jackstand get front wheel "just" off ground so both wheels are not resting on ground. Cover with a cotton sheet. Your bike will only require reinstallation of battery to be ready to go whenever you are.

 

[AndyHe_imp]

If you live in an area that puts ethanol in the fuel, search the web for a co-op near you that will sell ethanol-free fuel. Fill your tank with that and add some stabilizer and you'll be good to go. Hook it up to a battery tender and it should be fine.

 

[DGShannon_imp]

Just MHO, but the bike seems to have been stored in the best possible conditions so I wouldn't worry much about it.
Make sure there is some stabilizer in the gas and you should be fine for six months.
Depending on how old the oil is (miles on it) you might want to change the oil if you're physically able to do it.

A bit of advice: I've had shoulder surgery. If you want the shoulder to be as good as it can be, work very hard on the physio and don't give up or slack off.

I will second that. I experienced a 3rd degree separation (motorcycle crash), and then went through surgery to try and reattach as best as possible. Months upon months of my arm strapped to my chest, as it healed, and then months of rehab. One of my regrets was not doing the rehab as diligently as I should have, so the outcome of the surgery was not what it could have been.

 

[flynrider]

If you live in an area that puts ethanol in the fuel, search the web for a co-op near you that will sell ethanol-free fuel. Fill your tank with that and add some stabilizer and you'll be good to go. Hook it up to a battery tender and it should be fine.

+1. Fuel stabilizer works great on gasoline, but doesn't do anything about the alcohol, which will start degrading in a month or two. Check around and see who sells racing gasoline in your area. It is typically alcohol free and will work much better for long term storage.

 

[Obleo]

I would be careful with racing fuel on a bike with an 0,2 sensor, could do more harm than good. I favor sea-foam.

 

[Randy B]

It all depends on if it's lead free fuel or not. If it had lead in it then it will mess up the cat in a hurry as well.

 

[NightRider_imp]

Me too. I've been laid up for just over 5 months after heart surgery. Been doing rehab since day 2 and it paid off, I'm ready March to start riding, being strong enough now to handle the bike after 6 months. Do put non-ethanole reg gas in, I actually drained the gas the dealer had in her, filled her up with non-ethanol and a few ounces of sta-bil fuel stabilizer, then ran her for 10 minutes to circulate the good stuff through her and every few days I run her to keep things moving, engines hate to sit, so I never removed the battery and she has stayed charged and sounding new through all these 5 months. I know how tuff it is to sit and wait but now you have a grest incentive to gain your health back sitting in the garage, I used her for that and it helped. Art.

 

[flynrider]

I would be careful with racing fuel on a bike with an 0,2 sensor, could do more harm than good. I favor sea-foam.

It goes without saying that you'd want to stay away from any leaded fuel. A racing fuel which is both lead free and alcohol free would fit the bill for long term storage (with Sea Foam or Stabil added, of course). Something like Sunoco Optima or one of the VP Racing fuels would be what you're looking for.