Only a week and a half to go then the Tiger will be in storage and the wife and I will be off to live in Thailand :shock: . We'll be back next summer for the usual conquering of Europe but, in the mean time, I will only have this forum and a picture on my phone to keep me going.
We got jobs while exploring the region on a TDM, last year. The TDM is still there, waiting for us, so I'll still have a bike, thank god. I'll still miss the Tiger, though.
Any storage suggestions for the Tiger? She'll be covered, in a garage, but do I get an optimate for the battery? Do I need to do anything else? At least I don't have to worry about the tank rusting.
Drop it off at my place. I shall see to it that she gets plenty of exercise :twisted: .
Connect it up to an optimate or take the battery off and do the same,spray it up in WD,leave a small amount of fuel in,it goes rotten believe it or not,better still get someone who you trust to fire it up from time to to time.
Quote from: "Chris Canning"Connect it up to an optimate or take the battery off and do the same,spray it up in WD,leave a small amount of fuel in,it goes rotten believe it or not.
Agree with this
Quote from: "Chris Canning"better still get someone who you trust to fire it up from time to to time.
But not this. The worst thing you can do is to run it without getting it thoroughly warmed through - at least 10 miles. You'll end up with condensation in the bores.
BTW it's usually advised to change the oil before you lay it up as the old oil will have acid etc from the combustion process in it.
People used to suggest taking the weight off the tyres but if you put it on the centre stand it should be OK. My Commando used to stand for 6 months or so every winter and it never damaged the tyres. Mind you TT100s are very stiff........
Fanx for dat. Tyres are conveniently shagged, anyway, so we will start on a fresh pair next summer. Oil was changed about 2000 miles ago (so I'll leave it in for storage) and I intended to change it again before riding next summer. Service intervals are normally xxmiles OR 6 months, anyway, and it will be best to go on holiday with the full 6,000 ahead of me.
I thought optimates got a bad press off some people, but I'll get one and give it a go.
Non of my Tigers have ever done a winter,thank heavens with the crap finish!!,but fire it up on the dot once a month have done the same for the last 6 years never done mine any harm,or my BM for that matter,as for warming it up till the crankcases are warm,pretty obvious i would have thought!!,the thing that does e'm no good is unleaded fuel,injectors handel it better than carbs but still a pain.
Here in the cold midwest USA, I prefer to store the bike with a full tank of preserved gas (Stabil or similar). This keeps water from condensing in the tank and causing water issues later. The less air space in the tank, the better. I also use a Battery Tender I have attached a Triumph style plug to - connect directly to the stock jack. Park it on the center stand, plug the exhaust to keep the mice out, and remove the seats so the squirrels don't eat them.
It sounds like more work than it really is.
Bruincounselor
Back to work on Monday
I ride mine year long in the winter here in washgington DC. Although my commute to downtown for work is only 15 minutes, by the time I get there I am just about getting cold. Last year I got caught in snow going home, but it just made the roads wet, still a very nervous situation.
Before the Tiger I had a Buell, it was happily stored in a Garage for the full winter, the Tiger just looks at me in desperation when its 20 degrees out "please ride me" :D
So you do not think the TIgers crap finish can take the road salt? Same concerns here, I keep a coat of turtle wax on all the bike painted parts very regular~
Firstly everyone has their own personnel idea of keeping their bike clean,a person on here once said he was fussy!! and i guess i am as well,but i've had all the bolts that hold the discs(rotors) go rusty and thats without any salt being involved!!!,some people may not have noticed prize the plastic cover of the bolts!!!.