Winter Storage?

T

Team BLUE! ETA 11/28/09

New member
Hi Everyone,

Can someone give me a run down on winterizing my '99 Suzuki Intruder VL1500LC? I know the basics like fuel stabilizer, fill the tank, etc. 1st., I have looked at the service manual as well as the owners manual and I cannot find the fuel shut off(petcock perhaps?) so I can drain the bowls, does one even exist? If I run the bike with fuel stabilizer in the fuel for a bit is it alright to leave the fuel in the carbs?
Is it necessary to "level" the bike on stands or the like or could it be left on the side stand? What about oil change/level over the winter? Some say to fill the oil right to the top of the filler?

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

Chuck
 
Search is your friend. This has been covered MANY times from MANY different angles; have a look and then come back for clarifications if needed.

SUMMARY: IMHO, it depends more on how paranoid you are than what is really necessary. For "normal" winter storage of 3-4 months, fill the tank, add Stabil, run it a bit and connect a battery tender (or trickle charge about once a month). Change the oil if it is about due. Cover with a sheet and let her sleep.

If you do the search, you will find a LOT more that you can do but I think most agree that all that extra crap is not "necessary" for short term storage.
 
Thats about it there, if only storing for few months just run stabil through the tank, make sure tank is full, battery tender, tire pressures good, make sure bike is clean, and then tuck her away into bed out of the way and cover her up and let her sleep
 
Hi Everyone,

Well, I finally got out in the garage to "winterize" my bike. I stopped into a local bike shop to pick up some stabilizer. The service manager was walking by so I stopped him and asked him where the fuel shut off was, he replied that it was somewhere around the tank, hmmmmm. When I got home I looked at the factory service manual and could not find one listed of any kind so I began taking things apart, still couldn't find one.
Is there one? If there isn't how do you Boulevard/Intruder owners stop the fuel to the carbs?
Now, I thought for a minute, hey, this bike has a fuel pump, what if I disconnected the power to it and prevented the fuel from being pumped to the carbs? I did this and ran the bike until it quit(bowls empty?).
Does anyone know if this is acceptable to do?

Thanks,
Chuck
 
If I remember correctly the fuel shut off is under the seat and on top of the tank. I'm not sure if you have to "shut" the fuel off or not. I'm not sure but since your tank is below or at the same level as the carbs you should not have any gravity feed of fuel to the carbs.

Here is what I found in the service book.
 
Hey guys, I just bought a bike 4 days before snow covered my lawn...
basically i couldnt wait i bought my boulevard m50 2007 for 4,995$ but now I need help it is brand new and it is sleeping in my shed right now...
I didnt remove the battery yet ( because I do not know how)
and I didnt check if the dealer put anti-freeze in my intercooler... anyways im about to check right now but the problem is that I lost my owners manual and I need to know how to take off the battery and how to fill the intercooler I need to know the right procedure because its -20* degrees out...
I know im stupid but I need help fast
thanks in advance
 
Well, don't be stupid a second time. The quickest way to get your answers is to ask the dealer where you bought the bike......and order another manual.

P.S. Unless you have a REALLY unique M50, you don't have an "intercooler" as those only come with superchargers !!! :shock:

It probably is a radiator. :mrgreen:
 
I would not recommend draining the float bowls
before storage. They will never be completely
drained, and the small amount of fuel remaining in them
will evaporate quickly and leave a goopy (please pardon
my technical terminology :D ) film that
will clog small openings in your carbs. Just, as Easyrider said,
add stabilizer, run the motor for a few minutes so the stabilizer
is circulated thru the entire fuel system and you'll be good.
Also do as has been said with the trickle charger.


I've read this same question a couple other times lately.
At the top of the page is a "search" choice that works great
in tracking down answers to a lot of questions you might have.
I suggest doing some reading there. There are quite a few
members with the same bike as you, and a lot of good info for you.
 
Thanks,
Yeah I meant radiator ahah. I spoke with the dealer and they told me they put -20 liquid in the radiator and now my battery is in the house and put in 50 ml of fuel stab. Now my question is should I put in -40 liquid in my radiator? I live in quebec canada it gets quite cold here... By the way thanks for support
 
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