What did you do to your FJR today?

[FJRoss]

Debating whether to ride it a block to top off the tank for a long winter's nap. I live in hope for a few more days of 5°C (41°F) or higher before they get out the road salt. Once that happens, I'm done for the season unless we get a heavy rain to wash it away.
Rain today with a bit of snow later, quite cold the next two and rain (possibly mixed with some more snow) for a couple days after that. The snow won't accumulate but early in the season they tend to salt without much need. Next week, temperatures might go as high as 10°C (50°F) and I may have another opportunity to get out for a ride if they hold off on salting. End-of-season is definitely in sight.

[raYzerman]

The only real reason to fill it right up is so there is less fluctuation/breathing of air..... if it's parked in a dry place and the temperature doesn't flucutate, it doesn't need to be chock full..... dump in some isopropanol (a component of Seafoam) into your fave stabilizer and that will take care of a lot of water should there be any..... or just use a good dose of Seafoam..

[FJRoss]

The only real reason to fill it right up is so there is less fluctuation/breathing of air..... if it's parked in a dry place and the temperature doesn't flucutate, it doesn't need to be chock full..... dump in some isopropanol (a component of Seafoam) into your fave stabilizer and that will take care of a lot of water should there be any..... or just use a good dose of Seafoam..

That's why I fill completely. Bike is in an unheated garage and temperature fluctuates quite a bit as our winters are quite variable. Garage is humid as well since the car is parked there. "Breathing" due to expansion and contraction of the air above the fuel does bring in moisture-laden air. (While fuel expands and contracts with temperature changes, it is far less than the air.)

I generally use Stabil (or a generic) for winter storage although I don't think it is as critical as it used to be. Water has essentially no solubility (0.01% or so) in ethanol-free gas so any that condenses in the tank collects at the bottom where it can cause rust. Solubility of water is 50 times higher (~0.5%, depending on temperature) in dry E10, so absorbed water will dissolve in the fuel and not cause separation until the saturation point is reached. Something on the order of 125 mL (over 4 ounces) of water is required to saturate a tankful of dry E10 at room temperature - less when cold. (Isopropanol has the same effect as ethanol or methanol but possibly effective at lower concentrations - haven't seen good comparative data. On the other hand, you would never add it at the 10% concentration that ethanol is in your gas.)

In any case, I like to fill it pretty close to the top, but not to the absolute brim as I don't want an overflow due to expansion if we get a warm day. I add stabilizer because it makes me happy - not because I think it really has any critical effect.

I'm still hoping to get in a few more riding days but saddle time is drawing to an end for the season. Might be a couple of days next week if we don't get some snow (and road salt) before then.

I don't cover the bikes and just give the batteries a quick top-up for a couple of hours a couple of times between December and March with a 1 amp battery maintainer - neither bike has sufficient parasitic draw to require a tender running full time. Always ready to go if we get an unseasonable break in the weather (after sufficient rain to dilute the road salt).

I hate this time of year!

[fontanaman]

Updated my insurance policy to cover only theft. Riding season in the Spokane area is over.

[Toter]

Updated my insurance policy to cover only theft. Riding season in the Spokane area is over.

Make sure it covers fire as well. Buddy in Minn. reduced his insurance over winter, had a fire in his garage, bike was a total loss. Not covered under homeowners.

[raYzerman]

A few years ago I went down a rabbit hole to look into fuel, ethanol and stabilizers and a bunch of MSDS sheets... most stabilizers have naptha (which has many descriptions) as a main ingredient. Some have isopropanol. Ethanol isn't the same as isopropanol or methyl hydrate (used to treat water in fuel). AFAI can tell, when water content reaches 4.5%, ethanol has reached saturation and any further water just stays separate and sinks to the bottom. An FI bike may not start as water is the first thing pumped into the injectors. So, in a 6 gallon tank, @10% that's 0.6 gal. of ethanol, and 4.5% saturation is the amount of water it can take, so max 4.5% of 0.6 gal... Isopropanol or methyl hydrate can take care of many times that, and I'd venture to say you won't get enough water from normal storage and breathing to come anywhere close to saturating it. What would be the consequences of filling a tank with 100% isopropanol.... certainly wouldn't be any water problem IMHO. Even if it attracts some small amount of water from fuel breathing in storage, it will all be taken care of.
Certainly in all cases, filling the tank with fuel is still a good idea as air expands and contracts way more than any liquid.... less air, less chance of sucking in moisture. Now what if you were to plug the vent line? Not much consequence there either (there's always a bit of air in the tank as it's impossible to fill it to the brim due to the filler neck depth).

[Reserector]

Devil's advocate:
My only concern then, Ray, would be the possibility of damaging o-rings or other rubber or plastic parts with the isopropanol in such a pure form. Could it cause swelling? Shrinkage? Chemical breakdown of the materials?
I remember having to change fuel lines on pre-ethanol motorcycles and even on my boat restoration project due to compatibility issues with ethanol. That's why I raise the point.

[raYzerman]

I was only pointing out 100% alcohol will take care of any possible water..... not advocating actually filling the tank with it, not practical, just add some to the fuel.... however, I use a lot of isopropanol aound here for cleaning all kinds of things including rubber. It doesn't seem to affect rubber at all and is mild enough to clean up oil spills, brake fluid and other things on paint, eg. Used a lot of it in the automotive industry.

[FJRoss]

A few years ago I went down a rabbit hole to look into fuel, ethanol and stabilizers and a bunch of MSDS sheets... most stabilizers have naptha (which has many descriptions) as a main ingredient. Some have isopropanol. Ethanol isn't the same as isopropanol or methyl hydrate (used to treat water in fuel). AFAI can tell, when water content reaches 4.5%, ethanol has reached saturation and any further water just stays separate and sinks to the bottom. An FI bike may not start as water is the first thing pumped into the injectors. So, in a 6 gallon tank, @10% that's 0.6 gal. of ethanol, and 4.5% saturation is the amount of water it can take, so max 4.5% of 0.6 gal... Isopropanol or methyl hydrate can take care of many times that, and I'd venture to say you won't get enough water from normal storage and breathing to come anywhere close to saturating it. What would be the consequences of filling a tank with 100% isopropanol.... certainly wouldn't be any water problem IMHO. Even if it attracts some small amount of water from fuel breathing in storage, it will all be taken care of.
Certainly in all cases, filling the tank with fuel is still a good idea as air expands and contracts way more than any liquid.... less air, less chance of sucking in moisture. Now what if you were to plug the vent line? Not much consequence there either (there's always a bit of air in the tank as it's impossible to fill it to the brim due to the filler neck depth).

4.5% of 0.6 gallons is 0.027 gallons or 3.4 ounces of water. Exact amount will depend upon gasoline formulation - I have seen data that suggests a bit higher solubility. Isopropanol may be much more effective than ethanol as a co-solvent but you wouldn't add it at 10%. Note that most "drugstore" isopropyl alcohol may contain up to 10% water already.

I'm just saying that the ethanol already present in your gasoline can accommodate a modest amount of water without separating whereas "pure" gasoline has almost no tolerance for dissolving water. Seafoam contains some isopropyl alcohol, but the MSDS says < 25% IPA and also says < 95% hydrocarbon blend (probably naphtha).

Fuel stabilizers (i.e. Stabil) do not act as co-solvents to disperse water but more to prevent chemical degradation and formation of gum/varnish. Not the problem that it used to be with modern fuels and their standard additives but I still use it.

[Reserector]

For long term winter storage, I go with filling the tank as much as practicable with non-ethanol of any grade. If there is none available at filling stations, try the local airport. Your FJR might fly with some 100 low lead.

[Spininprop]

I removed the left side case just to be safe while the new HVAC system was brought inside to install. I know, not much at all. It's still dirty from SFO.