I'm about to put my RVF in a big Vac Bag for the winter and use my GPZ through it.
I want to drain the carbs before I put it in the bag .Right. I've taken the side cover off, and I've read the manual.
Can you drain all the carbs without taking the tank off?

Cheers :-)

Yes is the short answer! In any case, removing the tank wouldn't help because the floats are under the carbs!
You'll need a long flat head screwdriver or 4mm (if I'm not mistaken) allen key to undo the drain screws.
I find that a long(ish) flexi screwdriver is best at reaching all 4 screws!
You can undo 2 from one side of the bike and the other 2 from the other side.
I recommend attaching a length of hose to each of the small outlets under the floats.

Or you could turn off the fuel tap and run the engine at idle til it runs out of fuel in the float bowls and stalls. Probably won't "empty" the bowls completely but it will be a good approximation of empty :-)

You would be surprised how long the engine will idle with the fuel turned off!

Ben.

Cheers guys. Got 'em!
You weren't kidding. Torch, long screwdriver and patience. When I looked last night, I was envisaging tank off and carb removal cos I couldn't see the drain screws properly.
I'd already done the run it till it stalls trick but just wanted the extra reassurance that they were empty.

Ben_OB1 wrote:Or you could turn off the fuel tap and run the engine at idle til it runs out of fuel in the float bowls and stalls. Probably won't "empty" the bowls completely but it will be a good approximation of empty :-)

You would be surprised how long the engine will idle with the fuel turned off!

Ben.

<=== this.

This is all I do every year.

I never bother going over the top for winter storage as its not really that long the bike is laid up for, especially on the nice occasional day I want to go for a ride, for anything less than 6 months I just stick some fuel stabiliser in the tank and fill it up and spray some anti corrosion like acf-50 etc over the bikes metal parts if its staying outside.

I plan to start mine up every 3/4 weeks or so that will be more than fine with modern fuel.

Sunnyday wrote:I plan to start mine up every 3/4 weeks or so that will be more than fine with modern fuel.

If your doing that and its an RVF make sure you keep the idle high or disconnect the headlights to save excessive drain on the battery

Also its good practice to let it idle until the fan kicks on and then cuts out then kicks back in agin.

this will ensure that the oil is hot enough to bur off any condensation that builds up in it.

That's it in my Vac Bag for the winter. Tyres pumped up a little harder. Fuel emptied. Carbs drained. Battery out. and checked most days.
Around here - middle of nowhere Aberdeenshire - the roads are either always damp/ wet or muddy or both!

Temptation to take it out is tempered by the fact I've got a GPZ 500 I run through the winter as a commuter / hack.