Motorcycle care and storage7-47EAU26244StorageShort-termAlways store your motorcycle in a cool,dry place and, if necessary, protect itagainst dust with a porous cover. Besure the engine and the exhaust sys-tem are cool before covering the mo-torcycle.NOTICEECA10811 Storing the motorcycle in apoorly ventilated room or cover-ing it with a tarp, while it is stillwet, will allow water and humid-ity to seep in and cause rust. To prevent corrosion, avoiddamp cellars, stables (becauseof the presence of ammonia)and areas where strong chemi-cals are stored.Long-termBefore storing your motorcycle for sev-eral months:1. Follow all the instructions in the“Care” section of this chapter.2. Fill up the fuel tank and add fuelstabilizer (if available) to preventthe fuel tank from rusting and thefuel from deteriorating.3. Perform the following steps toprotect the cylinders, piston rings,etc. from corrosion.a. Remove the spark plug capsand spark plugs.b. Pour a teaspoonful of engineoil into each spark plug bore.c. Install the spark plug caps ontothe spark plugs, and thenplace the spark plugs on thecylinder head so that the elec-trodes are grounded. (This willlimit sparking during the nextstep.)d. Turn the engine over severaltimes with the starter. (This willcoat the cylinder walls with oil.)WARNING! To prevent dam-age or injury from sparking,make sure to ground thespark plug electrodes whileturning the engine over.[EWA10952]e. Remove the spark plug capsfrom the spark plugs, and theninstall the spark plugs and thespark plug caps.4. Lubricate all control cables andthe pivoting points of all levers andpedals as well as of the side-stand/centerstand.5. Check and, if necessary, correctthe tire air pressure, and then liftthe motorcycle so that both of itswheels are off the ground. Alterna-tively, turn the wheels a little everymonth in order to prevent the tiresfrom becoming degraded in onespot.6. Cover the muffler outlets withplastic bags to prevent moisturefrom entering them.7. Remove the battery and fullycharge it. Store it in a cool, dryplace and charge it once a month.Do not store the battery in an ex-cessively cold or warm place [lessthan 0 °C (30 °F) or more than 30°C (90 °F)]. For more informationon storing the battery, see page6-32.