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I've had my TL1000 stored in the shed since November last year and haven't got around to starting it since then. Will the petrol have gone off by now? I bought some fuel stabiliser at the weekend but I think I should have put it in when I stored it

The guy in the dealer reckoned I might have a job to start it. I don't think there's an awful lot of fuel in the tank so I've bought a gallon of fresh petrol to top it up with. When I do add the stabiliser, how long should the petrol stay ok? I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the TL at the moment but it will probably be tucked up in the shed until next year.

Thanks,
Paul

You should get away with it.
Not sure if the TL has carbs but if it has try and drain the fuel out of them before topping up the fuel tank with fresh fuel.
If it is injected or the above is not possible then just top up and see what happens.
Might be worth cleaning plugs and air filter before hand just in case.

For future instances it is always worth running the engine until the engine stops i.e. with fuel tap off run bike until it stops. This way all the fuel in the pipes/carbs has gone.
Also best to drain out the fuel in the fuel tank or alternatively keep it fully topped up. This should stop the insides from rusting and keep away condensation.
You also might consider putting a little squirt of oil in the pistons (remove spark plugs) and then crank over by hand. This oil lubricates the cylinder and the little oil will just get burnt off when bike is next started up.

I have always left my bikes unatended over the winter. Usually from the middle of October to May-ish and although they might take a few extra spins of the starter (I mean actual attepts at starting not just turns of the motor) they've always fired up and run fine on the fuel that's in the tank. I did try and run the bike with the fuel tap off so that the carbs were dry though. (couldn't be bothered with draining and sometimes didn't bother with running it dry either). I know that it does deteriorate but to what level I don't know. This has always been with carb fed bikes unlike your TL. I don't know about injection. I'll find out this winter

The TL is fuel injected so no float bowls to drain. I don't think its got a fuel tap as such either. I'll see how I get on with just topping it up. I think in future I'll start it up every few months and get it up to operating temperature. Cheers, chaps

Todays fuel does tend to collapse quite quickly. It will usually start an engine unless it's highly tuned, then it needs fresh petrol. The problem is the 'gum' that seems to separate out and clog things. Vehicles used in the Gulf war often stood idle for months and would not start due to this. Consequently a gum solvent additive was manufactured for this very problem. It was the most potent stuff around, not sure if its still available, but it sure cleaned all the inlet system, carbs, jets, injectors.
Not like the fuel of years gone by. An Armstrong Siddley with fifteen year old fuel was started with a jump battery in 1979 and an old boy offered my friend an old Triumph twin about that time too. 'Been in my garden shed since the sixties' he said. Unbelievably, with a fresh battery and tickling the Amal carbs till they flooded, it started third kick.

We had a bloke on a trip across the states on a 1300 Yam that he hadn't used for a while. Bugger would run for a while then stop and it got worse and worse. Turns out the fuel in the filter had 'jellified' and blocked it up. I think he'd had it stood for about a year

Jason

I bought a Honda 400/4 years ago, that had stood in a garage for over 2 years. Got it very cheap 'cause it "absolutely doesn't run".

The bloke who sold it didnt look too pleased 20 minutes later when I rode past his house on it. Fortunately it had a tank half full of 4-star, and rusty points!

I doubt you could do that now with all the gunk that gets left behind when unleaded evaporates.

Whatever happened to the days you could get a bike running with a match box and a screwdriver.

I finally got around to starting my TL yesterday. I charged the battery and put in some fresh fuel (with stabiliser added) and it started first time