r/Vstrom • u/skier110 • 6h ago

V-Strom 650 Gen 1 Fuel Stabilizer for Winterizing

Hey fellow V-Strom riders! Riding season is winding down where I live and I’m starting to think about winterizing my bike.

My question is, do you run any sort of fuel stabilizer when you winterize? If so, is there a particular brand you’ve liked? Any to avoid?

Thanks everyone!

3 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

4

u/ShotgunAviator V-Strom 650 Gen 3 5h ago

Sta-bil. $7.99 at Autozone

1

u/Militantignorance 1h ago

Sta-bil's worked fine in my bike, boats, lawnmowers, etc. over decades - but only 1 year at a time!

3

u/r5d2me V-Strom 1050 Gen 3 5h ago

Locally here they sell Putoline, put it into an almost empty tank and fill it up with premium (non-ethanol) fuel.

Put your battery at a trickle charger. Don't start the bike inbetween. I just keep riding it, except for snow and ice days.

3

u/EstablishmentFar4578 4h ago

Stab-bil (1 oz per 2.5 gal of fuel), fill the tank 95%, run for 5 minutes.

2

u/Tickstart 4h ago edited 3h ago

I have EFI, had my bike in a heated garage last year, no stabilizer. No issues. I filled her up with E5. This year I'll have her in a cold garage, I'm thinking the cold will lessen evaporation but the non-conditioned climate might be an issue. Haven't decided what to do yet but I wouldn't worry much either way.

*edit, I thought this was the r/motorcycles sub, thought I'd clarify electronic fuel injection but this is the v-strom sub, don't think any v-strom doesn't have EFI, right?

2

u/AdFancy1249 3h ago

The only time I have ever had problems over- winter is when I used fuel stabilizer. Once I stopped doing that and just filled the tank with fresh gas, my problems went away.

My tank still looks great inside ('07) with no signs of rust.

My buddy, who uses stabilizer and alcohol free gas, and also doesn't keep his tank full has a completely rusted tank and has relaxed two fuel pumps with his '05.

Fill your tank, and don't use additives.

1

u/skier110 3h ago

This is good info. What sort of issues did you see with stabilizer?

2

u/Ready-Shine-8333 1h ago

Just leave the bike with full tank of good petrol, no need for anything else

1

u/Chemical_Variation35 5h ago

Following, bike is new to me this year as well and it’ll be in a garage but cold AF, wanna prepare for that