Best practices for any type of Airhead storage over 6 weeks basically falls into 2 main categories: Fuel and Battery. There are other minor concerns, such as keeping the bike out of the weather and direct sun light, but these are fairly obvious and self-explanatory.

FUEL
The number one issue with storage of any small motor that uses a carburetor is Ethanol fuel. The number two issue is Non-Ethanol fuel. The common fuels now sold in North America are generally useless past 8-10 weeks, making all the "tried and true" procedures your dad might have used, now basically worthless !! There are 2 big problems with modern fuel, all of which get back to new EPA standards:

• Ethanol is now found in all standard North American fuels. The first problem is that ethanol does NOT stay in solution with gasoline. This problem can be generally overcome with "fuel stabilizers", such as Sta-bil and StarTron. These chemically force the ethanol to bind to the gasoline, so that the alcohol stays in solution. If a stabilizer is not used, then the static fuel quickly separates and stratifies. Soon you have one container housing 2 separate liquids. Any attempt to start the engine will result in immediate fouled plugs because the Airhead engine (along with your lawn mower, string trimmer, leaf blower, etc.) cannot run on pure alcohol.

The problem then gets worse as time progresses. Alcohol has the problem of water absorption. The presence of water, alcohol and gasoline creates a dark brown varnish that coats the inside of jets and actually closes up the smaller jets which are used to start the engine. If there is a lot of water, then this can attack the cast metal of the carb body, showing up as a white chalk. All sorts of corrosion starts to take place inside the float bowl and small carb passageways. This is the reason motorcycle shops and lawn mower service shops are filled to capacity every Spring.

• Secondly is the low volatility of modern fuels. The "volatiles" that waft off the liquid fuel are actually what the carbureted engine uses to start. The EPA has severely cut the amount of volatiles in hopes of reducing air pollution. Whatever few volatiles were ever present, are now long gone after several months. That means even Non-Ethanol fuels now have a limited lifetime. So those that place their hope in non-ethanol fuel for long term storage can end up very disappointed.

The only way to deal with modern fuels is to drain it all from the tank, fuel lines AND float bowls before storage. Then, leave the float bowls off the carbs and leave the fill cap off the fuel tank. If you have a /5 or a /6 with a hinged cap, then simply insert a wooden dowel to prop the cap in the open position. This "airing out" will allow any remaining liquid to quickly evaporate, thus leaving the fuel system dry, clean and corrosion free. Leaving the tank open also prevents any accumulation of moisture from condensation.

BATTERY
Batteries represent a slightly tougher issue. Unlike the fuel system, there is no simple, one-step solution that will allow your battery to survive with hands-free maintenance throughout a prolonged storage or non-riding winter. The best care your battery can receive is to ride your Airhead at road speeds for a minimum of 1 hour at least once a month. This because the bike's charging system and the length of time being charged is the very best care your battery can receive. One hour minimum at full road speeds because batteries are slow to accept a "charge" and without an engine speed above 3000 RPM, the bike's alternator cannot create the needed electrical power.

If you live in an area where road conditions simply do not allow motorcycle riding for several prolonged months, then we need to concoct a way to mimic that motorcycle ride. And that requires 1) some forethought and 2) manual action taken 3) on regular intervals by the owner.

• The first step is to end ALL discharging of the battery. Items that might discharge the battery include the rectifier, clock, heated hand grips left turned ON by mistake, etc. This will maximize the time the battery is able to hold its charge. This is easily done by disconnecting one of the battery leads from a battery terminal. (I usually prefer the Negative terminal for this job simply because it usually has fewer cables connected to that terminal.)

• If riding is not possible, then we'll need to superficially supply a charge to the battery. Battery charging has 3 components that must be recognized and dealt with. In order of importance they are...

► Current. You specifically want a "motorcycle battery charger" with an output between 750 milli-amps (0.75A) and 1.0A... and a charge current at the lower end of this scale may require more time, but is honestly better. Too much current (too fast) will overheat the battery and lead to a premature death by "cooking". Most chargers sold are for cars, and since car batteries are physically bigger, those chargers have a much higher output... way too high for motorcycles. Read the label on the charger if you're not sure.

► Time. One of the news items coming out of electric car research is that batteries don't like to be maintained at full charge. And so the "plug it in and forget it" chargers can be just as bad for the battery as not getting charged frequently enough. The optimal charging time with zero drain is probably closer to 1/2 hour per week. I propose that connecting your charger through a simple, common lamp timer will allow your charger to better mimic the motorcycle being ridden. And by cycling the charge times, you'll prevent over-charging and over-heating that leads to shorter battery life, as well as extending the life of your charger.

► Voltage. The type of battery you own will dictate the correct charge voltage. A "wet cell" lead-acid will have a vastly different charge voltage than a sealed AGM type. Optimal charge voltage information is on that the paper than came with your new battery, or you can call the manufacturer. For maximum battery life, your charger (both in the bike AND in your shop) needs to supply the correct voltage.

Batteries also enjoy the same moderate temperature ranges as humans (~40°F to ~90°F). So if your parking space is an unheated garage, then your battery may be better served by bringing it indoors, or at least into more moderate surroundings.

Hope this helps.