Well Blake, here is what I do.
When the time comes to park my R75/5,
1)I top up my tank with premium non-alcohol fuel with some kind of fuel stabilizer added at that time.
2) Close the petcocks and remove the float bowls, drain them and let the carbs air dry for a half hour or so, then put the bowls back on
3) Put a battery tender on the battery.

In the spring, I do the following;
1)Pick a warm day and start the bike and take it for a ride of at least 20 miles to fully warm up the motor.
2) Change the oil in the motor, transmission, driveshaft and final drive.
3 When the motor is cooled off, I check the valve tappet clearances.

The nearest gas station to me that has non-alcohol premium is about 15 miles, so the tank is not totally full when I park it, but close enough. The idea here is to make the air space inside the tank as small as possible to limit the amount of condensed water vapor that can accumulate inside the tank.
I only change the filter every second or third oil change, but at the start of the season is always a good time to do that.

This may seem over simplified, but it works for me. I have owned and ridden this bike for many years and it just kinda speaks to me. I do not practice a rigid 5 to 10 thousand mile service interval. I grease the wheel bearings at tire change time along with the rear drive spline. The transmission input spline every 5 years or so or when ever down shifting bets balky. Steering head bearings every once in a while or if I notice a tendency for the handlebars to wag on deceleration. Like I said earlier, the bike just talks to me. If you motor's valves have not been update for un-leaded fuel, check the tappet clearances frequently.

You may hear a wide range of comments on this topic.

Thank you, James!

You can tell it has been a long time, since I'd forgotten that the Manual recommended service intervals are 3k and 6k. Feh.

FWIW, I found an on-line, albeit broken, copy of the /5 manual. I've put a repaired and working version here:

http://callmeike.net/blake/r75-5/index.html

The parts of the service that concern me the most are changing the oil filter and checking the points. I think I've got the valves.

The bike seems to have a new, non-factory ignition system. I don't recognize it and I'm not sure what service it needs and how to do it.

Main time, I'm gonna do just as you recommend: top up the tank and empty the carbs.

Thanks again
-blake

Those aftermarket electronic ignitions eliminate the points except for the Dyna points booster which uses the points for a triggering device. That eliminates the full 12v from the primary ignition crossing the point set and extends the life of a point set to almost infinity. Otherwise, electronic ignition sets are all or nothing devices. They either work or they don't. I have heard tell of some early Boyer-Brandsden ignitions defaulting to full advance when they go into failure mode, but I have never personally encountered one of these. Some electronic ignitions use the stock mechanical advance unit, and some have a pre-programmed advance curve and eliminate the mechanical advance.

Changing the oil filter on a /5 or /6 is very straight-forward. You can't mess it up. Not so with /7 and later motors.

O.K., on the oil filter, maybe you can mess it up. When you get the filter out, use a flashlight and check for an o-ring at the base of the tube that the filter is spindled on. When you pull the filter out, check the back of it for a little rubber sleeve that seals the filter inside the canister. Currently available filters have one of these on each end. Some earlier filters used o-rings. Just make sure there is nothing on that tube when you put the new filter in.

I take a slightly different approach. I'm not saying it's better, just different....

► Jim and I agree, it is the kiss of death to leave ethanol fuel in a static carb longer than 10 weeks. The alcohol comes out of solution with the gasoline, then starts collecting water. Water is the issue. I prefer to simply drain all the fuel from the tank, lines, and carbs, and then allow the whole system to "air out". Then I leave the fuel cap OFF on my /7. On a /5 this means using a wooden dowel (or some such) to prop the hinged cap open. My thinking is that water does not condense into open containers, or containers without alcohol.

This method has 2 added advantages. 1) Petcocks are not infallible. Fuel can and will leak past the petcock seals... refilling the carbs. If the seepage is bad enough, the fuel will then flow into the engine's bottom end where it will dilute the engine oil... with disastrous effect. 2) If the chosen place of storage is a basement with a furnace the chance of fire with the "filled tank method" is greatly increased. The "empty tank method" eliminates these 2 pitfalls.

► I prefer to change the oils before storage. In this way entrapped water and other chemicals are not allowed to work on the metal parts during the static period. Used engine oils are known to contain lots of water (a byproduct of normal combustion) and also be slightly acidic from combustion residues. An engine in storage can probably do without either of those.

► Battery care is the final big item. The enemies of battery longevity are well known: over-charging, slow discharge loads, and cold temps. Over-charging would be simpler to discuss if all battery chargers were created equal, but they are most definitely NOT. Most of the owners who connect a battery charger in November and don't come back until May will return to find a roasted battery. The truth is, most chargers are not sensitive enough to detect when the battery is OK, or robust enough to hold up under day-to-day charger mishaps. The charger's advertising may infer such claims, but it is all marketing BS. Even the really good chargers costing $85+ can have their fancy circuits fail internally.

I highly recommend a more reasoned approach. The major drain during storage is the motorcycle's rectifier and clock, so all owners will want to disconnect one of the battery terminals. No circuit, no discharge. In my experience, once you do take this simple step the battery will NOT require any more than 1 hour of charge per month. That is administered far more efficiently using manual means, and completely eliminates causes #1 and #2. Then, all the owner has to do is take the battery (in or out of the bike) to a location that never goes lower than 60°F. A benign ambient temperature and a moderate charge is all the battery needs to have a long happy life.

As in all things, no 2 storage situations are alike. Owners must decide what makes the most sense and affords the greatest margin of safety in their particular situation.

All the best.

Thanks! Really appreciated.
I'm mostly worried about messing up changing the oil filter, and about recognizing what's been done to the electrical system. I'm used to adjusting the points, but I'm guessing this bike doesn't have points anymore. Guess I'll just have to have a look...
-blake

Blake -
You are correct, some time this winter you need to disconnect the battery (to prevent shorting out the diode board), remove the engine's front cover, and take a look. Points (if present) will most definitely need attention. The auto advance (if present) will need new springs and lubrication. If you're very lucky, both have been replaced by a modern electronic ignition, which uses software to electronically create the spark's advance curve. If your bike still uses points, then you might want to ask Santa for one of these units, which most owners can install themselves.

Other than zero maintenance, the big plus is that your /5 (with points and mechanical auto advance) was designed for leaded fuels which no longer exist. The newer lead-free fuels require a different advance curve which the newer EI units have built into software. So your bike will perform much better while requiring less maintenance with one of the newer ignition systems installed.

► If someone else installed the EI, there is one very important item to check. You'll want to use a strobe lamp to check the ignition timing at full advance. So when the engine hits 5000 RPM or so, you should see the "F" mark in the window. Your manual may advise timing at low RPM using the "S" mark, but that is now out dated, obsolete information due to the advent of EI and lead-free fuels.

Hope this helps.