Storage can be rough on power sports and power equipment

We recently serviced a 2007 Honda Shadow 750 motorcycle that had been in storage for several months.  The motorcycle only had 46 miles on it!  The owner contacted us after experiencing issues after pulling the bike out of storage.  It wouldn’t start at all.

We removed and cleaned the carburetor, drained and flushed the fuel tank, and cleaned the entire fuel system.

Pictured is part of the fuel petcock valve that we replaced.  We have placed the old one next to the brand new one so that you can see the difference.  Gasoline with ethanol is very corrosive and quickly damages rubber parts.  It is striking to see how much damage was caused to a relatively new part due to prolonged ethanol gasoline exposure.

We recommend using 100% gasoline whenever you can.  We know that is getting more and more challenging to find.  There are several aftermarket products available, such as Startron, that have a special enzyme that neutralizes the impact that ethanol can have. We treat all of the gasoline that we put in our equipment with it.

Your power equipment may have similar issues after being stored all winter long.