How long should it take to drain the carbs ?

[Canoodle]

Putting my bike into Winter storage this weekend. want to drain the carbs before I do so. How long should
the bike take to shut down, once the petcock is in the " off" position ?
Bike will be stored in friends garage-about a 1/2 hr ride from my place. Can I put the petcock in the
"off" position while I am still riding, in order to expedite the shut down process,once arrived at buddies place ?

[Ricky-D]

That doesn't seem like the proper way to drain the carburetors since there is a drain screw at the bottom of each float bowl.

Using the bowl drain certifies a complete draining while your suggestion doesn't.

[The emperor has no clothes]

That doesn't seem like the proper way to drain the carburetors since there is a drain screw at the bottom of each float bowl.

Using the bowl drain certifies a complete draining while your suggestion doesn't.

+1 If you are going to store it drained, take a screwdriver and container to catch the gas.

[John Schmidt]

Just remember to close each one before moving on to the next carb. Nothing like a big surprise next spring if you don't. 

[Bagger John - #3785]

Just remember to close each one before moving on to the next carb. Nothing like a big surprise next spring if you don't.  

Nope. Leave them open.

If your petcock fails and allows gas to seep past a leaky float valve you'll have a bigger surprise come start-up. I caught one of my Interstates doing this very thing a number of years ago.

My yearly prep drill always consists of removing the plugs, cleaning, inspecting the gaps then reinstalling. Immediately after that the float bowl drain screws are snugged up before moving on to the next phase of spring break-out. If you get in the habit of doing this by procedure it isn't an issue.

[Gryphon Rider]

The bike can run a LONG time with the fuel valve in the off position, depending on riding speed.  My experience:
Parked, holding at 2000 RPM: Approx. 15 minutes.
City Driving, 30-40 MPH: Approx. 1.5 miles.

I've stored my Valkyrie by running it with the fuel valve off until it stalls, and by simply shutting it off once fuel stabilizer is in the system.  The only difference I've noted is if there's still gas in the system, it takes less time to start in the spring.

[98valk]

better to use the new stabil. make sure that gas gets in the carbs from running and top off the tank.
new stabil emits fumes that coat exposed areas of the fuel system. 
having everything dry encourages corrosion of the tank and the aluminum carb.  plus not all of the fuel drains out of the bowls.

my bike sat that way for three months one winter. started right up after that time and ran like it was three months ago.

[Bagger John - #3785]

having everything dry encourages corrosion of the tank and the aluminum carb.  plus not all of the fuel drains out of the bowls.

I top my tanks off, add Marine Sta-Bil and drain my carbs.

In the 30+ years of GL-series motorcycle ownership (first 'Wings, then Valkyries) I've yet to have a problem with corroded carbs when doing this. What I HAVE had a problem with, on the other hand, is leaving the bowls filled with Sta-Bil enriched fuel for more than a couple weeks at a time - especially the red stuff.

Remember that volatiles evaporate relatively early on and leave heavier residues behind, including that which can plug jets. Not an issue if fresh gas is run through the carbs on a frequent basis but a big issue if the winter layup is long enough for all the lighter components to waft out of the bowls.

An I/S and a Standard whose carbs had to be completely rebuilt due to being stored for 6 months with full bowls put an end to that nonsense most ricky tick.

Incidentally, I had the carbs off both my current Valkyries for PM (float valve changes, etc.) within the last year. These have been stored with dry bowls since I got them (I/S in 2007; Tourer in 2008). Other than the expected amount of bowl discoloration you'd expect to see in a bike which has been ridden regularly, no corrosion or other undue effects were noticed in either set of carbs.

[CoreyP]

From experience about a mile once you turn the gas off. Sometimes I have taken off from my house and forgot to turn the fuel on. I make it about a mile.

[Canoodle]

Thanks for the input gents-I just don't have the technical know how to do it the "proper way"
I did it the way I described, for years with my Goldwing GL1200 and never had an issue. Bought some marine Stabil tonight-should do the trick.

[Bone]

I'm in Michigan the fall weather can be beautiful like this year or wet and snowy.
I've used Stabil for 20 plus years not one problem. I start adding it a couple of tanks
before I plan to store the bike. Nice weather treat another tank.
That gives the carbs a chance to become treated completely.
Always works for me.

[Willow]

From experience about a mile once you turn the gas off. Sometimes I have taken off from my house and forgot to turn the fuel on. I make it about a mile.

It appears different Valks may use or hold different amounts.  My experiences with mine are about two miles to shutdown at hiway speed.  It will start to cough before then but running it until they're all empty enough to shut down is about two miles.

[WintrSol]

I tried to be (somewhat) scientific about this, and failed miserably. I stood the bike up and ran the fuel pump, to make sure all carbs were full, then drained one into a cup. I got 1.5 ounces. Assuming 32mpg, that's 1/4 mile per ounce, so there must be a lot more fuel in the lines and rails than I guessed. If you assume all run out at the same time at 1 mile, there must be 15 ounces, split 6 ways or 2.5 per carb, above the bowls just to get 1 mile. That, or you are getting a LOT more mpg than my average, or my method is just invalid. I thought I would get a reasonable answer, but clearly not. Maybe the carb I chose (#5) just doesn't fill properly, I don't know.

[Willow]

I tried to be (somewhat) scientific about this, ...

My scientific method is more straight forward than yours.  While cruising on the flyway I turn the petcock to off as the trip meter points to a mile point 0.  I hold the speed and wait until the engine shuts off before turning the petcock back to on.  It's pretty consistent.  I normally get about 36 to a gallon.

You're right.  That would include fuel in the carbs and whatever is en route in the lines.

[WintrSol]

I tried to be (somewhat) scientific about this, ...

My scientific method is more straight forward than yours.  While cruising on the flyway I turn the petcock to off as the trip meter points to a mile point 0.  I hold the speed and wait until the engine shuts off before turning the petcock back to on.  It's pretty consistent.  I normally get about 36 to a gallon.

You're right.  That would include fuel in the carbs and whatever is en route in the lines.

I can't run that test, because I have a belly tank. I'd have to put another switch in line with the fuel pump, since turning the petcock off has no effect on fuel flow; also, my plumbing will be different than yours, as far as fuel in the lines goes. If I want my carbs empty, there is only one way.

[CoreyP]

From experience about a mile once you turn the gas off. Sometimes I have taken off from my house and forgot to turn the fuel on. I make it about a mile.

It appears different Valks may use or hold different amounts.  My experiences with mine are about two miles to shutdown at hiway speed.  It will start to cough before then but running it until they're all empty enough to shut down is about two miles.

Interesting because when I hear a cough I remember to switch the tank back on, never completely ran out.  I don't really want to run to complete failure but I will take a run and measure the exact distance till I cough.  I know exactly where that will be, if traffic is light maybe I will go to failure? 

[98valk]

running till the bike sputters is the front carbs bowl levels getting low first and the engine going lean. the other carbs are not at that point yet.
I've sputtered into the garage and let the bike idle for a while giving it throttle to keep it running, still takes a while until she will not run anymore and the engine vacuum cannot pull any more fuel up from the  bowls.  I did this since I have the dial-a-jet installed which removes the ability to drain the bowls.
I did this when I was re-jetting one time. There still was gas in the bowls once I removed them.

[Bagger John - #3785]

Did a real-world test this afternoon while prepping my I/S for winter storage.

The bike gets around 28MPG when ridden at higher freeway speeds; slightly better at a leisurely backroads pace.

It's 0.8mi (by odometer) from the gas station where I top off the tank to my driveway. Bike has a manual petcock which is immediately turned to Off for the ride back home after the tank is filled - so assume completely full bowls at the start of the ride.

Roads for the return trip are a mix of 25MPH side streets, a 35MPH connector, a 35MPH main road and a small industrial accessway that's also 25MPH. Engine speeds were kept to around 2000RPM with the exception of one first-gear 4K-RPM dash from one side street up the main drag and then into my street.

I drained the carbs with the drain screws and collected approximately 5oz in the catch jar. This jives with a couple of times over the years during which I forgot to turn the fuel valve on when warm-starting the Valks and made it approximately 2mi before they began to starve for fuel.