Sad to relate, but today I put little yeller to bed for the winter.  Yeller was the first to be commisioned in March for the summer season and the first to be  prepped for the long winter lay up.  Even sadder to relate is that since I prepped him in March, he has not even been run.  His piston remained in the same place it stopped in March.Shame because he is an absolute hoot to ride and such a sweet runner. 

 So drained his tank, put the old fuel in the car and put 1litre of alkylate fuel and synthetic two stroke oil mixed at 50:1. 
Gave it a good sloshing around the tank to get an oily coating around the inside.Turned on the fuel and gave the float bowl time to fill.  Choke on and he popped off on the second kick.

Warmed him up to get a good oily film around the inside of the crankcase, what with the premix and autolube pump contributing. 
Drained the alkylate fuel out of the tank, back into its bottle, but left it in the carb.  Alkylate does not " go off", but it will evaparate, leaving an oily film inside the carb as it goes. 

Finally pumped up the tyres to 25 psi and cable tied a partially inflated plastic bag tightly around the fuel vent hose. 
The purpose of which is to allow the tank to "breathe" in and out with changes of temp and external changes in air pressure, without introducing fresh moisture into the system, it is a closed system.  What is in the tank and bag stays in the tank and bag. 

Little Yeller.  First to be commisioned and first to be put to bed.  A signal that the end of the season is approaching.

He had 2804.2 miles on the clock in March, and in fact still has the same today.  He has not turned a wheel all season, despite being such a fun bike to ride.  He is basically the size of a kids bike, fitted with full road gear.  Still its only £60 a year to insure fully comp and is tax and MOT exempt, so no biggie.  Just a bit over a quid a week to own....
  Alkylate fuel is very expensive, but this is how much I actually used to protect the entire engine and fuel system from corrosion and drying out seals.  Maybe 75ml after draining it back out of the tank.  The level of the fuel now back in its bottle is harder to see in the pic than I expected, it is just above the top of the shadow, about a thumbs width above the groove.  So a very efficient way of ensuring trouble free running next year.  You are looking at maybe 80p worth of fuel. I would have also done Big Blue today, but I am taking her to Snaith Classic Bike Meet next Sunday.   Snaith is my local small town. They close the entire town centre of the town for the bikes to park up. Sunday September the 13th, 10am till 4pm if you are are in the UK and interested in attending.