Mothballing a PW50

Falcon
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Edited Date/Time 10/16/2020 3:17pm
OK guys, I need some advice from guys more technically savvy than I.

I have a 2013 PW50 which was my son's for several years before we moved him to a bigger bike. It has served as a fall-back for him and some family friends for a while, but it is far too small for anyone in my family or circle of friends and their kids now. My wife and I discussed selling the thing, but we both feel too sentimental about it. (First kids bike in the family, my son says he still wants it, etc.)

So, I plan to keep it and wait the dozen or so years before I have grandkids. I plan to prep it for long-term storage and then I'll refurb it when the time comes for it to awaken from hibernation. This will not be a normal winterization.
I expect I'll need to replace tires and tubes after that length of time. I can certainly fix anything on it that gets leaky or corroded, but I want to avoid as much rot and rust as I possibly can. What should I do?
Apart from draining all the fuel, what's a good practice for long-term storage? Should I fog the engine? Remove the air filter? Oil will go bad in a decade; should I drain the tranny as well? How about the transaxle?
(Is there even oil in there???)
Any other prep things I should do? I'll put a cover on the bike to help with the dust and it will be in a garage. Give me some advice!
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10/15/2020 11:06am
I'd fog any internals you can get sealed up. 10 years might end up with a gummy oxidized film anyway but it'd be better than nothing. Transaxle I'd put fresh in there and close it back up. Remove the air filter and cover the intake somehow.

Best bet would be to freeze the thing in carbonite though.
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FGR01
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10/15/2020 11:24am
I have a 99 PW50 that my son rode until about 2004. It is 100% original including tires and tubes. I put fresh gas in it, check the air filter, and ride it up and down the street about once a year or so. Then I use the drain screw on the bottom of the float bowl to drain the carb and park it for another year. Been fine all this time.
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Falcon
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10/15/2020 12:55pm
^ Hmmm, 16 years? Not too bad. Do you still have the injector and everything?
FGR01
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10/15/2020 1:59pm
Falcon wrote:
^ Hmmm, 16 years? Not too bad. Do you still have the injector and everything?
100% original, down to the safety stickers.

The Shop

YZed250
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10/16/2020 11:43am Edited Date/Time 10/16/2020 3:17pm
Falcon wrote:
^ Hmmm, 16 years? Not too bad. Do you still have the injector and everything?
FGR01 wrote:
100% original, down to the safety stickers.
I don't think it will need much. Best to work on popping out grandkids sooner than planning for when the PW will be used again, lol.

Just run the carb and tank dry and expect to do a few TINY things once you go to restart it like possibly replace the petcock (if it leaks), carb oring (if it leaks), tires if they crack, air filter. The bike is basically lubed and sealed when you hit the kill switch.

You're more likely to have it crushed in an earthquake (Calif) than to have anything serious happen to it in 16yrs.
Falcon
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10/16/2020 1:21pm
^Haha, yeah. The big one's coming!

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