Visiting Atlanta, GA...

[Eunos9494]

I'll be visiting Atlanta Feb 12-16 and my girlfriend has a Bonneville that she's had parked at her apartment for a year (unprepped for the long sit).  I'm bringing my riding gear and some tools to see if I can get it up and running, but I'm concerned that the fueling is going to be a bigger project that I'm able to take on while I'm in town.

If that bike doesn't work out, does anyone have any suggestions for any place that might rent a good standard?  My regular ride is a V7 Special, so the Bonnie seemed really attractive.  I've looked at Eagle Rider, but quite a bit of their stock is either cruisers or sport bikes.  I'd love to find something a bit more familiar.

If all goes well, I'll be moving down to Atlanta later this spring.  *fingers crossed*  My girlfriend lives just down the street from Manny's, so I hear that Guzzis might be close by.  Looking forward to meeting some GA riders someday soon.

Thanks for any info you guys can pass along.

[Wayne Orwig]

Normally, I would say to rent a Guzzi at Riders Hill in Dahlonega (a bit over an hour north of Atlanta). But I think they suspend the rental program during the winter. Call them and find out. No matter what, try to visit the area. Great roads to ride there.
Weather is going to be crappy for the next few days though anyway.

[Eunos9494]

Coming from Michigan, your "crappy" just might be my "summertime".  ;D

I'll definitely give Rider's Hill a call.  I've been looking forward to stopping by there sometime anyway, might as well start now.

[smartin108]

What year is the Bonnie?  '08 and newer are FI and have fewer issues with sitting.

[roadscum]

Normally, I would say to rent a Guzzi at Riders Hill in Dahlonega (a bit over an hour north of Atlanta). But I think they suspend the rental program during the winter. Call them and find out. No matter what, try to visit the area. Great roads to ride there.
Weather is going to be crappy for the next few days though anyway.

They terminated their rental program a year ago.

Paul

[Eunos9494]

The Bonnie is a 2012 SE.  I'm cautiously hopeful, but it's been under a cover, outside for about 11 months now.  No fuel stabilizer, no battery tending, no shifting of the tires.  When I get into town I'm going to yank the battery and put a charger on it for a good 24 hours.  I've got some oil too, so I figure I'll pull the plugs and get some oil down in the cylinders, install the battery, dust her off, roll her around a little, inspect the tires, and give it a go.  Debating trying something like Techron in the tank just to try and give it a helping hand.  If she starts, great.  If not, well...I'm really not excited about pulling the tank and trying to drain fuels lines so if the gas has congealed, I'm probably going to cut my losses and either find another bike or just find a pub and drink my "ride-less" sorrows away.  ;D

[Lannis]

They terminated their rental program a year ago.

Paul

The only rental shop on the Isle of Man quit doing bike rentals some years back.

Probably for the same reason that a shop in Dahlonega among all those curvy mountain roads would.

People were coming in, renting bikes, trying to be Ricky Speedracer on the roads they'd always heard of, throwing the dealership's bike down the road, and leaving .....

Sometimes a few people mess it up for everyone else ....

Lannis

[roadscum]

The only rental shop on the Isle of Man quit doing bike rentals some years back.

Probably for the same reason that a shop in Dahlonega among all those curvy mountain roads would.

People were coming in, renting bikes, trying to be Ricky Speedracer on the roads they'd always heard of, throwing the dealership's bike down the road, and leaving .....

Sometimes a few people mess it up for everyone else ....

Lannis

That's exactly the case.

Paul

[guzziknight]

WOW Motorcycles in Marietta also rents a variety of bikes.

[Aaron D.]

Bet the Bonneville starts right up.

[dilligaf]

Bet the Bonneville starts right up.

 :+1 Well maybe.   I know the first thing I would do is give it a try but I suspect the battery will need a little help. Where is the fun if it just starts right up. Not going to impress the girlfriend that way.  ::)  :BEER:
Matt

[Chuck in Indiana]

The Mighty Scura sat for 10 months one time. It *did* have a full tank with Stabil in it, though. The Odyssey started it right up.. ;-T

[Bill Hagan]

I'll be visiting Atlanta Feb 12-16 and my girlfriend has a Bonneville that she's had parked at her apartment for a year (unprepped for the long sit). 

****

If all goes well, I'll be moving down to Atlanta later this spring.  *fingers crossed*  My girlfriend lives just down the street from Manny's, so I hear that Guzzis might be close by.  Looking forward to meeting some GA riders someday soon.

If you can extend your stay, the Georgia Guzzisti are having a Midwinter Guzzi Gathering at the Cravens’ home (near Fernbank) from 1 - 5 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, February 21.

If not, your sorrow-drowning pub plan sounds good as the weather is looking fairly sucky this week.  Next, fine, naturally, but chest la vie.   :'(

On the bright side, if, by your "girlfriend lives just down the street from Manny's," you mean http://www.manuelstavern.com, lucky you.  That is our favorite watering hole in Atlanta.  Moreover, also tinkling she may live in Inman Park (our favorite neighborhood ever; miss our home there every day ... but not enough to leave the top of Virginia  ;)) or Poncey-Highland.  Great in town living.

As for rentals, no help.  If we still lived there, I'd charge you a craft draft at Manuels for borrowing one of my harem.   ;D :BEER:

Have a fine time.

Bill

[youcanrunnaked]

The Bonnie is a 2012 SE.  I'm cautiously hopeful, but it's been under a cover, outside for about 11 months now.  No fuel stabilizer, no battery tending, no shifting of the tires.  When I get into town I'm going to yank the battery and put a charger on it for a good 24 hours.  I've got some oil too, so I figure I'll pull the plugs and get some oil down in the cylinders, install the battery, dust her off, roll her around a little, inspect the tires, and give it a go.  Debating trying something like Techron in the tank just to try and give it a helping hand.  If she starts, great.  If not, well...I'm really not excited about pulling the tank and trying to drain fuels lines so if the gas has congealed, I'm probably going to cut my losses and either find another bike or just find a pub and drink my "ride-less" sorrows away.  ;D

If there is a problem, it will likley be due to stale gas and/or water in the gas (or a dead battery).  Assuming the bike was put away with E10 ethanol gasoline in the tank, the ethanol is hydrophilic and so absorsbs atmospheric humidity, which puts water in your tank.  I have had good success using SeaFoam additive -- one ounce per gallon of gasoline.  Pour it in the tank and slosh the fuel around before trying to start the bike.  If it doesn't start on the first few tries (assuming the bike has spark), let the fuel mixture sit a bit and try again.  

[smartin108]

If there is a problem, it will likley be due to stale gas and/or water in the gas (or a dead battery).  Assuming the bike was put away with E10 ethanol gasoline in the tank, the ethanol is hydrophilic and so absorsbs atmospheric humidity, which puts water in your tank.  I have had good success using SeaFoam additive -- one ounce per gallon of gasoline.  Pour it in the tank and slosh the fuel around before trying to start the bike.  If it doesn't start on the first few tries (assuming the bike has spark), let the fuel mixture sit a bit and try again.  

+1, good stuff

[tazio]

Start by buying a cheap plastic siphon to remove questionable tank contents ~ $10

[AJ Huff]

Coming from Michigan, your "crappy" just might be my "summertime".  ;D

I'll definitely give Rider's Hill a call.  I've been looking forward to stopping by there sometime anyway, might as well start now.

Ha! I'd rather be in Michigan. Trade ya! Snow flurries today. Cold isn't too bad, mid 30s but nasty wind to be riding in.

-AJ

[youcanrunnaked]

Start by buying a cheap plastic siphon to remove questionable tank contents ~ $10

That's certainly another option.  Cars are generally less fussy than bikes when it comes to old gas, so you could siphon the old gas into a gas can, then put it in the mostly-full gas tank of your car, then fill the bike with fresh gas.  I don't think this is necessary with 10-month-old gas; I think you can get away with just treating and then using the gas now in the bike, but siphoning out the old gas is another way to go.  I would still use a gas treatment with the new gas, though, to help clean the fuel system.  Also, don't use your mouth to siphon gas, as aspirating even a little bit can cause severe health problems.  Go to an auto parts store or WalMart's automotive department and get an inexpensive bulb siphon (and a gas can).

[guzzisteve]

Well, did it go or did it blow?

[Eunos9494]

Finally back home and settled after a heck of a week.

Thanks so much to *everyone* for all the great advice.  Things ended up working out pretty great!

I yanked the battery as and put a charger on it inside the house on Friday morning.  24 hours later it would barely register on my voltmeter.  *sigh*  Toast.  Off to Autozone to pick up a new battery.  Dropped that in the bike and confirmed that the electrics all turned on.  Good sign.  Next up, pulled the spark plugs and dropped a little oil down in the cylinders to lube them up some.  While I let that sit I put a some Techron in the tank and sloshed that around some.  Figured it wasn't going to cure bad fuel in the lines, but might give me a fighting chance if it was close.  Plugs back in, let's do this.

<presses ignition>

Fires right up, runs for 2 seconds and dies before I get some throttle on it.  Hmm...  Well, let's try that again.

<presses ignition>

...nothing.  A faint click and that was it.  Took me a good 10 minutes to figure out Bonnie's have an ignition switch on the side of the bike under a cover that is apparently sketchy.  Took a pair of pliers are crossed-over the connectors....fired right up.  Kept some throttle on it and in less than a minute it would sit at idle on its own.  Woo!  I let it idle for about 10 minutes to cycle some of the Techron through the injectors. 

It was about 1 pm on Saturday and the weather looked great, so I through my gear on and hit the road.  I ran the full tank of gas out and filled up again.  The bike just kept sounding better and felt smoother as the day went on.  Road all the hell over the place and ended up in Dalonega around 5, just before Riders Hill closed.  Got to wander in and look around, but it was pretty deserted.  Road back and got caught on 85 in nasty traffic, but had a riot of a day.  Much needed two-wheel therapy.

Put the bike back with a full tank of fresh gas, gave it some Sta-bil just in case it ends up sitting again.  Covered back up and ready for another day.

Ended up getting to Manuel's, as well.  Love that place.  Good people.

Bill, GF is in Poncey Highlands, but used to be in Inman Park.  Totally agreed, great place to live.  I'm looking around there or maybe some of the south-east corner of Midtown for future abodes.

Thanks again to everyone for the tips!

[rocker59]

 ;-T

[youcanrunnaked]

Great news.  Now, I suggest you put that new battery on a tender. 

Even a brand-new battery can go flat after a few months of non-use, and you may not know when that next period of non-use is going to come until you are already well into it.  Even if you get a flat battery going again, having to repeatedly recharge it is eventually going to bring on an early death. You can get a cheap and effective batter tender at CycleGear on sale for around $20 (and the electricity is pennies per week) -- a lot cheaper than replacing batteries. 

I recently replaced the battery in my SV (which is always on a tender when not in use).  I couldn't recall the last time I bought that bike a new battery, but a date sticker on the bottom of the old battery told me -- 2008!