A waste or not?

[Raux]

I just picked up my '11 696ABS, and the dealer told me that if I was going to store the bike for a while (such as during the winter months) to attach a battery tender and fill it with gas. I would have thought differently like everyone else...

GAS not E10

[Jarvicious]

6 months should be no problem at all.  4 major concerns/solutions I would have:

1: Security.  Being overseas I would want my baby to have the safest home possible.
2: Stands to keep the tires off the ground, not to mention they're a great investment for a bike anyway
3: Battery tender.  You don't have to take it out of the bike (PITA) just hook up the cable leads to the battery and plug her in
4: LEAVE THE FUEL IN!  Properly treated, low ethanol fuel is a very small risk for plastic tank warping issues and will help protect the internals of your motor, injectors, and other various metal bits.  Aside from moisture, corrosion can be a pretty big enemy of an engine. 

[bikepilot]

I'd buy the bike.  Food and sleep are luxuries, bikes are not  

A battery tender and some stabilizer in the tank should do the trick.  Generally a full tank is better than an empty or nearly-empty tank as it leaves less room for condensation/water and general nasty stuff to take place. 6 months isn't too bad, I suspect it'd start right up and be as good as ever.

For what its worth my wife's motocross bike sat for four years while we were living out of state (for my schooling).  It started on the first kick 

[fastwin]

6 months should be no problem at all.  4 major concerns/solutions I would have:

1: Security.  Being overseas I would want my baby to have the safest home possible.
2: Stands to keep the tires off the ground, not to mention they're a great investment for a bike anyway
3: Battery tender.  You don't have to take it out of the bike (PITA) just hook up the cable leads to the battery and plug her in
4: LEAVE THE FUEL IN!  Properly treated, low ethanol fuel is a very small risk for plastic tank warping issues and will help protect the internals of your motor, injectors, and other various metal bits.  Aside from moisture, corrosion can be a pretty big enemy of an engine.  

I have several bikes. Some that get very little mileage and get stored a lot. I live for Sta-Bil treated gas. I'm using the Sta-Bil Marine Formula now since it kicks ass on ethanol treated gas better than the normal Sta-Bil. I also live for Battery Tenders. Every one of my bikes and even my farm equipment has one hooked up. They have saved me un-told hundreds of dollars in replacement batteries. In all my long term storage bikes (like yours would be) I drain the fuel every 3-6 months and replace it with fresh Sta-Bil treated fuel. And I run them for a little while to get the fresh treated fuel in the system. Not so much a problem with EFI bikes but a real problem with carb'd bikes! Sta-Bil and Battery Tenders have changed my life for the better!

[ManaloEA]

GAS not E10

Is there any place where you can still get gas instead of ethanol?

[zooom]

Is there any place where you can still get gas instead of ethanol?

few and far between...but I have found race fuel or CAM2 can work just as well for storage purposes without issue.

[curtisc83]

Well just to close out the topic I just put a deposit down on a Black 2011 Monster 796 ABS. The dealer didn't have any in stock so its on order for now.

[Raux]

awesome. congrats.. let the modding begin