Motorcycle Repair: why my Yamaha will not start, fuel stabilizer, yamaha xvs1100

Question
My Yamaha XVS1100 has been stored in the garage for couple of months not heated rather cold recently. I tried to start it. it started with difficulties and then it missfired and splattered. Now I cant start it at all. Battery new and fully charged. there was fuel in the tank. the starter motor works but the bike will not start. Is this a garage job or can I do anything to correct this (someone said it is moisture or dirt in the fuel..!!. Many thanks

Answer
Dirt or water in the fuel could cause this. The cure is to drain the tank & carbs and then fill it up with fresh fuel. Information on how to do this should be in your shop manual. If you don't have a shop manual you should get one before you do anything more with the bike - sometimes things don't work the way you might first think they do and you can make things worse by just blundering in. Usually the manual will pay for itself the first time you use it instead of paying for shop time.

Another possibility is dirty contact(s) in one or more of the switches, but since you didn't tell me what year your bike is I couldn't look up a schematic to recommend which switch(es) to look at.

Another, less likely, possibility is that you have fouled the plugs by trying to start it with stale fuel.

I always recommend that if a bike is not going to be used for more than a month the fuel in the tank and carbs should be drained. Fuel that is left for extended periods can lose it's lighter volatiles (the ones most needed for starting) to evaporation within a few months. Eventually, as heavier volatiles evaporate, the fuel will become a thick varnish, and finally a gell that is almost impossible to clean out.
Fuel stabilizer will slow the process, but it is only good for 6 months before the fuel begins to deteriorate anyway. I use it in my lawn mower because I know that the grass will grow again next year and it will be used, but I always drain the tanks of bikes that are being stored because you never know what wil happen to cause it to be stored longer than expected.
My GoldWing's original owner, for example, broke both his ankles in an industrial accident and could never ride again. The bike sat for 10 years (6 outside) before it came into my posession and I was able to put it back on the road. Fortunately, the tank had been drained and was still clean & shiny inside.