After much trial and error in avoiding carburator issues when storing my small engine equipment, I can honestly say that running the engine dry and purging residual gas is the way to go. This is especially true for ATV's where a small amount of fuel left in the float bowl can wreak havoc on carburator jets, even when using fuel additives. You will be surprised at how much residual fuel comes out of your ATV carburator. It is best to use the drain screw, when available, to dry the bowl completely dry. And for two strokes, use the primer bulb to purge residual fuel from the carburator and fuel lines.

Draining residual fuel will also remove trace dirt that accumulates in the bowl over time, as does emptying the fuel tank on two cycles where dirt can accumulate as well.

Never done it in my entire life. I use most of mine year around.

Frequent use is best, but not always applicable. My portable generators and chain saws can sit idle for months on end, as can my ATV's.

I will say that my frequently used two strokes performed better once I began draining them after EVERY use.

I should add my experience also includes working with equipment that I pick up at garage sales and other places that I repair just to fill my spare time and provide a break from work. In the vast majority of cases, it is equipment that people have purchased and let sit idle for some time, sometimes after a single use. It doesn't take long for today's fuel with all the additives to get a stored away engine where it won't start and run.

Yep!

The lawn mower and weedeater I never worry about until the end of the season, but occasional use stuff, like the chain saw and generator always get drained and run dry.

I know my small engine issues dropped by at least 75% what a buddy convinced me this was the way to go...that was 30 years ago.

Again, the extra step of draining the float bowl AFTER shutting of the gas and running the engine dry made a big difference with my generators and ATV. That small amount of fuel left in the very bottom of the bowl created havoc. Pushing the squeeze bulb several times on two strokes AFTER the engine quits on a dry tank is just as important for the same reason. That small amount of fuel left in the bulb and lines can create problems.

Had a 2 stroke boat motor from 1985-2015. Never had any mechanical work done on it and never had the carbs off. Biggest thing we ever did was water pump and fuel lines. We ran the fuel out when we put it away and it still started on the first crank when we sold it.