starting a "long stored" bike.......

[Guest]

is there a need to oil down the cylinders prior to starting (or attempting to start) a bike that has been stored for 10 years or more? I looked at a 1978 GS1000, that was last registered in 1999. The fuel tank is dry, and I don't know if the carburetors were drained. I just don't want to even attempt to turn it over, until I know. The bike was stored in an attached garage.

[tkent02]

Can't hurt to use some oil on the rings. Penetrating oil or PB Blaster or something thin that will soak down past the piston into the rings. See if the engine turns over easily by the 19mm wrench on the crankshaft. If it does, everything else will be easy. If it's stuck, let the penetrating oil sit a while.

[spyug]

Definitely a good idea. Nothing worse than breaking a stuck ring on the first fire. As mentioned, get some good thin oil like Marvel Mystery Oil ( or even penetrating fluid like WD 40 or ATF tranny fluid) and let it sit for a day or two.

Before firing up I would also recomend turning by hand. Remove the right hand engine cover and turn the crank (big nut) clockwise. There should be no resistance and it should turn freely. If you feel any resistance pour more lube to it and try again later. If there is a lot of resistance you can try using a breaker bar on the nut for extra torque but be warned that you could easily snap a ring. In this case it would be better to pull the head and investigate further before you do more damage.

If the engine turns freely, resist the urge to fire right away but first drain and change the oil ( and filter) especially if you used ATF or penetrating fluid. Clean and or replace your plugs and put in some fresh gas (drain your float bowls of all the old gas too).

Charge the battery of course and if its older its not a bad idea to attach a good car or truck battery in series for some extra cranking amps. Spmetimes it takes quite a bit of cranking to get some fire in the hole. When adding a battery make sure its not in a vehicle that is running as that can fry your electronics.

It is also a good idea to have a fire extinguisher available or a big bucket of water as the odd fire can happen. Trust me on that.

Good luck with it and let us know when its running.

Cheers,
Spyug

[tkent02]

Charge the battery of course and if its older its not a bad idea to attach a good car or truck battery in series for some extra cranking amps.

Hook another battery up in series and you get 24 volts, enough to fry electricals.
Hook the second battery up in parallel, that way you get more amperage with no higher voltage.

Just use the other battery alone, that's enough power to start it.

[spyug]

I just reread your post and I think with a bike having sat this length of time a rebuild of the carbs would also be a good idea and likely save you a lot of frustration.

When I got my bike it had been sitting 7 years. While it looked good and was obviously well cared for, I usually always check the carbs and I'm glad I did as there was a lot of green "algae" in the float bowls and plugging some jets and passages. It would likely never have fired.

The carb tutorial is very explicit and while it seems overwhelming for new folks, it really is not difficult. Just make sure you do it properly as half measures ( shooting carb cleaner in) will not do. The carbs need to be stripped down and all parts properly soaked. It is well worth doing.

Good luck.
Spyug

[spyug]

Hook another battery up in series and you get 24 volts, enough to fry electricals.

Good thing someone is paying attention ! I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote that. My apologies.

Thanks for the "save"

Spyug

[fnkvn]

Thank you for the info. I hope to get back to the bike over the weekend, and oil the cylinders. I will let it sit for a day, before I try rotating the crank.

[Steve]

All good advice, but I wanted to comment on another of Spyug's statements:

... As mentioned, get some good thin oil like Marvel Mystery Oil ( or even penetrating fluid like WD 40 or ATF tranny fluid) and let it sit for a day or two. ...

Although WD-40 is wonderful stuff, it's not really much of a "penetrating oil". Except for the absolute lightest of needs, it's not really much of an "oil", either.

If you don't have a true penetrating oil handy, WD-40 will do OK, but you will get far better results with PB Blaster, Kroil, Deep Creep or even a home-brewed mix of ATF and acetone (reputed to be the best).

.

[spyug]

Although WD-40 is wonderful stuff, it's not really much of a "penetrating oil".

Its great for helping arthitic joints I'm told. I have a buddy who's dad is an 80 year old former farmer and he swears by the stuff, rubbed into the joints. Isn't it poison?

As Steve mentions there are better potions. While I do use many other products in the garage, I tend to call everything WD and I guess out of habit I mentioned it in my post. Sorry (again) to confuse......doing that a lot lately.....old age ain't what its cracked up to be

Let us know how it goes for you.

Cheers,
spyug

[Steve]

Oh, it has thousands of uses (including arthritis relief), but it's not intended for most of them.

I know many people use it rather generically, as you did, but just wanted to be clear that there are better products to be used for penetrating oil.


by the way, old age may not be what it's cracked up to be, but it's better than the alternative.

.

[MikeJ]

Its great for helping arthitic joints I'm told. I have a buddy who's dad is an 80 year old former farmer and he swears by the stuff, rubbed into the joints. Isn't it poison?

Nah, WD40 is made out of fish oil. Organic, healthy, all that crap. So it is an "oil" of sorts, but not petroleum-based. Main and original use is as a water dispersant (hence the "WD" moniker) for ignition systems and wiring connections in humid environments, also for a light rust preventative. Don't we already have a long running WD40 thread going? Heavenforbid we start another one here...

[Clone]

can you turn the engine by hand first? Put a little ATF into each cylinder or diesel, like a teaspoon, let it sit for a while, turn it by hand again through a full rotation, then crank it up.

[argonsagas]

Just a small thing to add here:

It is better to do it by hand, as already suggested, but whether you do it by hand or by starter, before turning it over the first time remove every spark plug so there is no compression. Other parts of the engine will also be dry, and will not get lubricated until the engine has turned a few times and some oil gets moved around.

On that subject, please drain old oil and replace with clean oil and filter before starting.

[The G Man]

Thanks for the info...

[1_v8_merc]

WD-40 is like the Budlight of Lubricants.

Meaning...I never buy it!