Process for getting a bike running that's sat for 6 years?

Picked up the new toy yesterday and it's time to get it running.

Can anyone give me some pointers on the best path to take to get this thing running again?

I'm not just going to throw gas in it and a battery and start cranking on it, there's gotta be some things to check/break free before that.

 

thatta' boy. far too many people on here think they can do so just by asking the simple questions, and then later on getting upset when it fails to operate effectively. the more info you can share and time you can devote towards your XJ, the more response and pleasure you'll get out of riding it when it does work effectively and SAFELY.

if you live in the colder weather states of the U.S. don't plan on riding this year... just spend the time now to replace anything you may tend to question its reliability such as fluids, all types of rubber, brakes in safe working condition, wiring (fusebox). plus there's a lot of specifications you'll need to check (like valve clearances) because you can't trust anything the previous owner did

It would be smart to get a service manual, but even better get the factory manual as well. they go hand-in-hand, and with those pieces of literature plus this site you'll get it in good shape. i'm sure bigfitz52 could share a small portion of his "list" if he sees this, or you send him a PM. he's full of knowledge and someone that a lot of us other members look up to.

 

Re: Process for getting a bike running that's sat for 6 year

Plugs out, good dose of penetrating oil in each cylinder. Soak for a few days.

Plugs out crank by hand. If everything is free you're off to a good start.

New fluids (oil, brake fluid, coolant if required etc.)

Remove nests and dirt from the air filter.

You can now add battery, a little fuel and see if you got lucky. Very likely the carburetors will overflow first time they're filled. Turn fuel off and see if it starts. If it runs (unlikely) you can turn the fuel back on when it starts to stumble - floats may free up.

If you've got a runner you can try putting it in gear. HOLD BRAKES FIRMLY and have a clear path ahead. There is a very good chance the clutch is stuck.

If you've got to this point you should buy a lottery ticket - you're having a run of luck.

Then perform every service in the maintenance section of the service manual that you didn't do above.

Replace the tires and inspect the brakes.

Now you're ready to ride!

 

Yeah, I don't plan on riding it this year, haha, I have a goal of early spring for everything. I live in WI.

It's been stored indoors, thankfully, so that helps. Tank looks to have been Kreem'd which sucks, IMO, but may help being there is NO rust in the fuel. Tank is about half full with stank gas.

EVERY cable on it however, is seized or hard. Clutch is hard as hell, front brakes locked on me the first time I touched them, and the choke cable is stuck, but not the carbs.

Going to pull the plugs and hose the pistons down with penetrant for now.

Bike is an 82 Seca 750 with touring package.

 

Re: Process for getting a bike running that's sat for 6 year

This is the best "blueprint" for success.

 

This is if you don't have the tool to lube your cables.

A little trick you can do to free up your cables is take them all off get some Zip lock style Lunch bags Cut a small corner out of the bag pull your cable up into the bag a little bit. Use some good tape ( I use Gorilla style duck tape ) to seal the bag to the cable . Get some Kroil or something very similar ( Kroil still the best Imo though ) put it in the bag so that the level of penetrant is above where the cable enters seal up the bag put some tape on the top corner poke a hole and hang the cable somewhere. while your working on other things let gravity do its thing every 2 days or so check lvl and give cable a pull or 2. Don't forget to put something Under the cable also after awhile the oil will start to run through the cable. once they are free ( which they will be Like butta ) use a good cable lube. If they are frayed or broken replace.

Good luck and I hope you get to Enjoy her next spring.

 

Re: Process for getting a bike running that's sat for 6 year

Whats the process for turning it over by hand?

 

Re: Process for getting a bike running that's sat for 6 year

Whats the process for turning it over by hand?

 

Re: Process for getting a bike running that's sat for 6 year

oops... dp

 

Re: Process for getting a bike running that's sat for 6 year

On the left side of the engine there is an almost round cover that says YICS. It's held on by four screws. Under that is the timing rotor that can be turned with a 19mm open end wrench.

The screws in the cover are almost certain to be seized. Might as well coat them with penetrating oil too (the bottom front one is drilled through, penetrating oil in back too).

If you don't have an impact screwdriver get one while the penetrating oil is soaking. They're available at Sears and Harbor Freight. You're likely to need it to get those screws and many others out.

Also a good idea to get a set of JIS screwdrivers. Member Chacal sells them and every part you could possibly need. Get to know him.

 

I've got a good impact driver. Already had to use it on the carb drain screws (first time on any bike having to impact those out).

Gotcha. Left side cover. Pistons have been soaking in penetrating oil for 2 days now, gonna give it a turn.

 

Well, opened up the ignition cover and turned the motor by hand, plugs out.

Smooth as butter.

Took the gas tank off, got rid of the old stank gas, and refilled with fresh non-ethanol. Noticed that for some dumb reason there was a second plastic shut off valve on the fuel supply line from the petcock to the carbs, and the vac line from the carbs to the petcock was broken off... Hm. Redneck fix? Dunno.

Also, the carb bowls are bone dry and are on in some screwy ass order... the outside two carb drains point to the left (sitting on bike) and the middle two point right.... WTF. Took off the right side bowl and it was stone dry, not even any dried up fuel in it....

Odd fish.

 

Your petcock was likely leaking, so the PO probably set it to PRI and put in a second ON/OFF valve. Easy to test the petcock, just try it with the different positions, and suck on the vacuum line in ON and RES.

Eh, POs aren't known for putting things back in order. I know my bowls were marked in the wrong order, and installed so that they all pointed inward. Also, I recently found that my main jets were switched from stock. So double check all those things. Your bike's PO was not one to pay attention to details.

I didn't see anyone mention compression test. Good idea to do that now that you know the motor is free.

 

Took a look at the petcock today and it seemed to be fine. Took it all apart to clean and lube everything up a bit with penetrant to get it ready for operation, everything was a bit 'sticky' inside, so cleaned it all up with somce carb cleaner and tomorrow I'll have to chase for the o-ring on the dial, it was slightly chewed up. Other than that, kosher.

Put on my remote fuel reservoir, plugged the vac line for the petcock, and tried to crank it for about 5 seconds, nothing.... Tried again, nothing.... Tried a third and last time and VROOM, up she came! It's alive!!! Let her run for about 30 seconds and shut it down for safety's sake. SO HAPPY.

No odd noises, no bad smells, barely any smoke. Might have gotten a diamond in the rough here.

Tomorrow will get the petcock fixed, and the tank reinstalled for now. Then a compression test, and if all looks good, I'll let it run on the centerstand for a while to get up to temp, and maybe try shifting though the gears a bit just to feel it out.

Great day.

 

Petcock fixed, bike fired instantly today.

Idle is all over the place, seemed to straighten out a bit after the bike got warm, but once I closed the choke, the idle still sat at 2-3K average with a pretty heavy bounce-around every now and then.

Looks like a full carb rebuild and valve adjustment is next on the list. (Was going to happen either way, but this pushed it to the front of the line.)

 

With the off-season upon us; projects like Rebuilding Carbs are popular because there is no rush.

Hopefully the Gods will be kind to you and there will be no nasty complications involving stuck and seized fasteners, drain screws and pilot mixture screws.

There are KITS available to upgrade all the OEM Fasteners to Stainless Metric Allen.

After 30-years of service; the Carbs deserve a Major Overhaul, ... including Throttle Shaft Seals, Carb Kits, Float Pins and Seats and Pilot Mixture Screw O-rings.

Be sure to extract and clean the Main Fuel Nozzles (Emulsion Tubes).
Flush Fuel Passages.
Re-finish and Polish Diaphragm Piston Bores. (Clunk Test)

 

I'll second Rick's advice, mostly because his threads on this site have instrumental in me and many other budding mechanics learning the precise (and at first sight, tedious) ways of proper xj carb rebuilding. The one thing it really takes, other than a few special tools (JIS screw drivers, impact screw drivers, and some cheap ones you can grind down to fit properly, and hopefully some extraction tools to take up space on your shelf :wink: ) and the right parts, is time and patience.

I'll also suggest Kroil as a great penetrating lubricant. You spray it on all the screws you hope to remove, then come back the next day. It works wonders, and on my turbo seca, which sat for 20 years, I didn't have one stuck fastener. Maybe it was just luck, maybe it's the techniques I've learned, but for what it's worth I trust kroil.

http://www.kanolabs.com/google/

 

Arm yourself with the PROPER Tools.

JIS Screwdrivers
Hand-held Impact Driver
Needle Nosed Vice Grips
Little-baby Booger-sucker
Spring-loaded Nail Setter

 

Gah! Removing this hard bag system is a royal pain in the ass.

Could we get ONE MORE BOLT in there? Just for fun?

 

Yeah, it does take some dexterity just to get a wrench end on some of the nuts. And it's probably all rusted in place. Best bet is spraying penetrating oil like Kroil and coming back to it tomorrow.

You gotta love how the bags have little handles on them. Like anyone is going to want to remove them after the ordeal of installing them.

 

I think those are there for getting the bike up on the centerstand... The bracket underneath is quite substantial.

I'm truly amazed at the bag kit, aside from the bajillion bots holding it on, that you can run it with any of the bags removed, and the structure underneath remains attractive. Really well made setup. Almost a 'before it's time' situation.

Anyway, got a lot done today, wish there was a place where I could do a full-on project thread.

 

Most project threads are posted here in the chat section, or in the modifications section. Do not let the fact that there is no specific project catagory keep you from doing one.

Ghost