wmarsh4
XS650 Enthusiast
Picking up my bike in the morning, it's a 1972 xs650. It's been sitting for years, what's the first thing I should do before even trying to start it? Any help is great, thanks.
Posted via Mobile
Posted via Mobile
-
Enjoy XS650.com? Consider making a donation to help support the site.
XS650.com receives a small share of sales from some links on this page, but direct donations have a much greater impact on keeping this site going.
just got it been sitting for yrs, what do I do first?
- Thread starter wmarsh4
- Start date
Read these 2 threads first, should get you a head start.
http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=367
http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=390
http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=367
http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=390
Take lots and lots of pictures.
Take pictures, powerwash it, take pictures.
Dave
- It will help in six months or a year's time when you're saying "Which way round did this thing go?" (presuming it was fitted right in the first place)
- It will be a great feeling, when you have your fully restored/customised masterpiece, to say "This is what it was like when I got it"
- When its Sunday morning and you were up 'til two and you haven't managed to solve the problem (and you have a large cut on your thumb) it will be great to see "how far you have come".
- But most of all we love pictures.
Take pictures, powerwash it, take pictures.
Dave
Welcome in.
Pictures, we gotta see pictures!
Those threads skull lists are good but.......
low compression on a barn bike isn't a game stopper.
Before attempting a start.
pull plugs do a compression test.
I like to pull valve covers on a sitter and put a shot of PB blaster or your favorite rust buster between the springs. with plugs out lot's of kicking over then a shot of oil between the valve springs more kicking over.
IMHO a common (nearly completely preventable) disaster on barn sitters is a rusty valve stem causing a stuck (soon to be bent) valve. lots of lube and plugs out kicking over will greatly reduce the chance of this being a problem for you. IT doesn't hurt the rest of the engine to get some oil moved around and parts reaquainted before an attempt to start is made.
Add in setting valves, cam chain, ignition R&R, carb overhaul and retorquing the head bolts.
Yes I really do all this stuff before attempting a start up!
The fuel system stem to stern needs to be R&R'd also if you can't wait to "hear it run" a temporary tank of some sort is much better than the rust and crap from a "barn tank" going into the carbs you just cleaned. Throw away all the fuel lines and clamps, buy new don't even think about letting those old rotten hard rubber lines shed chunks of rubber into the carbs.
Pictures, we gotta see pictures!
Those threads skull lists are good but.......
low compression on a barn bike isn't a game stopper.
Before attempting a start.
pull plugs do a compression test.
I like to pull valve covers on a sitter and put a shot of PB blaster or your favorite rust buster between the springs. with plugs out lot's of kicking over then a shot of oil between the valve springs more kicking over.
IMHO a common (nearly completely preventable) disaster on barn sitters is a rusty valve stem causing a stuck (soon to be bent) valve. lots of lube and plugs out kicking over will greatly reduce the chance of this being a problem for you. IT doesn't hurt the rest of the engine to get some oil moved around and parts reaquainted before an attempt to start is made.
Add in setting valves, cam chain, ignition R&R, carb overhaul and retorquing the head bolts.
Yes I really do all this stuff before attempting a start up!
The fuel system stem to stern needs to be R&R'd also if you can't wait to "hear it run" a temporary tank of some sort is much better than the rust and crap from a "barn tank" going into the carbs you just cleaned. Throw away all the fuel lines and clamps, buy new don't even think about letting those old rotten hard rubber lines shed chunks of rubber into the carbs.
One of the things you should try to avoid getting caught up in, is the cosmetics. Bring the mess home, give it a wash and see what you have. I brought home a derelict Moto Guzzi that was partially disassembled and looked like an impossible puzzle. I washed the dust and crud off of it. I have put it back together so now I can see what I have and don't have. Now, I'll work on the brakes, and all the other servicing stuff. I won't be messing with paint, polish, etc. It's all about go at this point. Once, it's up and running and I know what's what, I'll decide what I want to do with it.
Don't ride it before you know it can stop!
Don't ride it before you know it can stop!
rybeatty
XS650 Enthusiast
if something's been sittin for years make sure it has oil in it before you even attempt to turn it over!
Yes, I see so many people who make them pretty before they even attempt to make them run. To me, that's completely the wrong approach. I was helping a guy across town who's already spent several hundred on the "pretty" - and the bike doesn't even run. And it never will unless I make it do so because this guy is a mechanical moron. He has big dreams for the bike but that's all they'll ever be. He has basically no skills (or tools) to implement them.
Once you read the two threads 650skull listed, read through the XS650 TECH section. It will help you find fixes for problems that crop up.
Leo
Leo
jd750ace
Front Toward Enemy
I had my 79 in hand for nearly 3 weeks following the advice here before I started it. Now she runs like a sewing machine, and I'm riding it at least twice a week. Not freaking out about how it looks right now, because it works. When I get ready to try to pretty it up, I can preserve a known good runner properly before the down time. In the meantime, I get to enjoy riding it and shake down all it's issues.
Sage advice being given and hopefully taken to heart.....not only now but for future perusers.......
