First startup after sitting 34 years...
Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2022 12:47 am
Just fired up my new-to-me '81 today. It's been in storage since 1988. Have a few issues to work out and would appreciate any insight from the gurus here.
Here's what I've done to this barn find so far:
Gave her a good bath
Pumped up the tires
Completely tore down, cleaned, rebuilt, bench sync'd (visual only), and polished carbs.
Swapped two shims on a couple slightly tight valves
New battery
New petcock and fuel line
Repaired vacuum shutoff
Upon initial startup, cylinders started slowly joining in. #2 & #5 weren't firing after running for a minute or so. Pulled plugs to check spark on those two cold cylinders. Plugs were wet and spark was strong so I cranked it briefly to blow out the cylinders, put plugs back in and viola! She was purring. Not sure why those last two cylinders took so long to join in but hey, they were sleeping for 34 years!
Here are the issues I've noticed so far:
Idle was steady and smooth at first but after it warmed up a bit, I revved it up a bit and after that the idle stayed high. Is that due to carbs being out of sync? (I haven't done a final running sync yet - still finishing up making my carb wrenches) Or is a carburetor slide/piston sticking possibly? (none of them stuck at all when I checked them after re-assembly)
I haven't checked timing at all yet.
Brake calipers are sticking. Pistons were stiff. I lubed and exercised them and they are better but still won't release brake pads sufficiently. Has anyone run into internal swelling of brake lines (acts like a check valve and won't let pistons retract). I've seen that on other equipment before but not bikes. Or is there something else in these brake systems that causes them to not release?
Rear suspension air light came on during a short ride around the block. I'm unfamiliar with that system and don't have a manual yet.
Started smoking a bit on one side after running around the block (1 mile). Didn't smoke on initial couple warmups. Haven't diagnosed that any further yet. Just wondering if there are known issues on these after sitting for a long time. Valve seals? Ring sticking? (I didn't check compression yet)
Bike has 17K on it and supposedly ran very well before the previous owner let the gas go bad a second time from sitting (1988) and didn't want to pay the $1800 to have them cleaned out again. So it sat...
Other notes: Mixture screws are at 2.5 turns out (I removed flags). I'm at 6200' elevation. Bike all stock except K&N style air filter.
I'll post some pics this weekend.
Here's what I've done to this barn find so far:
Gave her a good bath
Pumped up the tires
Completely tore down, cleaned, rebuilt, bench sync'd (visual only), and polished carbs.
Swapped two shims on a couple slightly tight valves
New battery
New petcock and fuel line
Repaired vacuum shutoff
Upon initial startup, cylinders started slowly joining in. #2 & #5 weren't firing after running for a minute or so. Pulled plugs to check spark on those two cold cylinders. Plugs were wet and spark was strong so I cranked it briefly to blow out the cylinders, put plugs back in and viola! She was purring. Not sure why those last two cylinders took so long to join in but hey, they were sleeping for 34 years!
Here are the issues I've noticed so far:
Idle was steady and smooth at first but after it warmed up a bit, I revved it up a bit and after that the idle stayed high. Is that due to carbs being out of sync? (I haven't done a final running sync yet - still finishing up making my carb wrenches) Or is a carburetor slide/piston sticking possibly? (none of them stuck at all when I checked them after re-assembly)
I haven't checked timing at all yet.
Brake calipers are sticking. Pistons were stiff. I lubed and exercised them and they are better but still won't release brake pads sufficiently. Has anyone run into internal swelling of brake lines (acts like a check valve and won't let pistons retract). I've seen that on other equipment before but not bikes. Or is there something else in these brake systems that causes them to not release?
Rear suspension air light came on during a short ride around the block. I'm unfamiliar with that system and don't have a manual yet.
Started smoking a bit on one side after running around the block (1 mile). Didn't smoke on initial couple warmups. Haven't diagnosed that any further yet. Just wondering if there are known issues on these after sitting for a long time. Valve seals? Ring sticking? (I didn't check compression yet)
Bike has 17K on it and supposedly ran very well before the previous owner let the gas go bad a second time from sitting (1988) and didn't want to pay the $1800 to have them cleaned out again. So it sat...
Other notes: Mixture screws are at 2.5 turns out (I removed flags). I'm at 6200' elevation. Bike all stock except K&N style air filter.
I'll post some pics this weekend.