Hey guys, I'm new to the forum.  I just want to explain a little bit about myself and my bike.  I live in Raleigh, NC.  I don't have much mechanic experience, the little bit I have is from doing maintenance on my car.  I do however have the internet, a clymer manual, and appropriate tools.  I'm really willing to put in the amount of work needed to get this bike running (if it's worth it.) I am an industrial engineering major junior at NC State university and I'm repairing my dad's 1986 savage to ride to class.

The bike has been sitting indoors for at least four years.  It was running at some point around then, but not frequently.  There is no battery.  The front suspension leaks oil and might be pitted.  It doesn't look too severe to my untrained eye.  I can shift through the gears and the brakes seem to work.  

There was unwinterized gasoline in the tank for some long amount of time which I have drained out.  When I was doing it, I switched the petcock to 'on' with the fuel line going into the carburetor and gas started leaking from somewhere below the carburetor onto the floor pretty rapidly.  I emptied the gas tank into a fuel can using the fuel line.  

I took the seat off and checked the fuses and noticed one was broken.  I'll probably replace the fuse and test the electrical system with my car battery tomorrow.  If that goes well then I'll buy a battery and test the spark plug. Then maybe some cleaning and a photo op.

Basically, I want to know some things to check to determine the overall cost/difficulty of repair and the priority of repairing these things.  I will try to be active in this forum and update frequently.  Any information or recommendations you guys can give me would be great.  I look forward to working on this bike and learning more about it.

Hi.

Had a similar experience after leaving my bike unchecked in my own garage for the better part of... 18 months...

1. Ditch the old battery, it's hopeless...

2. Drain thegas (you've done it, ok) you can recycle it in your car  
just remember to top to "full" at the gas station, you don't know what chemically happened to the old gas...

3. Get a can of WD40 or similar, spray a looong dose (10 secs or so) in the cylinder through the spark plug hole (taking the tank off will help)
Leave it to soak in overnight. This is to help the piston unglue itself from the cylinder walls.
Good for the piston rings too   AND helps when starting for the very first time.

4. I advise against using a car battery for the bike's electrical system, it has such a huge surge current you could fry wires right through,
whereas a small (moped or similar) 12V battery will eventually only fry the fuse  

5. BEFORE trying out the starter motor, pull the spark plug, engage 2nd gear and push/pull the bike back and forth a few feet;
you should hear the typical "chuffchuff" sound as the air is sucked in and pushed out of the cylinder.
That is good.
BUT if you hear any scraping - squeaking sounds...  ... aren't you glad you were merely pushing the bike rather than starting it ?  

6. Once all these tests have proven OK; only after you've renewed those few inches of fuel line with new rubber;  
only after spark plug and solenoid have shown to produce a nice string spark;
pour a quart or so of fuel, turn petcock to "prime", give it 15" to fill the carburetor bowl, pull the starting knob and give her a try.
She may stutter and die out, just avoid gunning the throttle, she should start.

Best of luck.

PS Once it's "all systems go" may I suggest you replace the stock petcock with a Raptor.

Thanks for the advice guys.  I'll check some of these things tonight and keep you all posted.  Thanks for the quick reply.  

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 09/23/13 at 07:15:36:


Words of wisdom,couldn't have said it better.

I got the bike to start today.  Fresh battery and fuse.  There was enough oil and the gas tank wasn't rusty.  It would barely idle and would knock off when revved.  I think it just needs the carburetor cleaned.  I'm thinking of buying a rebuild kit, any recommendations?

Ok thanks.  I don't have an impact driver but I'll see if I can find one of those bits at the store and maybe borrow one from a mechanic friend.  

Another question: the front suspension.  How can I tell if it's good enough for a test ride?  It leaks oil and it's slightly pitted.  I figure I would have to replace the seals, but should I bother with trying to smooth out the forks?  If I go over to work on it today I'll take some pics and post them.  The front suspension goes down and comes back up when I lean on it with the front brake on.  

After I clean the carb and take care of the forks I think it's ready to get inspected.  Then I have to get a motorcycle license and update my insurance.

Thanks everyone for your help, I wouldn't have been able to do any of this alone.  After hearing the bike start and idle yesterday I've been constantly thinking about it just dying to get back in the shop.  Such a great feeling.
-Ryan

I removed the carb and took the entire thing to a car mechanic friend to have it cleaned.  He came with me and we put the carb and gas tank back on.  We started the bike and the idle sounded much better.  However, it would knock off after revving.  It would backfire after knocking off.  My mechanic friend tried to stop it from doing that by adjusting the mix using the gold screw at the front of the carb.  We couldn't get it to run smoothly after being revved although the idle sounded fine.  I haven't done my research yet on why this is happening but I'm going to start digging now.

Lookat the TEV stuff in the tech section.

Dont ;let the gas  slap shut
Make sure the idle ius high enough. It will die coming off the gas if its toolow