Nicely done dave! Looks just like my 2003 now

Am I correct in assuming that you rode it on the original 13 year old tires?

Things that I have learned on this so far are:

1)  A low mileage bike doesn't always mean low wear.
2)  It is important not to just dump gas in the tank and try to fire up a bike that has been stored like this.
3)  There are still some very nice people out there.  The original owner really was helpful in getting the title straightened out.


I would also recommend that if anyone finds a bike like this and buys it:

1)  Try and avoid turning the engine over until you can get some "Fogging Oil" into the cylinder.  Once the fogging oil has been in place for a few days - remove the timing port cover and slowly turn the crank over to distribute the oil in the cylinder - and that will also let you know if the engine will turn over smoothly and has any compression.
2)  Don't change the oil filter right away.....leave it in place as it will allow you to get oil pressure quicker than if you take it off and put on a dry filter.  You can change the oil if you want....but don't remove the filter cover.
3)  Clean the carb....although it won't hurt to try and make it run with the carb the way it was.  If the carb was not run out of fuel or drained...it is going to need a good cleaning.
4)  Remove the rear wheel and clean the rust out of the brake.
5)  I only found out about the worn rocker when fixing the oil leak.  If I had not removed the head cap to fix the oil leak....I most likely would have spent time trying to figure out why the engine was so noisy.  I am not sure how long the engine would have continued to run with the worn rocker....or how long it would have taken me to chase down the noise.
6)  Based on the hesitation/surging just off idle - I need to try 2 washers.  My other bike ran best with the #50 pilot, #150 main and 2 washers on the needle....I should have tried that instead of going to 3 washers.
 

Last week I changed the oil and filter on the bike - the original oil was pretty black so this oil change was done after only a 100 miles in an attempt to "flush" out the dirt.  That is the nice thing about Rotella T....an oil change is only about $ 6.00.

Yesterday I took the front brake pads out as they were squealing and I put in new Organic pads and the squeal is gone.  I siphoned the blackish brake fluid out of the reservoir, then added new brake fluid and flushed the old fluid out of the system until the fluid came out clear.

I went for a long ride in the afternoon, and with each ride I was becoming a bit more comfortable with the bike and pushed it a little harder around the curves.  I did notice that when you hit a bump in the curves.....this bike wiggles around a bit and is not as stable as my Cafe' conversion.  Then as I was going around one smooth sweeper.....I felt the back tire slide!  I guess I have explored the "sticky limit" for 13 year old tires.....I will be replacing them in the early spring, as I never see the benefit in putting fresh rubber on so the bike can sit in the garage all winter.

Happy Ending?  Yea, I believe the bike has turned out just fine.  It still needs a bit of polishing to remove some of the corrosion - however it is pretty presentable for a 13 year old motorcycle.

Savageman wrote on 12/15/15 at 10:33:57:


I am not convinced the heat from the valve stem is going to transfer through the valve stem tips, through the valve lash adjustment screws into the rocker arm - then travel the length of the rocker arm to heat up the wear surface on the exhaust rocker.  Halfway along the length of the rocker arm any extra heat will encounter the rocker shaft.....and I would bet that if any extra heat is available, it would be transferred to the shaft and travel to the head cover - and both the intake rocker and exhaust rocker shafts are mounted within an inch of each other.  (When you get your head apart you will have a better understanding of how the cam/rocker setup works....and you can see how the oil supply comes in on the downhill side of the cam).

Nice work!!

Great post Dave! Thank you, very good info on bringing a bike back after a long "hibernation!
I was fortunate enough to pick up a pair (1987 & a 1988) last year

. Fogging oil in the cylinders, and pulled 1 of the carbs is all the further i have gotten to date. Busy with work, family, and life
Mike