coming out... of retirement

[fastfranky]

My 1978 xs11 2h9 went to have a rest @ 25000kms in 1986. The builders came and altered the garage, building a wall in front of the bike, and as it was on it's centrestand, a fair bit of thought as to how I could get it out was called for. Last year 2006 I dragged the bike out and looked at it, then put it back to have another think! Now I've decided to get the "Flying Strawberry" out and get her running.
Question: The atmosphere in the garage is reasonably dry, no serious rust, but....... I left her with a half tank of fuel and the battery connected, what should I do to get this mess sorted out without causing anymore damage than I have already?
And before anyone answers, I know, I should be taken out and flogged for treating the old lady like that.............

[mro]

Curious what the old gas looks like?
Inside of tank rusted?

Old tank I have, cleaned with laquer thinner. Took a couple days.
Would pull and clean carbs, then a complete general maintenance.

mro
btw
have manual?

[fastfranky]

Fuel looks, errr..... nasty!
I read somewhere that filling the tank with coke (cocacola not white powder) and leaving it for a week or two brings it up like new.
Should I fill the cylinders with release oil and let them soak before turning the engine over, I'm worried the rings might have all gummed up.

[xssiveone]

I would certainly oil the cylinders up and change the oil (and filter) before attempting to start it. Crank it over for a bit without the plugs in to circulate the oil thru. The battery is toast, as are the tires, no matter how good they look. Figure on at least a flush and fill of the hydraulic brake systems, if not a complete disassembly and clean.

As for the tank, Coke, or phosphoric acid, which is in Coke, will clean any rust off the inside. If it's really bad, drop a couple lengths of chain in and gently swish it around to clean the heavier scale off. Remove the petcocks and fuel sending unit and fab up some covers. I used small pieces of 1/8" flat stock for the petcocks, and a piece of 1/4" plywood for the fuel sending unit.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Frank,

I believe there are tech tips on how to clean out your tank, and I KNOW there have been recent discussions on this, HobbyMan was the original thread author. BTW, use DIET COKE, you don't want any SUGAR Gumming up things! But you can also get some phosphoric acid from local hardware stores or such. Do a search, you'll find lots of info!
T.C.

[HobbyMan]

naval jelly... Put some marvel mysery oil down in the cyl. I would go through the brakes and clean everything. You should get by without anything major. Maby just cleaning or rebuild kits. Wouldn't hurt to lube/grease the drive train. change the oil in the crank case, middle, and final drives. You will probably need to clean the carbs and maby some float valve seals. New seals on the petcocks wouldn't hurt too. Besides all this, new battery and tires will probably hold you over for a while. One extra note: Check all the hoses, vacuum etc... Make sure the battery breather hose is clear or you will be needing some baking soda and new paint. Ohh yeah, new air filter