Getting antsy here..

[Duaner]

I bought this 1981 xs1100 Midnight special from a family member, unfortunately the poor bike has been sitting for approx 17 years. Just finally started getting into it today and hopefully tomorrow it will be turning over for the first time in a long time. Other than changing oil, plugs and new battery, draining carb bowls and running some good fuel and seafoam through it, any other tips or ideas for a novice mechanic?

[crazy steve]

I bought this 1981 xs1100 Midnight special from a family member, unfortunately the poor bike has been sitting for approx 17 years. Just finally started getting into it today and hopefully tomorrow it will be turning over for the first time in a long time. Other than changing oil, plugs and new battery, draining carb bowls and running some good fuel and seafoam through it, any other tips or ideas for a novice mechanic?

Yeah, don't try to ride it until you've fully disassembled and thoroughly cleaned both the whole fuel system and braking system. After sitting that long, I'll guarantee that a drain-and-seafoam treatment on the carbs won't cut it (and may do more harm than good), and your brake fluid has probably turned to jelly. Check your valve clearances if the bike has more than 15K on it. I'm sure the tires need replacing too....

[ViperRon]

clutch

Mine set for 10 years and ran ok at first when I rebuilt it but then clutch problems. Seems that all the time sitting the plates developed rust and semi adhered to the frictions. At first clutch seemed fine then developed shutter and slip. While you ae doing things this may be a simple cleanup to avoid problems. Mine I caught before anything more than cleaning will be needed there are several good writeups for removal and inspection it is not very hard to do.

[XJkid]

My XJ sat for 14 years and in that time water had rusted pinholes in the tank and eaten away a petcock sealing surface, brakes were all grunged up and sticking, and it threw a valve being run without cleaning the oil delivery system. You need to be prepared for a lot of "love labor", wanting to do this for the total experience, as well as the ride.

[SFerinTEXAS]

17 yrs sitting.

Getting antsy here

Reminds me of this story.

There is a famous story about Yagyu Matajuro, who was a son of the famous Yagyu family of swordsmen in 17th century feudal Japan. He was kicked out of the house for lack of talent and potential, and sought out instruction of the swordmaster Tsukahara Bokuden, with the hope of achieving mastery of the sword and regaining his family position. On their initial interview, Matajuro asked Tsukahara Bokuden, "How long will it take me to master the sword?" Bokuden replied, "Oh, about five years if you train very hard." "If I train twice as hard, how long will it take?" inquired Matajuro. "In that case, ten years", retorted Bokuden.

Ref http://www.aikidofaq.com/essays/black_belt.html

Go slow

[Duaner]

definately going to be a slow process, just want to try to fire it up and get a good assessment of the damage. Definately not close to riding this one anytime soon. Want to see where its at so I know where to start disassembling. Thanks for some info all

[ddragon63]

mine sat for 7 years in a wood framed non insulated shed in rainy Vancouver, WA. course I put staybil in the gas before it was parked in that shed. When I pulled it out I drained and cleaned the tanks. fresh fuel with seafoam. fresh oil with seafoam. put in new plugs. Ran it in the garage @ various rpm's several times for a few days. probably burnt up 3 gallons of gas. Changed the oil again and plugs. all worked out well... of course your experience may differ. I got lucky!

[ddragon63]

oh and I also Sprayed Aerosol Seafoam down the plug holes and rolled it over by hand several times. then with the starter before putting plugs in and lighting fire to it.

[petejw]

hi Duaner

remove the air box and see if the carb slides move freely,
if they do,
remove the plugs and put a little oil in each of the cylinders,
crank the engine over til the oil light goes out,
stick some fuel in the tank and if theres no leaks,
put the plugs back in and try firing her up,
if she starts run it at a fast idle for 5 - 10 minutes.
good luck.

[WSL91]

My bike sat for 15 years and when they got it running the clutch was seized in it. At least that the story from the guy I bought it from but it sounds reasonable. Watch the tires too, check the date code, tires that aren't cracked at all can crack rapidly once you start running it. If over 5 years old they should probably be replaced.

[DGXSER]

An oldy but a goodie!

HERE is an FAQ on the site of things to look for.

[fredintoon]

I bought this 1981 xs1100 Midnight special from a family member, unfortunately the poor bike has been sitting for approx 17 years. Just finally started getting into it today and hopefully tomorrow it will be turning over for the first time in a long time. Other than changing oil, plugs and new battery, draining carb bowls and running some good fuel and seafoam through it, any other tips or ideas for a novice mechanic?

Hi Duaner,
what they all said. Especially the tires, would you use a 17 year old condom?
Your profile sez "first bike".
Fer chrissake take a riders course before you take that bike on the road, it'll greatly reduce the chance of you ending up as a smear of forensic evidence.

[Duaner]

Hi Duaner,
what they all said. Especially the tires, would you use a 17 year old condom?
Your profile sez "first bike".
Fer chrissake take a riders course before you take that bike on the road, it'll greatly reduce the chance of you ending up as a smear of forensic evidence.

first bike that I have owned personally, been riding for years and have the course. Not to worry, the way this project is going it won't be on the road for a long time if at all. Wanted to keep it original as possible since its a midnight special, doubt that now.. haha

[crazy steve]

....Wanted to keep it original as possible since its a midnight special, doubt that now.. haha

Still no reason you can't keep it 'original' except for the bits that are 'normal' repair/replacement parts. If the bike is low mileage, you probably won't even have to buy much; just clean everything....

[James England]

I had one that sat for 10 years. It was going to be borken for spares anyway (rough), so I thought I'd at least try to start the engine up without any expense whatsoever. I put fuel in and used a car battery to turn the engine. I sprayed Easy Start (ether) into the airbox and it fired up.... badly..... then, horrifyingly, the airbox caught fire! I really thought I'd have a serious problem on my hands but managed to put the fire by smothering it with a blanket. The cause? An inlet valve had rusted in the open position and was stuck solid. The spark plug had sparked, fired up the Easy Start and blown back through the carb, igniting the fuel in it. I was surprised at how quickly the fire spread. Fortunately, I'd just hung out some washing to dry (it's what we do here) and grabbed a convenient damp blanket.

I would check that all valves open and close properly and that you have reasonable compression on all cylinders! Like I should have done......