Things to look out for

[BLorion3]

I recently inherited my grandpa's 1980 SX1100SG which has been sitting in a pole barn for almost 30 years. It stayed dry and has less than 10k miles on it, but once again stayed idle for a long time. I started the rebuild with my dad and was looking for any advice on things to look out for as I do this, any lessons learned, or issues that people have run into while working on their bikes. This past weekend we pulled the carbs to have them rebuilt, the tank needs to be cleaned and more than likely conditioned. The engine is not locked up and our first order of business is to get it to start.

So any friendly advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

[LAB3]

Get a manual if you don't already have one and perform EVERY maintenance step regardless of how many miles it has on it. During the process you'll have your hands on pretty much every part of the bike, be watchful of anything made of rubber for cracking or other age related deterioration. Needless to say a new set of tires and replacement brake lines will be in order but you'll probably want to see if it runs before splurging on those.

I've rehabbed several bikes that have sat for 20+ years and if your gramps said it ran before it was parked you should be able to get it going without a lot of fuss. Take your time, ask questions and be prepared to do things more than once as you learn.

[Socer4m]

Like Lab3 said,,,follow the maint. checklist,,
simple version- clean carbs, new spark plugs, change oil and filter, check air filter for dirt or critters stuff, charge battery but probably need new one,,,,,,gas tank hopefully not rusted, new fuel line rubber, IMPORTANT- install inline fuel filter on each gas line to stop crud,

then,,,,get some instant start, spray in air inlet, turn petcock to prime,,,,,,,PRAY,,,, and turn it over hoping for that wonderful starting Yamaha sound.....Good luck, keep us posted on updates,,,,Mike in San Diego

[jetmechmarty]

BRAKES!!! If they're good, at least change the fluid. The original brake lines were due for replacement at four years old. Replace the fork oil! Grease the steering bearings, and the swingarm bearings. Be wary of torque value errors in the various manuals. (The swingarm comes to mind.) As previously stated, service everything that can be serviced.