off the road for 4 years!!

[Mikweg]

Well here goes, my opening gambit, I thought I'd start with a massive thread with plenty of food for thought that hopefully gets some usefull responses

As you may or may not know I am new to this and have just got my 600 Eli back from a warm, dry moisture free lock up to reside in my not so warm wooden workshop.

The story is thus my dad always liked to brag that he had one of the fastest bikes in the 60's (BSA goldstar) and he was a fully fledged rocker fighting the mods in Brighton blah blah etc. However family life took over and he gave up bikes for the best part of thirty five years when suddenly he gets the urge to get back on the road again and buys this Eli.

First time he rode it he shat himself. :rotf:

After that he decided he didnt want to get back on the road after all ("these bikes are too powerfull these days") which is how I came to own the bike - four years later and I've just got a place with somewhere safe to keep it and hence my desire to get it on the road.

Now, the humdinger is this what the hell should i do to it before even attempting to start it. :help:

Prior to it coming off the road it had a full service and quite literally covered 4 miles prior to being locked away in a store room.

As i said I am a beginner at this but I do have some engineering knowledge (2 yrs Motor vehicle training college - 14yrs ago) though mainly on cars

therefore my thoughts are
1 change the fluids
2 hand turn the engine a few times
3 clean out the carbs

but honestly i cant think what to do with things like the shaft drive beyond taking it all apart to inspect it and frankly i dont want to do that if i dont have to.

so there you go any suggestions other than to F@&K **F would be most appreciated :bringiton:

Mike

[zlMark]

You're on the right track. I would drain the fuel bowls to see what you have and go from there. If the fuel looks fairly clean you might get away with the sea foam trick. Sea Foam is a fuel cleaner stabilizer all purpose carbon cleaner. If your gonna do this the ignition has to be good or it will just flood the plugs. put some fresh gas in it. get it running operating temp and drain the fuel. add a 50/50 mix of sea foam and gasoline, Run again, ride it if it's running good enough then let soak overnight. Then drain the fuel bowls and the tank completely, fill tank fresh gas. This **** really does work and may save you the hassle of pulling the carbs. But then again if your anal like me you might just want to pull the carbs. As far as the shaft goes, you might want to pull it and check it for damage from moisture. I have yet to pull the shaft out of mine so i cant really say how hard it is. can't be any worse than my shaft drive xvz1200 which was easy. the zl should be easy especially since the rear fender is straight.

[zl900_moab]

I'd pull the plugs and shoot a bunch of WD40 or something equivalent into the cylinders and let it soak in for a coupla days, then crank it over...just a thought, definately drain the bowls...Good Luck, and congrats!!!
moab...

[Mikweg]

Thanks for that but anyone know what size plug spanner to use? none of mine seem to fit, is it a special?

and er whats a fuel bowl.............. :help:

[zl900_moab]

The fuel bowl is the bottom of the carburator, it holds the fuel, and there should be a screww that you can loosen and drain whatever fuel is in it, make sure the petcock is off, and open the screw.
again, good luck!
moab...

[Mikweg]

cool thanks moab I posted another pic if ur interested :D

[zl900_moab]

It's amazing to me that the bike has been unridden for that long, usually they look so neglected, it's a real sharp looking machine, keep asking questions, and we will help you get it running, and hopefully get you riding down the road soon...
moab...

[Kawasaki-krazy]

Don't bother with the shaft!! :nonono:

I've had my ZL1000 for 18 years and never touched the shaft or final drive yet. (although it has had regular oil changes).

I've also had GT750 (shaft), GT550 x 2 (shaft), Several GTR1000's all shaft drive and never had problems with any of the shafts. In my humble opinion, they are INDESTRUCTABLE.

Just change the oil

KK

[Rick_in_WA]

After the bike is running. I would recomend checking and cleaning the drive splines, the factory uses a dry graphite clean it use a lythium baced product .....

[Southernstyle]

I don't know why I'm even bothering to chime in other than to say you guys beat me to it. I'd pull the plugs, douse the cylinders with some type of penetrating oil and reinstall new ones just to be safe. Change the oil and final drive lube, and flush the brake fluid. Drain the tank and carbs, do the seafoam trick, and see how she runs. Good luck with it! Look forward to hearing about your first ride.
Later,
SS

[Mikweg]

good news after draining the fuel bowls and hand turning the crank a couple of times i put on a new battery and it started straight away!!! - however it runs but only with the choke out and if I try the throttle it kills it straight away likewise if I push the choke back in it dies any thoughts? or should I just keep running it with the choke out a few more times to see if it sorts itself out? (In my experience these things generally do unless its really shagged!)

In the meantime at least now I can warm the oil up to change it properly.

Mike

:cool10: :D

[zl900_moab]

Carbs are "green" they need to be pulled apart and cleaned thoroughly, and then you should be in the clear!!!
moab...

[jas16]

i would go with what everyone else says

the 400 that i have had been standing round for a year and what i did first was to clean the carbs properly, check/change the air filter, clean the plugs (change them eventually) and finally go over the elctrical connections

[rammy1500]

Its it not idling then the pilot jets on the carbs are probably clogged up. You can try the sea-foam trick first to see if that cleans them out.

[Mikweg]

Anybody know of an UK alternative to this sea foam? the lazy arse in me cant be bothered to go out and take the carbs off - too cold and windy!

Mike

[zl900_moab]

Try putting the SeaFoam into some fresh, clean gas and seeing if it will run well after idling...I dunno, try that before you tear the carbs off and freeze!
moab...

[zlMark]

Anybody know of an UK alternative to this sea foam? the lazy arse in me cant be bothered to go out and take the carbs off - too cold and windy!

Mike It looks and smells like gm's top engine cleaner. justice bros. makes something as well