Three years in storage - resurrection procedure?

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watermnp

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For various reasons, my 2006 vmax has been been in rough storage for just over three and a half years. It has not been turned over once during this time, and even worse it was put into storage with no stabilization (at the time I thought it would be there for only a couple weeks).

My intent is to finally get back out there and get it up to good running condition this spring. I was wondering if you all have any advice to help that go smoothly - are there any gotchas (such as gaskets that may have dried up and cracked) that I should double check?

Before firing it up, my intention is to do all the basic maintenance:

- Flush carbs / fuel system
- Change engine oil & filter
- Replace spark plugs
- Clean/replace air filter
- Flush/replace coolant
- Replace battery
- Check brake fluid, drive oil, etc.
- Kick tires and all that (I realize they'll need to be replaced ASAP)

Is there anything else I should worry about, or specific items I should double or triple check before attempting to fire it up?

Much obliged!
 
I would change oil and filter, drain gas tank and fill with fresh gas, open drains on carb's and cycle the fuel pump until you get clean gas coming out. Hopefully you wont need to tear them down!
 
While checking out the fuel system be sure to look inside the fuel tank with a good flashlight to check for rust/ scaling/ etc.. Oh make sure you get a good fuel filter too.
Post up any questions if you happen to run into trouble or can post up valuable information as to how you went about it. Were here to help if needed!
Good luck with the resurrection! When you get a chance pop on over to the New Member Thread and introduce yourself.
Also, post some pictures of your 2006, we know what a '06 looks like for the most part but show off YOUR '06, they are all special!:punk:
 
The only thing I would add is................pull the plugs after changing oil and filter and turn it over 10 to 20 seconds at a time to pre oil before starting the first time.
Good luck, my 85 set for 9 years before I found her. chances are the carbs will require rebuilding, the tank cleaned and derusted. But well worth the time and trouble.
 
Make sure there is no rust in the tank or your carbs will give you trouble. I hear it doesn't take much to clog a jet.
 
If you left gas in the carbs, they probably are solid varnish on the bottom of the float bowls. The gas tank probably has the same stuff, but more of it. Sure, you could try just draining whatever is left in the tank & refilling it, say, a half-gallon, and try to flush the system w/fresh gas, but that's kind of like a fat woman stepping on the scale after the first time and hoping for a lot-lower number.

Realistically, anything w/fluids probably will need to be disassembled, cleaned, and returned to service. That means removing the carbs, removing the float bowls, and at least inspecting things exposed. For the brakes, draining the masters is a bare-minimum. Same for the clutch master. You can try refilling the masters & using a Mity-Vac for the f & r brakes, the slave for the clutch will respond most-easily to a reverse-flush w/a large syringe connected to the slave cyl bleeder w/a short length of clear plastic hose & a hose clamp holding the hose on the slave bleeder. If you're lucky, just pulling or pushing fluid thru the systems until it is clear in the master cyl's may work to restore hydraulic function. If that doesn't work, and you can't build any pressure after flushing the lines & systems clean, you probably need rebuild kits for the masters, and possibly the clutch slave.

If the calipers f or r are frozen, you can probably get-by w/disassembly, cleaning the caliper body & the pistons. Lube them w/fresh brake fluid on the piston sides & the square o-ring. You should be able to finger-push the pistons into the caliper w/everything clean. A Dremel w/a brass brush is a good tool for removing deposits in the caliper body, a green Scotchbrite is good for the pistons. Stubborn deposits should vanish w/220 wet-or-dry.

If you decide to tear-into the carbs, read the stickies in that section, take some pics & notes as you disassemble things. Most people here will tell you to use O.E.M. gaskets & parts instead of aftermarket for the carbs.

Once you get things running, you could change the fork oil & the differential oil. Neither one requires extreme disassembly.

Don't forget to sand the battery terminal wires' connectors to the + & -- and it wouldn't hurt to remove the ground to the engine and to do the same there. A strong battery, good connections, and a clean fuel delivery system should have you going.

Whatever you do, resist the urge to 'drop the hammer' on the bike if you get it going. Let it get up to operating temp several times and cool-down, giving the engine a period to get-used to an operational cycle. Also, if you hit VBoost, and you lose the brakes, well, you can imagine what could happen. Check for leaks during the bike running, and after.

Make-sure the radiator is full, remove the cap under the right scoop, fill it, and leave the cap off until you get it running. Once the water is circulating when the thermostat has opened, throw the cap on and make sure the overflow tank is about halfway-filled.

If it was stored where mice and rats eat wiring, I hope they didn't yours! :damn angry:

I would remove the plugs & spray some WD-40 or CRC lube into the heads before I tried to turn it over. You don't need much. Old-time mechanics would use Marvel Mystery oil. Don't look down the spark plug holes while turning the engine over, unless you need a 'good-lube' yourself! If you turn-over the engine w/the plugs out, be-sure the end electrodes are grounded to a metal surface to keep things 'safe' for the CDI box. You can wrap some baling wire around the plugs' threads and to a good ground, just don't touch the baling wire while cranking the bike.
 
Make sure there is no rust in the tank or your carbs will give you trouble. I hear it doesn't take much to clog a jet.
+1...You can see the drain for the fuel tank from underneath. Maybe shake it real good (the bike) before you drain the fuel tank and then once again with maybe 1/2 tank of fuel just to get all the junk out. Top off with fresh fuel and maybe a little sea foam couldn't hurt. Pop some new plugs in and give it a crank to see if there's any activity. Obviously everything else mentioned...oil, air filter et.c.....You wont really know how the carbs are until you take it for a good rip..........good luck
 
If you have ethanol in the gas I can almost guarantee the small jets in the jet block are clogged. If you get it started after completing all the items mentioned above and it won't idle, that is the problem. When they are clogged the bike will run if you keep the rpm over 3000 or so. The sticky's on carbs have all the info. Use OEM gaskets, etc or if have to, use K&L kits. Do NOT use Keyster kits. I went to Home Depot and bought a set of welder tip cleaners which are great for cleaning the jets unless they are clogged solid. Then have to soak in strong carb cleaner first.
 
Its hard on things kinda break it in no ramping it till you put some miles on it the hardest thing on a bike is sitting
Un hook the fuel pump lead so you can crank it as your getting oil back in to the systems .changing the coolent wont hurt either now sea fome will loosen a lot so get a real fuel filter I know of one guy that stuff from the tank kept clogging his needles and seats .Good luck. :)
 
Thank you guys so much for the feedback! I will add inspection of the general fuel system (especially the tank) to the list and plan on pulling the carbs for a full inspection and soaking as well as needing to clean the jets (might just remove the tank and flush it completely).

I have to replace the front brake master cylinder in any case (it's scraped up from a slide and has a slow leak when above 1/2 full), and was planning to flush and replace all that fluid as well. I'll add the clutch master cylinder to that, and there's a bunch of other random bits I need to deal with as well (I just know that they're far less important than f'ing up the engine or drivetrain).

I've also never heard the trick of pulling the plugs and cycling some lube directly into the heads before - that's fantastic, also adding to the list. I'll feel much better doing that.

Even though I've traveled to Deadhorse and Ushuaia on bikes while the vmax was down, none of them have had more than 15hp. Aside from a brief ride on a CBR1000 I haven't been on anything with "real" power in long enough that I don't expect to be dropping the hammer on the vmax with any urgency. :)

As requested, here are a couple pictures of her:

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And for fun, here's the last "bike" I was on, rode it from Peru to Ushuaia and back, based on a Honda CG125 - I had to push it up quite a few hills at 12k+ feet, sucker was probably making like 5hp:

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Bike looks great. That last pic in the snow, doesn't look like it was a fun ride :snow::snow:. What ever your camera is. It takes amazing pictures.
 
I see the wanderlust is in your blood! Nice pictures, what is the camera that you use? Have ever considered a adventure touring bike?
Let us know how your coming along with the reawakening.
 
I think you won't have such a hard time of it. Try the 'easy way'-see if the tank has rust, if not, just try a bit of a flush, then a new filter, open the drains on the float bowls, let the fuel pump flush the bowls for you & then turn-off the ignition, close the drain screws, and turn-on the ignition, wait for the fuel pump to stop 'ticking,' (meaning your needle valves stopped the fuel flow into the bowls), and try the starter. It's likely that w/the fuel left in the bowls during its 'nap-time,' you aren't going to be able to get the bike to idle well, but it will run above that, which means a carb-cleaning is in-order, no big deal.

That bike is in great shape, from the looks of it, post your results.
 
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