Carbed bike laid up for a year

[cheesyleps]

Hi guys.

Basically, I've just been offered a k reg Kawasaki ZZR 600 for nothing (messy breakup, she wants rid of his bike which is now her property).

However, it's been laid up in a covered entryway under a cover for the last 14 months. Essentially, I'm wondering what sort of process I should run through (what problems you would expect to face) when starting her up and looking for faults to get her back into tip top shape. For the age and the "neglect" over the last 14 months it looked in failry good nick, but I only got a quick look at it and haven't tried to start it yet.

Any advice you can offer to someone taking baby steps into the mechanical world would be much appreciated.
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"Son, some day you will make a girl very happy, for a short period of time. Then she'll leave you and be with new men who are ten times better than you could ever hope to be. These men are called Sailors."

[5v3d3b0]

I think it will be essential to take the carbs off and strip them. Give all the parts a good clean paying special attention to the jets.
Tires might be useless by now as they can get deformed it the bike doesn't move for a long period of time. Brake fluids may need changing. Check all the fuel hoses for cracks and leaks.
You can probably get a manual for it in the manual topic. Should make things a lot easier for you.

[Ichy]

If it generally looks in reasonable condition then the first thing I always do is attach a battery and try to start it, its not likely to have much wrong with it after 14 months, a lot of new cars sit in fields for longer than that

Once it starts I would change the oil then go for a short ride to see if anything else is needed.
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https://www.metacafe.com/watch/1972097/how_to_behave_on_a_forum/

[cheesyleps]

As far as I'm aware the battery is still sitting inside the bike. Is this likely to have caused a problem? I expect to be flat, so I was just going to whack a charger on her. But, is it likely that the terminals may have corroded or something else that will require a new battery?
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"Son, some day you will make a girl very happy, for a short period of time. Then she'll leave you and be with new men who are ten times better than you could ever hope to be. These men are called Sailors."

[Bendy]

[b-f-c]

Crank it over with the CDI disconnected, get a good spread of oil round the bike before firing it up properly

[Pete.]

It'll probably take enough cranking to start it to do that anyway.

It'll need a new battery, charging the old one is a waste of effort as even if it takes a small charge it'll have no real capacity and will die very soon anyway. I would chack the oil level then crank here over and listen for any horrible noises before spending any money on it. If it sounds ok then give it a good going-over.

Be prepared for a couple of good days maintenance at least.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[Blue_SV650S]

Drain the tank of old yucky fuel*, stick some fresh fuel in there, get some jump leads form the car and whirl her over!!

If you are lucky, it'll run fine and all you need is a new battery for it, if you are less lucky it'll need a carb strip and clean ....



*or at a minimum 'brim' the tank to dilute the old sh1tty petrol in there.
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The purpose of life is to fight maturity.

[1016]

looks like everyone above has covered it! - would endorse fuel tank carbs check - did similar with a GPZ500s, internal tank rust was main problem, but also vacuum-type fuel cock (if you have one). needle valves and corresponding seat recess in float chambers were well varnished up, and caused fuel to seep into gearbox. If you are going to churn engine just to get oil round, don't forget (as has also been said) to either disconnect coils or, if plugs removed, rest on head so allowed to spark, otherwise ignition circuit can get fried when starter cranked continuously.

[map]

[Blue_SV650S]

[Ichy]

[Robby]

Your plan is to see if it runs, so don't go over the top. Check the engine has some oil in, hook up a big battery (the current one will be flat or low) and fire it up. Only fanny around if it needs it.

Otherwise you'll take the carbs out, break something, and spend the next 6 months sinking loads of money into it, fixing things that don't need fixing.

[Kickstart]

Hi

Another vote for just starting it.

The ZZR600 does seem to need a fair amount of battery power before it will idle. Probably worth taking the battery off and putting it on an optimate for a few days. It might well be dead long term, but at least should have enough power to let the bike idle.

Would be inclined to think about draining the petrol (or most of it) and then putting fresh petrol in.

If you want to crank it over for a bit without it starting the I would just short out the starter relay rather than faffing round disconnecting things.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[1016]

my first post did have some ambiguity in it, so I will try again... :-
On a popular Kawasaki forum several owners had posted saying that they had burnt out ignition components on their bikes (similar to ZZR600) by cranking over continuously with spark plug caps REMOVED - i.e. nowhere for the spark to ground - warnings of same in Haynes and factory handbook.. Is that better? P.S. If you are going to crank an engine just to try and clean up bores in preparation for starting after long layup, then plugs out/squirt of oil method is best everytime - easier on starter, easier on battery

[Kickstart]

[Blue_SV650S]

[1016.5]

In-spite of all the advice from other posters I reckon sorting this bike will be a huge plate of aggravation for you - don't do it.

I'll have it instead, can you deliver?

[Wozza]