Laid up bike

[captain1000]

Im buying a bike that has been laid up for about 18 months. Other than service, is there anything I should be wary of with tyres and brakes? (apart from tyre pressures)

[P.addy]

Check the rubber for cracks and more than likely pads or caliper siezed.

Fuel and check operation of cables, in the long run I'd be regreasing and oiling places

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Check the tyres for flat spots, and as Paddy says, seized brakes.
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[jimmyRS]

yeah just as above have said, look in the walls of the tyres for cracks, if its been outside for the duration chances are they'll have cracked, inside possibly not but worth a look

Brakes, ofcourse, and also if possible have a quick scan over the electrics, i know with some bikes (dont know what your buying) but water can sit in the pipes and, well over 18 months thats not gonna be pretty

Could try taking some jump leads with you just to power the electrics and see how they are

[DrDonnyBrago]

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

Has the engine been turned over in that time?
A spray of 3in1 light oil into the cylinders and crank it over without plugs.
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[HD]

Fork seals may have gone hard and leak, as mine have.

If its a metal tank, then that can rust, as mine has.

https://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l618/HDrayton7/Suzuki%20Bandit%20400%20Project/IMAG0522.jpg
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[iooi]

Watch out for clutch being stuck.....

When you start it up check its on center stand.....
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[bikenut]

:karma: all good stuff mentioned, clutch may have stuck as may the valves, turn over by hand with plugs out to make sure otherwise mangled valves/pistons etc ( new engine ).

stuck clutch, start and run on c/stand and allow to warm up completely, stop, place in gear and restart, hold clutch in and rev ( not stupidly high as bike in gear on c/stand ) , jerk throttle to free clutch but remember clutch plates may be corroded, clutch action will clean but crap now in oil, so clean clutch system.

DO NOT JUST GRAB A HANDFULL OF THROTTLE AND DROP IT IN GEAR AS GEARS WILL NEED VISIT TO DENTIST etc.......

[MaybeGuy]

[bikenut]

:karma: yes dude valves do stick ( open usually ) but bike type not mentioned, may be 2 stroke for all i know??

but is it worth not takin the chance, as so much damage caused if one is stuck?????? what do you think?over

[truslack]

[stevo as b4]

I've never heard of a 4stroke bike engine that had suffered stuck open valves, although i guess it is possible, but much more likely if the bike was stored outside or in a very damp enviroment with either the carb or exhaust not fitted etc.

My ZX6R sat for 3.5years in a garage under a bike cover, and not even the clutch was sticking when i got it back on the road.

[bikenut]

:karma: your a lucky dude, dude

[stevo as b4]

Well not really TBH. The bike was stored in a decent garage next to the wall of the house where the boiler is the other side. I kept the bike covered up with a decent bike cover, and covered over the exhaust outlet with a rubber glove and kept the battery charged.

The point im making is that properly stored, the bike's engine internals are the very last thing you need to worry about really. Your far more likely to have issues with stuck brakes, seized caliper pistons, and fuel tank rusting or gumming up of the carbs and jets etc.

Sure it did'nt run brilliantly straight away, but it still had just under half a tank of old stale fuel, which was topped up with Shell V-power. A few hundred miles and a tank or so of fresh fuel made it run and rev much cleaner without the back fires you got to begin with when you opened the throttle wide or tried to rev it past the midrange etc.