starting a dead engine

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Makaveli · #1 Post by **Makaveli** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:53 am

ok so my dad has a 1967 harley 1200 superglide and it hasnt been running in ~8 years. now that i just passed my MSF course we thought that we would work on it a bit and try to start it. i was just wondering if there is anything you would need to do to an engine that has been sitting there for so long. we checked the carberator and it looked suprising clean. but is there any other prep. work that we would need to do before starting it so that we dont mess anything up?

codex5 · #2 Post by **codex5** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 6:00 am

i dont know much about motorcycles, but im sure the concept of an motorcycle engine is a lot like a car, but for an engine to be sitting so long, 9 : 10 the engine is going to be siezed, from all the oil, gunk, and other junk that ur seals may not have been keeping out ect..... i wont go into further detail, untill someone posted something with better knowlege heh!

kellanv · #3 Post by **kellanv** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 6:02 am

clean out the tank, MAKE SURE the carb is completely clean...all it takes is a little bit of build up in a tiny spot to mess things up. Check the spark plug(s), change the oil, check the cables. If its an electric start, get a new battery, check the air filter/intakes.

That should be enough to get it running, but something that commonly happens is the clutch my seize up from sitting too long, so you might have to take that apart to get more driveable...

#4 Post by **Big B** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 6:05 am

drain all the fluids from the engine, the gas is probably varnish by now. with a car engine, i'd squirt some marvel mystery oil in through the spark plug holes and crank it over by hand (breaker bar on the crank pulley), not sure how well that'd work on a bike. if you can get it to turn over by hand (even putting it in gear and rolling it might work) and it feels smooth, the engine should still be fine. either way, the seals and rings have probably had it, time for a rebuild! good father and son bonding time.

TechTMW · #5 Post by **TechTMW** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 8:21 am

Big B wrote:drain all the fluids from the engine, the gas is probably varnish by now. with a car engine, i'd squirt some marvel mystery oil in through the spark plug holes and crank it over by hand (breaker bar on the crank pulley), not sure how well that'd work on a bike. if you can get it to turn over by hand (even putting it in gear and rolling it might work) and it feels smooth, the engine should still be fine. either way, the seals and rings have probably had it, time for a rebuild! good father and son bonding time.

Great advice. Try hand cranking it before you try electric starting it (Assuming it even has an electric starter)

kellanv · #6 Post by **kellanv** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 8:55 am

I recently got a bike up and running that had been sitting around 22 years...

Tho it was a small cc enduro with a kickstart, which made life easier.

However, it started up after about 3-4 hours of work

Best of luck, it should be a fun project for both