sitting for a year : Kawasaki ZX Forums: Kawasaki Ninja Forum

wagonmaster69 · 09-27-2009, 07:46 PM

I just bought a 92 ZX11 with 16,238 miles on it.
And it has been sitting for a year what should I do first before I try to start it?

BlackFrost · 09-28-2009, 09:45 AM

i'm not a mechanic yet..but i'd start with some basic things..drain the old gas from the tank..change oil coolant plugs filters..clean carbs and charge battery before you start it..and before you ride replace brakes and fluid on front and back..replace tires and inspect/service your chain...

atleast thats what i would do..

wagonmaster69 · 09-28-2009, 08:29 PM

I'm going to do that but what about when you pull the plugs and put something in the cylinder so the rings dont bind?

BlackFrost · 09-29-2009, 08:59 AM

why do you need to put something in the cylinders?...

wagonmaster69 · 09-29-2009, 11:20 AM

I just dont want to take a chance of the rings gouging the cylinder walls from sitting for so long.

Jet · 09-29-2009, 11:23 AM

I'll be perfectly honest and say I would probably be too lazy to do all that just to get it running unless I KNEW it needed it. You said before you "start it" so for me, I would drain the gas and replace that with fresh and put a new battery in it and that is it. If it will start after that, then I would start looking at the other things. Now I'm not saying you don't need to do those, just that I don't think it is necessary to go to all that trouble before you even know if the thing will turn over and idle. If you get it running, then I would perform many of the other maintenance items but even those would depend on their condition. I've seen sparkplugs go 100,000 miles before they needed replacing. If you have any maintenance information from the previous owner, that might give you a better idea how much of the rest of the work needs to be done. I'm putting my ZX-11 back on the road after sitting for a long time and really all it seems to need is a thorough carb cleaning.

Respectfully,

Jet

RTJ1S · 09-30-2009, 08:43 PM

I just started my bike after being deployed for a year. First I changed the oil (too bad I didnt read about the 2 oil plugs an hour ago) I replaced the fuel filter, drained/replaced the gas, changed the spark plugs and charged the battery. I had to also change some other things, but that is not really related to sitting around for a year. It took a minute for the bike to fire up, but on about the 3rd or 4th try, it came to life. By the way, while the plugs were out, I spun the engine over for a few seconds (the fuel tank was off also) in order to get the oil moving around. I dont know if that was necessary, but I did it anyways.

RTJ1S · 09-30-2009, 08:48 PM

By the way, unrelated to starting the bike, I also gave it a full inspection, ensured the brakes were working, replaced the brake fluid and bled the brakes on the front and rear, bled the slave cylinder, checked the air pressure in the tires (mine had newer tires and was stored on a centerstand in a garage) lights, blinkers, etc...

If you are draining the tank and see that there is a fair amount of sludge built up, try using some large flat washers, drop them in the tank, put in a little gas and slosh it around to break up the garbage, drain and do it again until most of the stuff is gone, replace the fuel filters and hope for the best. This is what worked for me.