Venting and advice!!

[rydethis]

I have been in Texas for almost a year now. I have NOT been on my street bike at all and only a few times around the neighborhood on my dirtbike. UGH!! Money tight and not working issues.

Well now I'm working and have a little (tiny) money to start getting my bike in running order. My whole purpose and inspiration in riding was to be self reliant and independent. I wanted to learn the process of maintaining my bike on my own as I grew and learned more about riding and bikes.... I still laugh everytime I hear the word petcock!! I haven't learned anything!! I did change my battery over a year ago when I was riding in Memphis. But that damn near took me 4 hours!!!

End vent*

So the advice I ask of now is.... now that my bike needs major TLC (she has been garage kept) where do I start? The battery is dead. Do I take it to a dealer and get a tune up there or are there things I can do on my own that wont cost so much?

Any advice would be appreciated!!!!

[Telomere]

The battery most likely died from sitting so long. Get a new battery, as well as, a battery tender so you can plug it in every night. If she has been sitting for a year, I doubt the gas is all that good. I'm not sure if there is something you can add to the gas or if you will need to drain it somehow or if it is ok to run through your bike. I would start with that then go front there.

[Telomere]

Most of the maintenance should be easy enough to learn on your own. If you want to just get her up to speed, take her to a dealer (as long as it doesn't cost an arm and leg) then start maintaining her on your own. You can learn to change the oil, brake fluid, spark plugs (depending on location of the plugs), air filter etc.

[Grinner]

As tele stated and I will back, quickest and best thing I would do after sitting for a year is to take her to a shop and tell them that it has been sitting for a year. You are now ready to take her out and about and get reaquainted but would feelbetter to have a shop do the refresher tune up to get you back on the road.
Now, on the other hand, cheapest route to go of course is to do it all yourself. This is great for those that have kept up the normal maintenance and know most of the ins and outs. It can be a little time consuming and sometimes frustrating for those new to the game but an excellent learning opportunity at the same time. You just have to have patience.
Either way you choose, you can always ask here and we will do our best to guide and help you.
This also means dont just jump off into it if you are not sure. Too many of us have learned from those mistakes and can save you alot of $$$ & heartache.

[U-Turn]

The gas may have soured - if you parked it with a full tank all this time you might be ok. If yhe tank was 1/2 full, condensation may have built up over time and ultimately draining the tank may be the way to go. If you do drain the tank you will get to play with your petcock. Carburetors may have gummied up from old gas but run the bike first. If it runs badly then carbs might need cleaning and that's a dealership thing.
Replace the oil and filter before you run it.
What's your motorcycle again?
The newer motorcycles need synthetic oil, shell rotella T6, about $22 at Wallmart. Add a $4 filter, done for under $30. Dealer will charge you double that if not more. Learning to change oil and filter can save a lot over time.
1- new gas. 2- new oil and filter. 3- battery and tender. 4- air up the tires and ride.

[DarcShadow]

Based on the term petcock, I'm guessing you've got an older bike that is carbureted. So those will likely need to be serviced however I'd first try to get things going on my own. As U-turn said, if the tank has been full this whole time you may be able to just get a new batter. If not, draining the tank and the float bowls is a doable task, a second person to give you a hand will make it much easier.

Drain the tank, float bowl, get new battery, fill it back up with gas and give it a try. It won't start easily and you'll have to run that careful balance of giving it choke and trying to start without flooding it. Once you get it starting let it run for awhile then shut it off and change the oil, check the air pressure, check the coolant, would probably be a good idea to flush and refill it but you can worry about that a little later. Once you get it running I'd also get some carb cleaner fuel additive and run a bottle through the system, follow the instructions for how much per gallon of fuel.

See how it runs after all that, then make the decision of it you think it still needs more work that you're not comfortable with doing.

[rydethis]

Thanks for all of the advice!! I have a 1991 Suzuki Bandit 400 his name is Busa (My sister has a Busa 1300 and she named it Bandit lol

I think what I will do is call around and see how much a tune up will be. I know there is a Honda shop out here .... I'll have to check to see if there are any other motorcycle shops arounds. Living in the the middle of nowhere ... I don't have many options.

To-do-list for myself:
Replace battery
check the gas (I don't think it's full)
Look for an online manual to figure out how to drain the gas (hopefully I'll get to play with my petcock )

This will be a slow process so I wont bombard all of you with a million questions

[DarcShadow]

Draining the tank is usually pretty easy, just find the hose coming from the bottom of it, take it off, and watch the gas flow. ha!

If you are really wanting to do as much of the work on your bike as you can you should invest in a shop service manual. It'll tell/show you how to do everything you'll ever want to do.

[Grinner]

If you are going to drain the tank yourself remember....what ya going to do with that fuel? Plus, make sure yohr petcock is in the off position before removing the fuel line from the petcock to the carbs so you can control the oncoming flow. Second....get some Seafoam and mix it as it says on the can (I think 1 ounce per 1 gallon if I recall correctly) and run it through on a couple of tanks and that will help to clean out the fuel system. Not sure about after it sitting a year but I usually do a 5 gallon can of seafoam and fuel at the beginning of the year after sitting all winter or longer with what fuel is in the tank. I just keep adding whats in the gas can til its all gone and resume typical fill ups afrer that.

[rydethis]

Found a website to download the repair manual and I got the battery out!! Didn't take 4 hours. Soooo many nuts and bolts.... just like being at work!!!

[Stardog]

I just looked that bike up, having never heard of it. Pretty cool!