I just came across a 1982 Big Red that has been in storage for 15 years and I was looking for suggestions on where I should begin with getting this beast back into working order. As for a background on the bike It belongs to my fiance whose parents put in in storage when they moved to Florida. The good news is that her parents and her both say it ran like a sewing machine when it was placed into storage and that they never had to get any work done on the machine outside of fluid and filter changes. The bike looks to be in great shape with no rust, good paint, no holes in the seat, good tires, no broken plastic, etc. The bad news is that the unit was stored on it's rear wheels with the front tire resting against a wall so that the whole unit has been sitting at about a 75 degree angle for almost 2 decades. So, where should I go from here? I haven't even moved the thing yet because I didn't know what effect the storage at that severe an angle would have on the engine. Any suggestions on how I should procede will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Captain

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

First thing I would do is check the tank and carb for rust and sludge. You may have to put a carb kit in to get it to run well. Those things are pretty industructable, so change all your fluids and give it a try. You may have some seals or gaskets that seep. They may or may not seal back up once you start working them around. Sounds like a great deal. Even though it's been sitting, With a carb kit, good gas/plug and oil you should be ready to go.

Disclamer ; I'm not a mechanic, I just had a Big Red that was about 10 years old and still had the break-in oil in it when I bought it. It ran great.

 

Welome to the forum captain [way too many captains popping up lately...LOL]

starky is giving you some good tips. I would do no different.

The one thing I might add is to check the intake tract for dirtdobber nests. The entrance is on top of the frame rail under the fuel tank.