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Curtis Girard

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I have a 1985 softail with a 1340 cc engine. The bike has been sitting for almost 3 years and will not start. I put a fresh battery, replaced all the oil and gas but when I attempt to turn it over it barely cranks over. I checked the voltage at the starter when cranking and it seems adequate. The crank case breather is puking out oil also while I crank it. Do I need to put some oil in the cylinders since it sat so long? Should I get the starter checked? The bike ran before storage! I totally rebuilt the bike including a new wiring harness, new starter relay and a new starter solenoid! new to bikes and REALLY want to get it going but have little funds to take to a shop. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
sounds like the crankcase is full of oil from the oil tank draining in to you need to spin it over and get all the oil out .. pulling plugs and a little down cylinder and spin it over wouldnt hurt either
 
what would cause the VERY slow turn over? it barely turns over with a good battery! lack of lubrication after not being turned over for 3 years! the starter is all I have not replaced but it worked well before storage!
 
It could be too much oil so the crank is having to push thru it, may also have tight engine, due to old oil/varnish on all the parts, as it is likely the bike was not winterized so all that junk is a slurry of sludge. When bringing your FXST to life, you will have to do a series of fluid changes and also have to scrape and clean all the electrical primary wiring (all wires and ends that are heavy guage including the one going to the starter) and after scraping with a knife, coat them with dielectric grease (HD $10). Also may want to drain the carb float bowl to see if things are fouled in there as well, if strong smell of varnish assaults your noise, you no you have to run GUMOUT in the carb and Marvel Mystery Oil in the crankcase wouldn't hurt either. Don't forget the fuel tank screen and such.
 
NEWHD74FAN said:
It could be too much oil so the crank is having to push thru it, may also have tight engine, due to old oil/varnish on all the parts, as it is likely the bike was not winterized so all that junk is a slurry of sludge. When bringing your FXST to life, you will have to do a series of fluid changes and also have to scrape and clean all the electrical primary wiring (all wires and ends that are heavy guage including the one going to the starter) and after scraping with a knife, coat them with dielectric grease (HD $10). Also may want to drain the carb float bowl to see if things are fouled in there as well, if strong smell of varnish assaults your noise, you no you have to run GUMOUT in the carb and Marvel Mystery Oil in the crankcase wouldn't hurt either. Don't forget the fuel tank screen and such.
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+ 1 on that, I think you covered it nicely, that is exactly what I was about to write til I read yours---jack
 
Curtis Girard said:
I have a 1985 softail with a 1340 cc engine. The bike has been sitting for almost 3 years and will not start. I put a fresh battery, replaced all the oil and gas but when I attempt to turn it over it barely cranks over. I checked the voltage at the starter when cranking and it seems adequate. The crank case breather is puking out oil also while I crank it. Do I need to put some oil in the cylinders since it sat so long? Should I get the starter checked? The bike ran before storage! I totally rebuilt the bike including a new wiring harness, new starter relay and a new starter solenoid! new to bikes and REALLY want to get it going but have little funds to take to a shop. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

Help me, "totally rebuilt" was that before it sat for 3 years, or since? If bike sat for 3 years, the carb should be disassembled and the varnish and other crud cleaned out of all the passages.
 
Breeze3at said:
Help me, "totally rebuilt" was that before it sat for 3 years, or since? If bike sat for 3 years, the carb should be disassembled and the varnish and other crud cleaned out of all the passages.
Click to expand...

Puking oil , the check valve in the oil pump stuck and will have to be relapped or replaced, clean or replace the tappet screen, and move on to the carb and fuel tank
 
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