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Not sure how extensive...

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JourneyMan83

New Member
I bought a 2000 RK classic for a very good price off of a family friend. The hitch is it has been sitting without being ran, covered, or cleaned in 3 years. There is a lot of pitting going on but I will deal with the cosmetics later. I just want to get the bike up and running. My question to whom may want to help is.... Where the heck do I start? The tank will have to be drained and cleaned out, new tires, fresh oil, and a new battery. I know there is more to it than that. I want to do whatever I need to so I don't damage the bike skipping over something that should have been serviced or changed. The particular year has the MM fuel injection system everyone seems to be so fond of. Should I take extra precaution before trying to fire this bike up? The original owner had never had any problems with this bike what so ever. I sure don't want to cause any by lack of knowledge. Thanks everybody
 
When you drain the oil, drain the tranny and the primary also. You might as well get a new battery and make sure it is fully charged. Make sure the battery cables are clean and tight at both ends. If you don't have a manual get one, it will be your best friend as you do the maintenance. While you are checking the battery cables you can pull the connectors under the seat and under the tank to make sure they are clean and put some dielectric grease on them before you put them back together. Change the spark plugs and make sure the spark plug wires are in good shape and seated in the coil. Try to find out as much as you can from the previous owner what has been done to the bike in the way of modifications, especially to the motor.
 
You can be that the fuel system is well varnished. I would, at a minimum, replace the fuel lines in the tank, the fuel pressure regulator, the fuel rail, and both injectors.

I don't know how you will get the varnish out of the tank without damaging the liner. I would be a bit concerned, however, because the varnish could come off in flakes and cause all kinds of problems (kind of like what happens if an enemy puts lima beans in your tank).

By the way, I know what I am speaking about, because I bought a sweet '03 RKC that had been sitting for about that long. I wound up replacing everything from the fuel pump to the throttle-body and injectors before I was done. During troubleshooting, I also replaced all the sensors, spark plugs & wires, and other fun things. Varnish issues are NOT easy to diagnose down to cause, because at least initially, there are so many issues and causes, and they all can look the same.

Good luck,
Rich P
 
Thanks for the input. Everything that was said makes sense. The good thing HDDon, I bought it off a very close friend of the family and everything non cosmetic is all stock. It sounds to me like I have my work cut out for me. Thanks again guys. If there is anything, I will welcome it.:D
 
You might want to check all of the electrical connectors for water and corrosion from being out in the elements as well. get some good contact cleaner and be prepared to replace, or at the least, clean the contacts. As a second thought, check the vaccum lines. There are some critters that will eat at the rubber.
 
My first priority would be to get fresh oil and make sure the engine will spin over and had good compression. I would also make sure I had fire before I spent a lot of money.
 
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