It's that time of year when people buy a bike that's been sitting in a barn or shed unused for a few years- the previous owner finally realises that he won't, after all, get the wife to agree to a touring holiday instead of the Costa Brava, or that kids cost a fortune to feed and clothe, and there's none left over for "hobbies", as the wife puts it.
It's very rare to find a bike that was de-commissioned properly; more often than not it was put away dirty after the last ride of the year, then the weather turned nasty, and it wasn't ridden again, or even looked at for a few years.
Now it's yours, but don't try to start it up just yet.....
If it's been sitting for five or six years or more you'll need to do a few things.
Firstly, carbs.
The old fuel will have turned into an evil-smelling sludge which won't evaporate in the carbs.
You'll need to completely strip the carbs, remove all jets, soak in carb cleaner and then blow through with an air gun.
You need to check the seal and gaskets, also the diaphragm, these age and can become brittle and crack.
Oil could do with a change, any condensation in the engine would have been mixed with it for a long time. New filter, obviously.
Pull out the plugs and make sure they aren't showing any signs of rust. Any signs at all and I'd advise heads off to check bores.
Quite often when an engine stops it will have an exhaust valve open; this means that condensation can collect in the bore, causing corrosion.
Then put a few drops of new engine oil into the spark plug holes, just to give the rings a chance as all of the old oil will have drained down into the sump long ago.
Turn the engine over by hand for a few complete turns, this gets a bit of oil round the engine. (On a Storm remember it turns ANTICLOCKWISE when viewed from the LH side).
You can do this using a paddock stand, put it in top and roll the back wheel round. Or carefully remove the crankshaft end cap (the big one on the LH side- carefully because the metal's very soft, you have been warned) and use a 17mm socket.
Then if it's nice and free use the starter to roll the engine over for half a minute with the plugs removed but left touching the heads. Do this with the fuel disconnected or the carbs off.
Next, the battery will probably be shot, unless you've kept it on a charger/conditioner, and even then a five-year old battery will be near the end of its life. Probably time for a new one anyway, a 14 amp (instead of standard 12) is a common mod, search the workshop section for info.
Tyres are your next concern.
Because Storms don't have a centre stand, unless yours has been stored on front and rear paddock stands with slightly over-inflated tyres the tyres will have developed flat spots, sidewalls may have cracked and anyway tyre technology has moved on a bit, stick on a new pair.
Check all coolant hoses, and check again after it's been run a few times, as these also age and can't always cope with standing for a long time then being up to full pressure again.
Consider the brake lines, same age-related issues, and at the very least the brake fluid needs bleeding through with fresh fluid- don't skip this as you could get no brakes just when you need them most. Same with clutch, (although as the clutch fluid is unlikely to boil it isn't so much a possibility of water in the fluid boiling as corrosion in the master and slave cylinders that you're trying to avoid).
After this long any fuel in the tank is useless, flush it out and empty through a sheet of cloth. That way you can see what bits of rust and other nasties are in there. Have a good look inside; if you can see any rust then consider using a tank sealant (there's never enough in one bottle, despite what the instructions say) and then make sure you clean the fuel tap out properly. This should have been removed BEFORE you use the sealant, otherwise you seal the tap as well
Check the tap diaphragm, and search the knowledgebase to see how the pipes are re-connected- it's easy to get these connected wrongly.
Now the CCT.
This is the most common way for an engine to give trouble on a Storm, and it's usually the front CCT because it pokes upwards and therefore no oil runs into it. The spring corrodes, weakens and breaks. (The rear one leans downwards, and fills with oil, it's much less likely to give trouble but always replace as a pair).
Then the CCT retracts, the cam chain jumps two or more teeth and pistons hit valves.
After sitting for this long there is a good chance that the spring in the front one will be on its way out, I'd recommend a precautionary change of CCT's or a swap to manual ones. See the thread in the Workshop Knowledgebase before you do anything, if you don't get it right you can damage the engine anyway.
You'll need a MOT; don't be tempted to ride it for a few days to check everything's ok, because the lack of a MOT means your insurance won't be valid; if you get seen by a camera (remember fuel stations have them too) you could get caught out. And obviously, if you have an accident, you'll be uncovered and up for a fine and possibly points on your license.
And it'll need taxing; this can be done on-line now.
I successfully revived a ZX600 (which had been parked up in a barn for over ten years with no attention) like this; sold to a mate it's still running happily around with no problems.
Bet you thought it'd start on the button and you could ride it away........
