New lease of life

Hey guys, new person

So, I've just bought a cat, 1998, with 2,000 miles on it. Genuine, relatively tidy. I've moved over from a 2004 SV650S. I'm looking for some advice here please! So the story with my bike is that it was bought brand new in 98 by a friend. He rode it a bit, had a spill and had it repaired, but never felt confident on it again. It has sat for most of it's life in his garage, with the last run out/service being in 2007. I'm lucky to have found a genuinely barely-used bike for this kind of money! What kind of things do I need to do/have done to bring it back up to both a safe and reliable standard? My first thoughts are for a new chain, new tyres and maybe a carb clean? What do you guys recommend? It runs and the breaks all work Thanks!

Hi Tom,
 
Great bike to find! Im sure an expert will be along shortly to answer your bike questions.
 
Whereabouts in Lincs are you from? there a few people from that way on here, We have a rideout in Lincs in September, running from Woodhall Spa.
 
We like photos on here too!
Feel free to ask anything you want, lots of experinced guys & gals with years of ownership under their belts.
 
Welcome aboard matey, hope you enjoy your time here.
 
Ellie.

Hi Tom

Welcome to the forum and you're right, what a great find. With regard to things to do I'd start with a full service, oil, oil filter, plugs. Also drain the petrol it'll be rancid, start afresh with a new tankful. I'd probably renew fork oil, new tyres as the rubber will degrade over a period of time, new brake fluid. Degrease shock pivots etc as these are a known problem on cats and often neglected, (I and other forum members have found this to our considerable cost). Get the battery checked and get it on an optimiser to keep it conditioned. A good blast should clear any cobwebs but depending on conditions where it's been kept it may benefit from cleaning the carbs.get some grease/lubrication into wheel bearings, headstock etc And give her a damn good clean, spit and polish.

Can't think of much else but I'm sure a techy will be along to add to what I've said (and maybe dismiss some of it)!!

Again welcome to the forum and good luck with the new steed, have a good look around but at the end of the day shout up if you need any help, plenty of knowledgable people on here and remember the only stupid questions are those not asked!!

Oh and as Ellie said pictures, don't forget pictures, we love pictures.

Cheers

Steve

I can't see you needing a new chain, unless any of the links have seized up. Give it plenty of oil (ideally gear oil, but that's a bit smelly, so engine oil will do), to free off any tight bits and get into the rollers. Once it's clean and working properly, go back to a normal chain lube regime.

Definitely new brake fluid, and check the hoses over carefully for any cracking. Ideally replace them with braided lines, but that can wait if there are no obviously visible problems. Assuming they aren't seized, pop the brake pistons out part way, clean with plastic strapping and give a smear of red rubber lube. The pads may also be past their best - if they don't give good bite, replace with HH ones. And BTW, the brakes on a 'Cat are 10x better than the standard ones on a SV650, so go easy until you've got used to them!

Also an engine oil and filter change - there'll probably be some sludge built up while it's been standing. Maybe put cheap oil in for about 500 steady miles, then do another one (with filter change) using decent quality stuff. Halfords' (Champion) filters are about 1/2 price of Yam ones, Hein Gericke not much more, and both are OK quality-wise. Or get K&N's (off eBay) and save having to buy a filter removal tool.

Ideally put a few drops of engine oil into each cylinder via the plug holes before starting up for the first time, and spin the engine over with the plugs out to get a bit of oil circulating. But the plugs are a real PITA to get at, and blow the recesses clean before taking them out..

I'd put super-grade (97-octane, V-Power or similar) in for a couple of fills to clean the carbs out after standing so long.

Air filter is cleanable, and could probably do with a re-oil at this point.

The chassis greasing (steering head, swing arm and rocker bearings) and fork oil change are also very desirable, though depending on how it's been stored you may be able to put those off for a short while.

Anyway, congrats on a good find.

Bob

All good advice and add an In line fuel filter, to pick any residual gunk in the tank

Personally, I don't think you will need to do any regreasing of the shock pivots, especially when the bike has only covered 2000 miles. Yamaha recommend that the rear suspension link pivots and the swingarm pivot bearing are regreased every 24,000 km (15,200 miles) with molybdenum disulfide grease.

I would suggest that you check the tyres for any cracking on the side walls and replace the tyre if you find any because I think this would cause the bike to fail its MoT test.

If the battery is the original and hasn't been charged since 2007, the chances are that it's unsavable and you will need a new one, but by all means, try charging it and see what happens.

I think the best thing you can do right now is get it booked in for an MoT and this should highlight any bad or dangerous defects the bike has. Once those problems are fixed, you can take a more leisurely approach to the rest of the bike and make a note of the things you would like to change because of cosmetic reasons, rust, cracks in the bodywork etc.

i would  1st  have  a pre mot check  to  see  what  needs  doing
then  you  can  do  the  full service   along  with  any  thing  thats  needed  to  pass  the  mot  check  the  down  pipes  swiss cheese  they are  for  rotting  & if  you  can  afford it  change them  for SS
tyres  defo  change  put  some  petrol addy in  the  tank or  take it  off  & drain  it unless  its  been  run on & off  over  the  pass  few  years  change  the  brake hoses  for  braided ones if  not  all ready  done  
strip down  & service  the  brake cals they  usualy stick  after  none  use  check  the  front fork  seals  for  leaks  chain as  said  a  good  soaking & free up  any  tight  spots  check  the  teeth  for  hooking  but it should not need it as its  low mileage & a damm good clean
pete

Like everyone else says watch the tyres, I had a bike that had been stood a while and the tyres cracked, not worth the risk.

Does anybody actually do all these checks? I would definitely check the tyres and personally just ride it... Good old smokey aint smokey no more lol

(slap) don't listen to me... Great advice, well worth a good service to keep in pristine condition.

mrfrance wrote:Does anybody actually do all these checks? I would definitely check the tyres and personally just ride it... Good old smokey aint smokey no more lol

(slap) don't listen to me... Great advice, well worth a good service to keep in pristine condition.

Tyres, lights and levels everytime I leave the house Paul

Tyres, lights and levels everytime I leave the house Paul Smile

I check the oil level but only because my bike burns it lol

Thanks for the help so far!
Current, revised list:

Tyres (preferences please?)
Brake fluid change (new braided hoses too? HEL?)
Oil change + filter
Coolant flush
Petrol change (carb drain too?)
Chain love

I think this is enough pre-MOT

I'm also in the middle of organising bike transport. It's in Edinburgh, I'm in Lincolnshire (Skegness :( ). I have quotes of between 125 and 200 to pick up/deliver it. Any advice/recommendations here? I would just ride it, but given the love it needs, plus an MOT, I think I'd be risking it a little too much to ride it.

Cheers!

Tyres: So many to choose from... I have Avon Azaro on my bike.

Braided Hoses: Goodridge, Hel, Earls.

Carb Drain: They probably dried up some time ago, but ideally, you should be removing the float bowls and giving them a thorough clean with some carb' cleaner.

Chain Love: What you do in the privacy of your own home is up to you.

Bike Collection: Would it be cheaper to hire a van and collect it yourself ?

EDIT - Having just Googled the distance between Skegness and Edinburgh (300 miles), you would be spending a lot on fuel, so maybe getting it delivered is your best option after all.

You'll get as many different answers as people that respond to "which tires" questions What sort of riding are you going to be doing on it? Lots of motorway? Only ever track? Somewhere in between?

Have a look on shiply.com for getting quotes for getting it delivered.