Starting a bike that’s been stood
Discussion
Hello all... just wanted to get some re-assurance/further tips.
I’m harking back to my youth and buying an immaculate Aprilia RS125 next weekend which has been parked in the current owners lounge for the last 18 months. He’s assured me it ran before having it’s fluids drained and being parked up, and has shown me a video which backs up this claim.
Before I actually hand over the cash I do want to hear it running. However with it being stood, I don’t want to damage anything. My plan is this, in this order...
- Remove spark plug and squirt a very small amount of Castrol 2T oil down the bore.
- Put bike in gear and roll it forward 2m or so, just to chug the piston up and down a few times
- Plug back in, HT cap on, fuel in the tank and oil into the feed bottle. Not bothering with coolant as just want to hear it fire up for 30 seconds or so.
- (hopefully) Fire it up using my jump pack as the current battery is dead.
Anything I’ve missed? My only concern is how will I know if the oil pump/injector is working or not? Guess that’s a risk I’ll have to take. It’s been a long time since I’ve messed around with a 2 stroke bike so everythings a little hazy!
Pic of the bike below.
I’m harking back to my youth and buying an immaculate Aprilia RS125 next weekend which has been parked in the current owners lounge for the last 18 months. He’s assured me it ran before having it’s fluids drained and being parked up, and has shown me a video which backs up this claim.
Before I actually hand over the cash I do want to hear it running. However with it being stood, I don’t want to damage anything. My plan is this, in this order...
- Remove spark plug and squirt a very small amount of Castrol 2T oil down the bore.
- Put bike in gear and roll it forward 2m or so, just to chug the piston up and down a few times
- Plug back in, HT cap on, fuel in the tank and oil into the feed bottle. Not bothering with coolant as just want to hear it fire up for 30 seconds or so.
- (hopefully) Fire it up using my jump pack as the current battery is dead.
Anything I’ve missed? My only concern is how will I know if the oil pump/injector is working or not? Guess that’s a risk I’ll have to take. It’s been a long time since I’ve messed around with a 2 stroke bike so everythings a little hazy!
Pic of the bike below.
This advice goes to any high performance 2T. Unless there is history of a recent rebuild, allow in the purchase price for at least the top end to be striped.
I would say this fits into that. Even if it runs it doesn't prove its in good health and you could cause damage.
If you can do it yourself a top end strip is very cheap. New base gasket £15. Even if you have to have the barrel replated and new piston parts are going to be under £200.
I would say this fits into that. Even if it runs it doesn't prove its in good health and you could cause damage.
If you can do it yourself a top end strip is very cheap. New base gasket £15. Even if you have to have the barrel replated and new piston parts are going to be under £200.
I think you have all the bases covered. running it for a half a minute without coolant wont hurt it and seems to be common practice among lots of stroker folks after rebuilds, putting some heat cycles into the engines and torquing everything down afterwards.
18months in the warmth of a house should have kept the crankseals OK, my KR1 sat in its previous owners dinning room for a couple of years without issue aside from carbs(he hadnt drained them thou) , the seals would be my main concern but if the deal is right, it wouldnt put me off buying it.
18months in the warmth of a house should have kept the crankseals OK, my KR1 sat in its previous owners dinning room for a couple of years without issue aside from carbs(he hadnt drained them thou) , the seals would be my main concern but if the deal is right, it wouldnt put me off buying it.
Turkish91 said:
Thanks for all the advice chaps. Turns out the only fluid removed before storing in his house was just the fuel. Got her running fairly easily and she sounds and smells wonderful! 
Would still like to know more about it! Is it a road bike converted or a race bike? I don’t know much about the 125s, and I’m nosey
king beautiful! Congratulations!How does it run with that pipercross filter?
Do you have any paperwork regarding the engine, when it was last rebuilt?
The engine in my TZR was apparently rebuilt before I bought it, but no paperwork to confirm what had been done. I had it on a dyno to check fueling and it was only making 36bhp. When I stripped the top end down someone had bodged the powervalves with liquid metal and silicone. The parts where £100 to replace, so hardly excessive. It does make you wonder what else they may have skimped on when restoring the bike.
It looks like a nice bike. I think 125's are very well proportioned.
Do you have any paperwork regarding the engine, when it was last rebuilt?
The engine in my TZR was apparently rebuilt before I bought it, but no paperwork to confirm what had been done. I had it on a dyno to check fueling and it was only making 36bhp. When I stripped the top end down someone had bodged the powervalves with liquid metal and silicone. The parts where £100 to replace, so hardly excessive. It does make you wonder what else they may have skimped on when restoring the bike.
It looks like a nice bike. I think 125's are very well proportioned.
xstian said:
How does it run with that pipercross filter?
Do you have any paperwork regarding the engine, when it was last rebuilt?
The engine in my TZR was apparently rebuilt before I bought it, but no paperwork to confirm what had been done. I had it on a dyno to check fueling and it was only making 36bhp. When I stripped the top end down someone had bodged the powervalves with liquid metal and silicone. The parts where £100 to replace, so hardly excessive. It does make you wonder what else they may have skimped on when restoring the bike.
It looks like a nice bike. I think 125's are very well proportioned.
It runs okay however I have a feeling it hasn’t been jetted to suit. Looking on PJME’s site they recommend going up a few sizes on the jetting with that particular filter. Do you have any paperwork regarding the engine, when it was last rebuilt?
The engine in my TZR was apparently rebuilt before I bought it, but no paperwork to confirm what had been done. I had it on a dyno to check fueling and it was only making 36bhp. When I stripped the top end down someone had bodged the powervalves with liquid metal and silicone. The parts where £100 to replace, so hardly excessive. It does make you wonder what else they may have skimped on when restoring the bike.
It looks like a nice bike. I think 125's are very well proportioned.
Engine all looks good, haven’t done a compression test but I don’t really have any worries about it as such.
A better pic...
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