Bike Stood A Long Time...What to check before buying?

[StevRS]

I'm in the process of doing DAS and have been offered a 1995 low-mileage GPZ500 (10k) for a very favourable price. The only problem is it's been sat outside for about 18 months. For most of this it's been covered and having had a look it seems pretty clean. It had new tyres & exhausts before being parked up (on the centre stand) & has full history. It doesn't look to have been dropped or to have gone anywhere on it's own! The downpipes look fairly good & there's no major corrosion to be seen - the exception being the pipe from the radiator (or to?) into the engine which looks fairly rusty, though this may be just surface corrosion (easy to change?).

I reckon a brake caliper dismantle & rebuild, possibly replacement brake hoses, service, battery and a chain should see it rideable, all of which I can easily do myself. Is there anything else I need to be thinking about checking given it's not been run for a long time? Any common failure points on these bikes?

I'm mechanically handy but I'm new to bikes - any help appreciated!

Thanks.

[jon-]

If it's on the centre stand which ever tyre it's been resting on will likely have a massive flatspot. There's a chance it will roll out but equally a chance it won't.

It will need a full fluid change after 18 months too. Brake, coolant, oil.

Apart from that it's a jap bike. Will start first time

[AndyDRZ]

What is a favourable price ?

As for low mileage, I'd prefer a 30k bike that was used a little every day than a 10k bike that has been sat for a while.

You might want to take the spark plugs out and put a little bit of oil in each hole.

[StevRS]

It's £400 before negotiations....

[StevRS]

Also, will the chain defo need replacing or is it likely to be ok after a lube? The disks look ok and aren't lipped badly - presumably a clean will render them ready to rock?

I'm dead excited!

[dern]

Before buying I'd stick a bit of oil in the spark plugs holes as has been suggested, make sure it has oil and water and fire it up and see how it sounds. I wouldn't run it far on that oil but for the purposes of seeing if it's knackered it'll be fine. Let it warm up and give it a rev and check for noises like knocking and so on and see if water or oil come out of it. If that's all ok then with a service, a new chain (being outside for 18 months I would have thought there's a very good chance that the section round each sprocket will be a pretty firm tight spot by now) and a new battery (it'll be shagged) you'll be good to go.

You'll need to check the usual mot stuff though as I imagine it'll need one so all the electrics need to work and so on which could be a pain to fix. If the brakes are siezed then I'd assume that overhauling the calipers would be required and you may find the piston bores are pitted if the seals are gone and so on so a guide to how much 2nd hand calipers off ebay would set you back. If they aren't siezed but just a bit reluctant then new fluid and a clean of the pistons probably will be enough.

Essentially (obviously) the process you're going through is to work out how much it will cost to fix all the worst case stuff after inspecting the bike and comparing that with the price of an mot'd example from the trader.

[Carl-H]

May not need a new chain. When I bought my bike it hadn't been standing out side but wasn't used too often but was in a garage. It had a few stiff links in it (would still bend round sprocket) but I oiled it well first time then just kept on top of it but it needed quite a lot of adjustment as it loosened off. Its fine now after about 1200 mile.

[StevRS]

The brakes seemed to work and release when I wheeled it - I'll be doing a full rebuild but they look and feel ok.

It's a very tactile thing but the overall feel was very good & I was genuinely surprised at how good the bike was, given it's history...

Electrics are a good point - I need to go back with a battery and check for starting & electrics etc...

Thanks a lot for your help guys

[dern]

StevRS said:

Electrics are a good point - I need to go back with a battery and check for starting & electrics etc...

If you've got a multimeter you can check the state of the charging system too once you have it running.

[AndyDRZ]

Good Luck

[bimsb6]

the original gpz500 had a design fault where the magnets fall off the generator ,the mk2 is ok .i would be very wary of a mk1 as 2nd hand generators are not available due to the number that have failed .

[StevRS]

It's a 1995 (rear disk) Version - presumably this is a mK2?

[StevRS]

dern said:

Before buying I'd stick a bit of oil in the spark plugs holes as has been suggested

How much oil?

[dern]

StevRS said:

dern said:

Before buying I'd stick a bit of oil in the spark plugs holes as has been suggested

How much oil?

One metric milli-squirt.

[accident]

if the sprockets are ok a new chain is very cheap peace of mind.
as already said look out for a flat spot on the tyre on the deck(will feel like a square wheel)but it might be fine.
if you have got it already then i would drop all the runny stuff out of it and put new in(oil,brake fluid,petrol and coolant)

[StevRS]

dern said:

StevRS said:

dern said:

Before buying I'd stick a bit of oil in the spark plugs holes as has been suggested

How much oil?

One metric milli-squirt.

Now is a metric milli-squirt equivalent to the imperial smidgen?

[dern]

StevRS said:

dern said:

StevRS said:

dern said:

Before buying I'd stick a bit of oil in the spark plugs holes as has been suggested

How much oil?

One metric milli-squirt.

Now is a metric milli-squirt equivalent to the imperial smidgen?

It is indeed

[StevRS]

Off to see it again on Thursday night with a mate who's more familiar with bike mechanicals... I'll pop half a cap of oil in the cylinders before I fire her up and we'll see what happens! Heart already wants it as I quite fancy the project aspect - my first big bike being brought back to life by my own hands and all that Head says wait and decide after Thursday.

I'm quite excited - must go fit my land anchor and buy a cover & chain...