ET: Engine (Twin) First Start After Six Years Sitting - What Should I Do?

1RedVincati

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Non-VOC Member
Finally Vincati arrived and I'm going to have to get him started (electric starter) what processes should i follow and check to make sure I don't hurt the engine after along sleep.
Thanks in advance.
 

chankly bore

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
Clean the area around the drain plug and drain the sump in to a clean container. Put that oil in the oil tank. Only then, top up the tank if needed. Lean the bike over hard to the left and remove the long banjo bolt at the lower front of the timing chest. Fill that hole with oil then replace bolt. While the bike is still over remove oil quill OP9/2 carefully and inspect it for blockages, then oil the hole before replacing the quill. Remove the rocker inspection caps ET24 and squirt about a teaspoon of oil around everywhere including down the pushrod tubes. Remove spark plugs and put a little oil down the bores. Leave the plugs out and spin the engine until oil returns to the tank. This will be a geriatric piddle as the standard oil pump has only a 1/4" stroke and spins at 1/15th. crank speed. Other folks will tell you what I've missed, but this works for me. Cheers.
 

greg brillus

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VOC Member
Main concern about a bike that hasen't gone for a while, electric start........make sure the battery is fully charged, and the carby's........biggest problem.......if they have had stale fuel in them for some time, this could cause a major headache for the starter, especially the pilot jets which readily block up with stale fuel.......this would apply to either Mk 1 or 2 Concentrics, Mikuni's, or Dellortos.........let us know what carbs it has so we can assist you in checking any of these........cheers........Greg.
 

Russell Kemp

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VOC Member
After six years standing I would drain the oil from the engine, gearbox and oil tank and replace with fresh oil. Have a good look at the oil rubber pipes to make sure that they are OK, the same goes for the fuel pipes. Drain the tank and fill with fresh fuel. As the electric start can be a bit fragile I would try and borrow a set of rollers for the first start up and also make sure that the throttle cables and slides are all free.
 
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