Resurrecting a neglected bike

[zach5045]

Thanks in advance for reading this.

Backstory:
Roughly 6 years ago I purchased a well loved 92 GS600F katana from my uncle who purchased it to teach his wife how to ride before he made the down payment on a ducati. He kept up with oil, tires, the chain - basically he did everything a responsible parent would. I rode it for two years keeping up with maintainence.

Problem:
In 2006 I enlisted in the army and entrusted my bike to my father, who is a connoisseur of mid 70s bimmers. As far as I knew he rode it occasionally that summer before placing it in storage. Fastforward to December of 2010. The bike has been relocated to my mothers storage facility and she decides she wants it out. I wake up sunday morning to find her and her new husband rolling up to my new apartment (~1 month out of the army) with my bike on a trailer.

TL : DR - I am seeing my bike for the first time in 4 years
Right side mirror gone, roughly 4-5 inches of travel on the chain, at least a 1 inch strip of bare metal on the back tire all the way around, and a full tank of gas.

I do not dare start this beastie up after having, I imagine, 4 year old gas in it.

My question- Would I be able to just drain the tank and carbs and run some fresh gas through it, replace sprocket, chain, and tires? or would I be better off to take it to a shop and have them tend to it. I am kind of on a budget but I am on good terms with a man who owns a motorcycle junkyard.

Any and all help, advice, tips, tricks, or recommendations for a legit shop in Minneapolis would be welcome.

Thanks!

[Wild-Bill]

Plan on draining the tank and removing the carbs to clean them. (Download the pdf version of carbs101 from the wiki.) Two new tires and try adjusting the chain before replacing it unless you've got some stiff links or the sprocket teeth are starting to look like hooks.

The Kat's a pretty easy bike to work on. There's no need to take it to a shop if you're basically mechanically inclined.

And Welcome! You're in the right place.

[BPryz]

Welcome.

I agree with the above. If you haven't done any carb work yet, read carbs 101, then read it again, then go look at your bike, then come back and read it again. I say that just because you want to know what you're doing, take your time and make sure you don't lose anything. I just did my own carbs, and I was scared as hell to try it, but I just took my time and labeled EVERYTHING as they came out of the carbs.

[zach5045]

Thanks for the tips and reassurance, I am mechanically inclined, but the task seemed daunting. I just downloaded that pdf and I am going to go at it.

[Wild-Bill]

One note on Carbs 101: The author says to set your AF screws at 1.75 turns out from bottom. That's the factory setting and while it does a great job of getting the bike past an emissions test it's a bit lean, especially since the amount of ethanol mixed in the gas we can buy has increased considerably since your bike was new. Go for 2.25 to 2.5 turns out. Your bike will thank you for it.

[zach5045]

I actually just got done disassembling the carbs on my kitchen table. I talked to my uncle (the previous owner). My bike has aftermarket pipes on it so the carbs were tuned a bit differently by the place that installed them. I just took not of where the AF screws were when I removed them, carbs 1 and 2 were about the same and 3 and 4 were close as well but each pair was quite different. I am assuming that, since the bike ran amazingly before it was stored, that that was how the shop set them up. I will post how it went soon - I will have them back together tomorrow. On the other hand when removing them I found out the throttle cable was frayed to **** and only connected by about 2-3 thin bands of the original cable so I am off to hunt down a throttle cable and a cracked rubber air fitting.

Surprisingly, for sitting as long as it did, the carbs weren't all that bad. The butterfly valves and choke sliders were gummy but everything else was pretty damn clean. What a great bike.

[Mojoe]

Surprisingly, for sitting as long as it did, the carbs weren't all that bad. The butterfly valves and choke sliders were gummy but everything else was pretty damn clean. What a great bike.

that is why I would have just suggested replacing the gas with fresh gas and running some sea foam through it before tearing it all apart.....but that would have just lead to me being "wrong" by popular opinion.

[arsenic]

that is why I would have just suggested replacing the gas with fresh gas and running some sea foam through it before tearing it all apart.....but that would have just lead to me being "wrong" by popular opinion.

Probably.

[Mojoe]

Probably.

been here a long time and know how things work...so not "probably"...more like "without a doubt".

I have finally gotten used to, and ultimately accepted the fact that KR has it's own unique way of doing things....and that is to just jump right in and tackle EVERYTHING like it is a big complicated procedure that requires you to immediately jump into the big stuff first. but I just can't help it once in a while, and I have to poke fun at it. :

bike has a misfire problem? bah...don't waste you time with the little thing, just hack right into that wiring harness and jump the circuit.

[phantasm]

bike has a misfire problem? bah...don't waste you time with the little thing, just hack right into that wiring harness and jump the circuit.

Does that mean if you redo the harness first and don't bother with the simple things, you save $12 and get an extra 100 miles out of those worn out plugs

[Mojoe]

Does that mean if you redo the harness first and don't bother with the simple things, you save $12 and get an extra 100 miles out of those worn out plugs

sometimes I get the feeling that some will say you will.