99 Katana 750 with 12k

[Weston]

I'm most likely going to purchase a 1999 Katana 750 in a few weeks. It will be my first bike. I've got a few questions on what maintenance stuff i should take care of right away. It's been sitting for a few months, I’ve already put a new battery in so I could give it a test ride, and I’m assuming I need to do a fluid change/inspect chain and sprocket.

When the bike was cold it had a lot of hesitation in the throttle but once it warmed up it seemed to run smoothly. I'd be afraid to jump into the carb work myself, what else could these symptoms be caused from? bad gas? I'm having a shop look it over on Saturday morning.

Any tips/comments help.

Thanks,
Weston

[kanventure]

You probably want to change all fluids, check the chain, lube the cables, and you're about ready for your 15,000 mile valve clearence check so you may want to go ahead and get that out of the way. You may want to change the plugs and fuel/air filters while you're at it.

[midqetsex]

If it was cold outside (say in the 40s or so), the hesitation is probably normal until the bike warms up. You'll want to give it a few minutes to heat up normally before riding if that's the case. You don't want to have the bike stall or hesitate when you're pulling out in front of a car .

[Weston]

It wasn't too cold but probably in the mid 50's. It was at night on the coast of Southern California. Could the hesitation also be caused from bad gas maybe? How much does the 15k valve clearance run, or is this something I could do myself with a repair manual?

[The CyberPoet]

If you have any mechanical skills, you can do the 15k service yourself, given the right tools and a bit of patience (give yourself at least 6 hours the first time, and take breaks in there).

Most dealers get 2.7 hours of shop time (at whatever the going shop rate is), plus supplies and possible disposal fees. For most areas in the USA, that comes to around $310 - $320 with taxes.

What the bike needs (assuming it hasn't been done):
15k service including valve adjustment and oil change (using only a 10w40 API SF/SG rated -- not API SJ/SL/SM! -- and preferable also JASO-MA rated motorcycle oil).
Replace all brake lines (every 4th year -- good time to upgrade to SS lines) and brake caliper seals;
Flush all brake fluids (every 2nd year, every year in high humidity locations);
Replace all fuel & vacuum lines (every 4th year for reliability);
Probably could stand to have the air filter replaced;
Run a load of techron through your fuel system to clean out the dried fuel residues in the system;
Lube all the cables, replace if binding;
Fork oil and fork oil seals (every other year).

Good Luck!
=-= The CyberPoet