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Blackbird Resurrection - where do I start?


Grassy72

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Hello to the CBR1100xx horde.

 

I'm brand new here having just joined after pulling my "old girl" out from under the covers so I can (hopefully) ride her again. About 4 years ago my wife left me, my mother died suddenly and I somehow contracted Vertigo PLUS was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure, hence the bikes hastilly stored and "forgotten". Incorrectly stored for over 3 years in the harshest tropical environment imaginable, everything on the Blackbird will need some sort of attention. I am not a mechanic, but I am also not an absolute noob, when it comes to working on my bikes. As well as general maintenance and servicing (over the last 40 years) I have completed just about every task except for splitting cases or rebuilding engines. I live in Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia so dont have alot of local access to mechanical help or parts.

 

Now as I said, I expect that everything will need at least a clean and lube with most bits needing more. Whatever fuel was in it would be a gummy residue (somewhere?). The old battery will be cactus. The brakes are siezed. The fuel pump probably stuffed. The tyres are hard, the grips disintegrating etc etc. I guess need some guidance on the best things to tackle first and an order of operation to best use my time (Is there a thread on this in here already?).

 

I was thinking:

* Pull off fairing and give everything a good clean.

* Check condition of fuel tank - clean out as far as possible.

* Check condition of air filter.

* Check fuel pump operation - clean or replace as appropriate.

* Clean/replace fuel lines.

* Remove/clean throttle bodies.

* Check if battery if operational - charge if ok (I also have a jump pack as an interim measure).

* Pull spark plugs and spray cylinders with WD40 - soak.

* Check engine oil and coolant.

* See if engine will turn over (without spart plugs or throttle bodies present) - ok?

* Check if we have spark - fix if needed.

* Connect throttle bodies and fuel source and see if it will start/run - outcome determines the next number of hours work. 🙂

* Wheels/brakes - remove wheels, check bearings, un-sieze brake master and slave cylinders, clean and/or replace chain.

 

- Obviously lots of cleaning and lubing as we go along.

- I think I will need to replace the rear wheel due to excessive corrosion.

- Front fork tubes have rust/pitting in the chrome legs.

- Brakes are all siezed so rebuild kits or replacement mastre/slave cylnders might be required.

 

I note that the above assumes correct operation of the cooling and electrical systems (alot!). 

 

Any thoughts or input would be appreciated.....

 

Grassy 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Also, I am sure that I will need specific advice on rebuilding and reviving parts along the way, aswell as the best places to buy/source replacement bits.

 

I will include a pic taken this morning after I gave her a quick hose down...   

20210301_100504.jpg

Edited by Grassy72
misplelling
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I agree, look in the tank for rust.  If you don't see any just suck out the old and in with the new.  Next I would see if the engine is free, will it turn over?  Will the throttle turn OK without binding?  If so, I would see if it will start.   

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Jesus, you were served one big-ass shit sandwich there.

 

So, as others said, dump the tank first.  I would give it a good rinse-out with clean gas.  I don't know if anything can/should be done about the nasty fuel now sitting in the lines and injectors.  The other guys may have comments on that.  Also tagging @superhawk996 for this.

 

Changing the oil is good, yet honestly, probably not super-critical to do it before a startup.  Unless someone knows otherwise for sure, I would really hesitate to mess with the WD in the cylinders.  I can see that doing more harm than good.

 

Battery is fucked, just go get another one.

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WD40 might be worse than doing nothing to the cylinders.  If you feel the need to lube use motor oil.  Or maybe fogging oil since it's easy and made for that.  Many are proponents of pre-lubing cylinders, I don't think I've ever bothered.  With the angle of the cylinders you'll need to get the oil to the top of the pistons, gravity top, at the intake valve side, otherwise you'll only be lubing the lower parts of the cylinders.

 

What I would do: Dump the gas, if there's no crusty stuff just splash some fresh gas around to rinse it out, add gas and turn the power on.  If the pump runs, cycle the key a couple times to purge the old stuff from the lines and try to start it.  I expect a few seconds of cranking before it fires.  I don't live in the tropics, but I've started stuff that sat way longer than that (up to around 20 years) with nothing more than fresh gas.

 

Many suggest new oil & filter before starting.  My opinion is that's just going to add more delay to making oil pressure and do more harm than good.  If you decide to pre-lube the cylinders, while the plugs are out crank it for a while to circulate oil without any engine load.  If you choose to do this go ahead and do an oil change if you'd like.

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I'll bet that as long as the tank isn't crusty it fires up with way less drama than you seem to be expecting.  Chances are that it needs nothing but a good power source, battery or jumper, and it'll fire without doing anything else.

Edited by superhawk996
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There is no grill in the ram air intake, disc carrier is gold coloured and looks like it says PGM FI on rear section + Grassy72 mentioned fuel pump.  I am going with fuel injection. 

Agree with others above that it will start fairly easily, however, due to 3 years storage, I would turn engine over with starter until oil light goes out before allowing it to fire 

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OK ok !

 

I'll make sure there is oil present, check the tank for rust, hook up a batt and see what happens. Unfortunately I cant get to it until the weekend now because of work/life.

 

Yes I could get another which might be a mores sensible route, however, I've owned this one for some time  and would love to get it going myself. 

 

PS: Thanks for all the replies!

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4 hours ago, fizzy said:

There is no grill in the ram air intake, disc carrier is gold coloured and looks like it says PGM FI on rear section + Grassy72 mentioned fuel pump.  I am going with fuel injection. 

Agree with others above that it will start fairly easily, however, due to 3 years storage, I would turn engine over with starter until oil light goes out before allowing it to fire 

FI, that's what I was trying to determine, thanks. Chances of it just plain starting went way up.

 

Great comment about cranking without spark till the oil light goes out.

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5 hours ago, fizzy said:

Agree with others above that it will start fairly easily, however, due to 3 years storage, I would turn engine over with starter until oil light goes out before allowing it to fire 

 

57 minutes ago, XXitanium said:

Great comment about cranking without spark till the oil light goes out.

The flipside is get it to start quickly so that the oil flows faster and starts splashing the pistons.  This is more important with flat tappet motors with a new cam & lifters, but even with more modern stuff there's a fair bit of debate between the two.  I would do the crank thing if the plugs were out, otherwise just go for the start.  It might take a few seconds of cranking anyway to purge old gas from the injectors.  I feel that cranking with no spark and the spark plugs in place is probably the worst option, but that's just an opinion and none of the options are likely to do any real harm.

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When you do the oil change you want the engine up to temperature first so more of the bad oil comes out, what I'm saying is get it running and change afterwards :)

 

These tend to have less issues than a lot of bikes even after being laid up, go gentle and you'll be fine.

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You don't really get more oil out, it just comes out faster.  Being freshly stirred up and flowing faster means less chance of sediment staying behind.  A bike that's been sitting a long time has more oil at the bottom of the block ready to drain, but there could be a fair bit of sediment that stays behind.

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On 3/4/2021 at 3:04 PM, superhawk996 said:

You don't really get more oil out, it just comes out faster.  Being freshly stirred up and flowing faster means less chance of sediment staying behind.  A bike that's been sitting a long time has more oil at the bottom of the block ready to drain, but there could be a fair bit of sediment that stays behind.

What @superhawk996 said

 

Also, if you do drain cold to get the extra old oil from the sump, do a flush as well before putting new oil in, should grab some of the crud from your engine and keep that new oil cleaner a bit longer :)

 

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If one wanted to really go crazy he could heat the engine externally to help the oil flow faster and carry away more sediment, but I'm guessing that running it will stir stuff up and get more of that out.  After sitting a few years there's got to be a layer of stuff on the pan.  I don't think any chosen method will be bad and whichever is the best method will only be a little better than the worst.

 

I experimented with my previous IDI diesel which blackened the oil quickly.  Draining it hot, leaving it to drain overnight, and pouring a little fresh oil in to flush the bottom of the pan made a difference in the color of the new oil.  It was a fun experiment and proved that it made a difference, but since it would be black by the end of the first day of driving I only did it when it was convenient to let it sit overnight.  If it were my bike and I really wanted to be extreme it's probably what I'd do.

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