R90s sitting for 30 years

monkeybikegirl · Post by **monkeybikegirl** » Wed Jun 14, 2017 8:20 pm

Hi all
I just purchased a 1975 r90s that has been sitting for many years. A dealer in the Pacific North West bought it of the original owner who rode it for 2885 miles and then put it away. The dealer took it in and also stored it from then on. That's when a friend of mine first saw it. When the bike came up for sale this friend contacted me as I was looking for a R90s for a few years. My question is "How do I resurrect this bike without doing damage?"
I will figure out how to post photos next [ ie. ask my wife how to do it.]
I know this is pretty general, but at this point I do not know where to start. The oil is very clean on the dipstick, but the seller might have changed it to make it look better. Final drive oil also looks new. Obviously I will drain all fluids and replace them.
Do I rebuild the Dellortoes or start the bike first to see if they need it. The tires are original, but rock hard. The bike was partially disassembled and bodywork painted Daytona orange. Really nice paint, but I am checking if it is the original color. There are some scrape marks on the frame, which is also new looking otherwise. I assume things happened during storage.
This is my first experience with these bikes and its hard to find one to test ride.
I would appreciate all input.
Thanks

Twocams · Post by **Twocams** » Wed Jun 14, 2017 8:37 pm

Engines that have sat for years I like to kinda take slow. I would pull the plugs and use something like cylinder fogging oil to lube the cylinders up some. Plugs out in gear, turn the rear wheel. make sure the pistons are free. If there is gas in tank and carbs drain first and put in new gas.
Or you could just hit the old starter button and hope for the best. Check for rust in the tank before you go to far. I could go on and on .......But
Treat it like a bike that has been stored for years not like one that has been ridden for years.

twocams

khpostma · Post by **khpostma** » Fri Jun 16, 2017 4:37 pm

I bought an R90S under similar conditions, except it has 28000 km's. This is what I have done:

Tires, most important of all, don't ride those rock hard old ones
Carb rebuild (motobins soft goods kits)
Carb cable covers
Air filter
Engine oil, second oil change after 50 miles, new oil filters twice
gear oil
FD oil
brake hoses
brake pads
Cleaned front brake caliper parts and pieces
fuel lines
added two fuel filters
new petcocks internal parts
speedo meter cable boot
Loosened and re tightened exhaust nuts, had to replace one
Front wheel bearings, not worth dicking over
SHB's, they were slightly notched and the grease was like dried up mud
battery replaced
cleaned and painted battery tray
needed new starter relay, old one broken
new head light relay, old one broken
replaced a few corroded fuses
cleaned a variety of electrical connectors
Couple of spare parts for future work (head gaskets, oil filters and such)
new spark plugs / cables
new points

In total I have spend so far about $1500 for parts, doing the work myself.

still working on:
replace fork oil
more rubber parts needing replacement
probably need to redo front brake master cylinder
rear wheel bearings

It is an ongoing project, but the bike rides.

KP

monkeybikegirl · Post by **monkeybikegirl** » Sat Jun 17, 2017 11:27 pm

Thanks for the list, KP. I had a lot these things planed also. Hoped to try the carbs before rebuild. Hoses have hardened and I am hoping to find some that are cloth braided like the old ones. Petcocks are missing. No way that I wanted to try to ride on those tires. Air box halves were so hard to get off that I thought I was going to break them. Not really a great design. I hope they go back together better. I would love to know more about the bike as there are strange things about it. Removed the valve covers which had been painted black and one was repaired, but the repairs were at diagonal corners. If the bike had slid, I think the repairs would have been on the two bottom corners of the valve cover. The internals look almost brand new, which would match the claimed 2885 miles. Throttle grip has split. I was going to try the brake hoses, which seem alright, but wanted to replace them with braided steel eventually. Maybe I will do this right away then. I will check the wheel bearings. Spark plugs and cables look new still. The Bmw dealer in my neck of the woods does not have many of the parts needed. The response is mostly "We can order it in". So can I and mostly cheaper.

monkeybikegirl · Post by **monkeybikegirl** » Sat Jun 17, 2017 11:35 pm

Thanks for the response.
Bodywork had been taken off to be painted and tank is perfect in and out. I was tempted to try to hook things up and try to start it but thought better of it. Engine turns over freely and easily. The two choices I have is to replace just what it needs to get going and drive it and see what fails or to be proactive and replace anything suspect.

Twocams · Post by **Twocams** » Sun Jun 18, 2017 1:31 pm

Think what I would do is order the 4 push rod tube rubbers, they are around 42 yrs old now. They are hard and can start cracking anytime now. If you loss your oil.... Dont know if they are on top or bottom. My 69 they are on top my 92 they are on the bottom. I cant see the bottom ones but they have been changed. Then you could pull the heads and cylinders. Check for anything unusual like stuck piston rings, excessive rust in the cylinders. Get 4 rubbers,2 cylinder gaskets & 2 head gaskets. i know you want to just get it running, you will have to do sooner or later. At some point I would want to get it warmed up and do a compression test. The engine isnt worth much if it has real low compression. But thats me, I want a good running engine before I worry about tires or.........

twocams

monkeybikegirl · Post by **monkeybikegirl** » Mon Jun 19, 2017 9:03 am

The Push rod rubbers seemed still pliable and was trying to avoid replacing them. You may have a point though. The engine turns very easily and it was stored correctly, so no stuck pistons. I am eager to get the bike fired up as you can imagine.

monkeybikegirl · Post by **monkeybikegirl** » Tue Jun 20, 2017 12:37 am

Carb slides were stuck and there is a lot of thick varnish in the float bowls. Looks like I will be ordering the rebuild kits for the Dellortoes.

Twocams · Post by **Twocams** » Tue Jun 20, 2017 12:04 pm

So both of the petcocks are gone. They sold them to someone else? But someone didnt bother draining the carburetors. Hummm wonder what else they forgot to do? Dont put any synthetic oils in (yet) just use Dio regular oils. Those seals weren't made for it. Dont try to lube any of the cables if they have the plastic coating on the actual cable itself.

I have liked the pre 70s bike for yrs. and found one. Wanted to just put the jugs/heads back on and ride. But 2.5 yrs later I finally rode it.
Of course you dont have to go that far into yours.

twocams

monkeybikegirl · Post by **monkeybikegirl** » Fri Jun 23, 2017 12:33 am

You have way more patience then I. Petcocks were lost when bike was painted. Painted and then not put back together. Its a long story.