now I understand that petrol that has been left tends to emulsify and clog up delicate engine parts like fuel injectors and filters and that the piston rings can rust in place and seize the pistons, so the first thing to do is see if I can get the engine to run. I removed the seat, cleaned out all the wildlife that had taken up residence (by the way, did I mention that I really don't like creepy crawlies !) and removed the (dead) battery.
The first thing to do would be to start the engine, but as it had been sitting for a while, I didn't want the piston's moving in old oil. so task one was to change the oil and filter. an easy job.
Well, not on this bike. the sump bolt actually turned easily enough, and I thought it as going to be an easy job then I tried to unscrew the filter. no joy. it was stuck firm. so I gripped it tighter and turned again, it's moving. oh, no its not moving, the grips are moving but not the filter. I was gripping it so hard I tore off the outer body shell, but it still wouldn't turn. so now all I'm left with is about one cm of filter rim and the thread attached to the bike.
Oh joy, an "easy" oil and filer change was turning into a nightmare. I eventually had to use a screwdriver and hammer it into what was left of the rim of the filter and hammer the thread round, but eventually it did come off, and without damaging anything (other than the old filter). boy nothing ever turns out as easy as you think. at least I could now fit the new filter and put some new oil in the bike.
with that done, I tried pushing the bike in gear to see if the engine would move, but it didn't seem to work. the rear tyre just skidded along the patio. Next thing to try is some lubricant into the piston barrels, so I removed the tank so that I could get at the spark plugs. I removed two of the plugs and sprayed WD40 into the barrels and left it for a few days spraying a bit more WD40 every now and then.
why remove only two of the spark plugs?. because the layout meant that the outer two spark plugs were easily accessible, but the inner two were partially blocked by the bike frame! great design Kawasaki. I probably could have got them out with a lot of fiddling but at this time I just wanted to see if the engine was free, and I hoped that if I freed two cylinders, the other two would free up as well.
I then tried pushing the bike again, but it still didn't seem to want to move.
Next step was to attach a battery (or two in series to give me some extra capacity) and try to crank the engine over. I put the key in the ignition, turned it and everything lit up as it was suppose to. well that was good news.
I pressed the started and guess what. yep nothing, not a sausage. nothing. the engine didn't even try to turn over. i checked the kill switch, but it was in the correct position. All I'm trying to do is see if the engine is seized or free, why is it so hard!!!
okay, thinking time again.
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