Newb with a question

[adriel_127]

Hi Guys, I'm fairly new to riding bikes and this is my first bike. I have a 07 XB9sx, the thing is I haven't ridden it for almost a year now. it's just been sitting and I haven't warmed it up at all ever since because the last time I used it, the battery was already dying and needed to be replaced. So now the battery is completely dead and I'm waiting for the new one to come.

My question now is, I have no idea if it will even start up when I get the new battery in. Is there anything else that I'd need to do? Should anything else be replaced or should I get like a tune up. Any suggestions would really help. Thanks in advance!

 

[Lesley]

No advice to get it started but if you do get it running here are 3 crucial tips.

1.) Wear a helmet
2.) do NOT overtighten or use a torque wrench to tighten your oil and primary drain plugs. Do it by feel.
3.) do NOT tether/blip the throttle while bike is warming up.

Good luck [up]

 

[rcuppernall]

A tune up wouldnt hurt. oil change maybe even check on the spark plugs. If it starts up and runs fine i wouldnt worry about much else. But i would def recommend changing the oils since it has been sitting for so long.

Welcome by the way

 

[snrusnak]

You should drain the fuel(depending on how much is in there) and change the oil and transmission fluid. Otherwise it should fire right up. Fuel injection doesn't usually get "gunked" up easily from sitting like carburetors do, unless it's a really long time. The fuel will be bad though so you should drain it. There is a drain plug on the fuel pump, it's easy to do, just messy. I suggest using aluminum foil or something to cover the whole area so you don't splash fuel on the bike. Then have a funnel and drain pan ready.

Changing the oil should hopefully be self explanatory, and I think there are DIY videos on this forum. I think you need ~2.5 quarts of oil. I'd recommend synthetic(and recommend amsoil with a WIX or NAPA gold filter) but mobil 1 or royal purple or others work fine too. Be careful not to over tighten the drain plugs they strip easy since it's in aluminum. Check oil on the side stand, NOT with bike upright. Proper oil level is when warm/hot, not cold, so don't overfill while it's cold, just add to the "min" mark, then recheck when hot.

Changing the transmission fluid is pretty easy as well, be careful not to strip the threads when tightening the drain plug here as well. I think you need ~1 quart for this.

Use 20w50 in both engine and transmission.

 

[adriel_127]

awesome! thanks for all the tips so far. How about the rear wheel bearings? I had a rear flat tire when I first bought it and when I brought to the shop they decided to inspect everything and said that they found the rear wheel bearing had rusted. I asked what was the cause of it and how it could be prevented. The tech told me its caused by it just sitting for a while and not being used and the moisture has collected on it. He said to prevent this I need to ride it more often. Is this true? If so, should I have it checked or can I check it myself?

 

[snrusnak]

If it rolls and doesn't squeak you're fine(at least for now) lol.

If it doesn't fire after you get new fuel, oil, transmission fluid, and a battery in it, then I'd change the plugs. Beyond that you'll need to post what's happening to help us diagnose it.

 

[Lesley]

He said to prevent this I need to ride it more often. Is this true?

NO. I have over 30K on mine and the bearings case just rust sometimes. I never ride in the rain and I have never washed my bike with a water hose or car wash. Which BTW is the two leading causes for bearings to fail. To me it sounds like you need to find a more honest mechanic.

If you do not have stands then pull your bikes wheels off the ground one at a time using the kickstand (dont do this often) while you have a friend check for bearing play.

 

[adriel_127]

Ok thanks!

 

[adriel_127]

got my bike to fire up just with a new battery. gonna change fluids next monday! cant wait to ride. thanks again guys!

 

[Iamarchangel]

Battery thing first: a lot of people seem to put it in backward, or touch something, whatever and blow up the wiring/diodes/fuses.

Negative off then positive off.

Positive on then negative on.

Shops nearly always try to push the bearing thing. Unfortunately, they could be right. Do the checks mentioned here.

Never power wash.

I'd leave the plugs alone, too much hassle for the potential damage. If it starts, they clean up on the first long ride anyway.

Oil change video on here is excellent. I have it loaded on my phone. Oil: blah, blah, blah, make sure it's rights viscosity and M rated. After that, you should do a change just because it sat that long and another one pretty soon after, like 1000 miles, so I wouldn't put expensive voodoo stuff in, at least until the next batch.

 

[Mark XB12r]

Since ownership in 04 i have done this excact thing 3 seperate times for a year each time... Deployments suck[sad] I just installed a new batt or charged up the old one, and fired her up. started like i had rode it all along, no probs, no hesitation, no hickups. Then service as soon after a full warm up or a day of riding it.
All the problems i had were during normal riding.

Wouldnt be a bad idea to take the controls apart and get some dielectric grease in the switches. lubing the clutch cable too.

 

[adriel_127]

cool, thanks guys!