1982 harley sportster. sat in shed for 10 years.Fixable? cost?things to check?

Question

1982 harley sportster. sat in shed for 10 years.Fixable? cost?things to check?

Answer 1

Plugs, new gas, bleed the gum out of the fuel line, clean the breather, check the oil, buy a battery..

You'll have to kick-start the $#!T out of it but it's a Harley. Unless they ran it dry of oil before they parked it, It'll run.

Answer 2

  first change all  oils change filter and sprk plug's and wires change battery and wires .and check and clean the coil and clean out your gas tank auto parts store sell a solvent that well clean the tank . let solvent set in tank for 24 hours then drain tank let dry  then put new gas in it .remember to change trans oil and sec dairy oil to. that should do it ..good luck  

Answer 3

Just drain everything and run engine flush through it- especially fuel system. Replace battery or jump- use starting fluid fire it up first time- works 90%. Before replacing plugs put some engine oil in the cylinders and turn it over without starting a few times-loosen up all the sticky rings and valve parts.Its' gonna smoke spit and cough. Need 3 things-spark/compression/fuel supply-to run. good luck.  

Answer 4

h**l ya,  do the things as per above ,But before you start it need to change the oil. 10 year old oil no good now..the with the plugs out(so it will turn easy)  spray LOTS of lube into the cylinders  , then turn the motor over by kicking or elec. or pushing alot of times maybe 100-200 times until the oil  begins to flow back into the oil tank.. you can tell this by disconnecting the oil return line where it connects the oil tank..This way you will have oil pressure and clean oil to lubricate once it starts..In ten years all oil drained from bearings etc. and if you start it dry you could  s***w it up good, real fast in one minuet. Now that you have it lubricating you can work on getting it to run..plus ,turning the motor over lot before try in to start it will help  loosen the piston rings up and help with compression...if it ran before it will run now..make sure your supply of fuel clean so you dont c**p up the carb.  You my have some prob. with  the carb. float,  .Shouldn't cost much to make run

Answer 5

Most of above. but start up with oil (do not top off tank) in bike to clear sump before change. You can have up to 4 quarts in bottom end that will come out after first start up. (some will go back into tank but most will come out breather, so make sure bike is outside, let motor warm up checking also that oil is returning then change) On first change add some Seafoam to oil both tank and primary running about 500 miles then change again and go to regular intervals.

Clutch may be gummed. If so remove and wash with brake cleaner. Replace primary oil with Sport Primary Lube (it works a lot better than the motor oil that HD recommended in 82)

Tyres are most likely dry-rotted beyond safe. Good tread but still need replacement. (dry-rot may also effect wire insulation and brake lines)

Check your advance unit and points. (82 was electronic ignition but early HD electronic ignitions were not the most reliable and most were converted to points or an aftermarket unit like Dyna)

Carb will most likely need to be disassembled and cleaned. (If not rebuilt)

I usually squirt some oil in plug holes (can also use Marvell Mystery or Kroil) and turn engine over a few times before starting. Also with a motor that has sat several years I start it up with lawnmower (2 cycle) gas.(fouls plugs but you know it has some extra oil)

Other than the things mentioned above (by me and the others) just do the annual maintenance. And on batteries spend the extra money for a sealed one, you'll be glad you did.

Answer 6

your main concern will be with rust & corrosion in the gas tank & carburetor caused by water condensation.

also the piston rings may have rusted to the cylinders depending on if theres a lot of variation in the heat/cold cycles of the climate its been stored in.

all the oil will have probably drained down into the engine after 10 years.

take the plugs out &  spray some penetrating oil like"kroil" into the cylinders & let it set awhile.

shine a flashlight in the gas tank & see how bad its rusted. if its not too bad, take the fuel line off at the carburetor drain the old gas out & run some fresh gas through it until it comes out clean then reconnect it to the carb.

an 82 probably doesnt have a kick starter so get a good battery & see if it will turn over.

if it turns, disconnect the oil return line from the oil tank & turn it over until the new oil you put in the tank comes out the return line then reconnect it.

put the plugs back in & see if it will start.

some times you get lucky but usually you have to take the gas tank off & clean & seal it with a "kreem kit".

its also a good idea to drop the carb bowl & see how much corrosion has occured in the carb body.

it helps if you can find out why the bike was parked 10 years ago.