RE5 Start Up

[jm0406]

Hello Everybody,
I purchased a mid 75 M model this week. Bike shows 12K on the clock, is complete down to the plastic knob on the side cover. Bike has been kept indoors and except for the usual surface rust has aged pretty well. Gas tank is bright and shiny inside except for the dried up gas at the bottom. Motor kicks through, even, with lots of effort. Bike has not been running since Christ was a child. I am making a check list of thing to do in preparation of starting /running for the first time. Please feel free to add to mine if I forgot anything.
Clean out gas tank,-- Clean out oil tank, lines-- Clean out radiator,flush cooling system-- Rebuild water pump-- Replace check valve with RR valve-- Drain refill engine oil, filter--Fill charge battery-- Check, replace ignition-- Rebuild petcock--Rebuild carb--Change air filter--Flush front brake system.
Thanks in advance,
Jeff

[redbug2]

I started mine for the first time in a long time with pre-mix fuel until I was sure the oil mix pump was pumping.

[jm0406]

Good point, I have heard people talk of doing so but had forgotten. I have done that on 2 strokes in the past.

[mike500]

if its been laid up a long time i would take plug out and inject some oil into the rotor and turn it over by hand for a while to lubricate everything beforehand

[jm0406]

Another good tip. This is going to take me a month to get ready, I only have small amounts of time to work on it.

[wayne]

Once you get running on the premix, the first thing to do I do is check the metering pump is actually still working. It's pretty easy to do and gives you the certainty that oil is flowing.

Once you have all lines connected and oil in the tank don't forget to open the bleed screw on the metering oil pump. Oil will gravity feed out of it and then you know the lines should be clear of air.

[jm0406]

I agree Wayne, just like a 2 stroke with autolube. How about the coolant path, once I remove the radiator, what method is best to remove any debris from the motor block?

[wayne]

When you remove the water pump cover the condition of the passages in there will give you a very good idea of what the rest of the coolant path looks like. I think the best way is to wait until the bike is running and then do a conventional radiator flush with commercial alloy block radiator flush.

The small pipe at the top left of the radiator neck can sometimes be completely blocked. A piece of copper wire will do that job.

For the radiator overflow, dissolve a dishwasher tablet in hot water and then pour it into the tank. Give it a good shake and let it sit for a day or longer with an occasional shake and then flush out.

[jm0406]

I am thinking about using a 3/4 HP swimming pool pump I have around, adapting it to hook up to the coolant circuit, and flush the system out. Would I be good using the dish washer tablets to run through the motor this way or would I use something better? Ideas?

[wayne]

I wouldn't use a dishwater tablet in the motor.

There are several commercial radiator flush products that will do the job without harm to the system. However, I suspect that they depend or utilise the heat of a running engine to assist the process.

Use a commercial product to do a cold flush and then do a proper flush once the bike is running.

[jm0406]

I could try the radiator flush product with hot water also. We have that readily available in the states. But seriously, I want to get the big chunks out so it does not undo the cleaning job on the radiator.
Will try this in a few weeks, let you know how it works out.

[steveuk]

there is another coolant drain bolt at the bottom of the proper unit facing the floor which means you can completely drain the the system, but it can be very tight.

steve