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By Dansey
#86976
Evening all, looking for a bit of advice on a RE Bullet 500 that has been given to me without papers.. reg has it as a 08 and the logo on the tool box is a 500 ES but looks to be standard without electric start.

Bike was sat in a fairly damp shed for almost a year so corrosion has set to work on the chrome and other areas, but overall appears in fairly good condition.

I have zero experience when it comes to working with bikes but before I get into the thick of it, I would be interested in identifying the bike and if possible getting her running.

From what I can tell, electrics seem okay following a charge on the battery. Had all the lights, indicators etc working this evening but not attempted anything else as I had noticed the (tank to carb) fuel line has hardened so much it had popped off the feed end into the carb. With failing light this evening and cold hands I couldn’t get the smallish amount of line flexible enough to push back on.

With this in mind and the damp environment I was hesitant to do anymore until I posted on here. Any tips, checks or help with identifying the bike would be much appreciated.

Plan to document the recovery of the bike.
By Daiwiskers
#86977
Can't help with identifying the bike
When a bike has been standing the first thing I do is drain the petrol then strip and clean the carb so the fuel pipe being already off is a bonus
Then I will whip out the plug (clean around the plug first) and poor in about a tablespoon of ATF but in reality any light oil will do then leave it alone for a few days until your workshop manual arrives
Workshop manual in hand back to the bike check oil level now I'm not sure if your bike is the unit engine or not if it's the unit the level should be the true reading if high there's a good chance that petrol has got past the carb and flooded into the oil if that's the case give it a oil change
If you have the pre unit engine a high level of oil will mean fuel contaminated oil if the level is low there's a good chance that it has wet sumped (oil has drained from the oil tank into the timing case and from there into the crankcase in a really bad case it can even get past the primary main bearing and into the primary chain case)
Put a cloth over the open spark plug hole and kick it over a few times to clear the access oil out and spread a bit around the bore and valves replace the plug
Hopefully you managed to clean out the tank, carb, and replaced the rotten fuel pipe if you have put some fresh fuel in and give it a go (there are some good videos on YouTube about starting the bullets)
With luck it will start before you collapse in a heap on the floor

Good luck with it Dai

Others will give different advice about engines that have been layed up that's just what I do there's not really a right or wrong way to do it
By Daiwiskers
#86979
Check out YouTube
Paul Henshaw performance classics (bullet whisperer on here)
And also two-stroke 350(stinkwheel on here)
Some of the Indian videos are pretty good and all will help you get a feel for the bike
Hope this helps Dai
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By stinkwheel
#86983
Kicking it over a lot with the plug out is never a bad idea if it's been sat. Get the oil circulating.

If it's a pre-unit "classic engine" one, I like to loosen the quill bolt ( Large chromed hex bolt on the RHS of the bike on the timing case cover) then kick the bike over repeatedly until I see oil seeping out. Then I tighten it again and loosen one of the rocker banjo bolts on the cylinder head and do the same again. Then you know oil is circulating and both oil pumps are working.

But as above, a photo would be good for ID purposes.
By Daiwiskers
#86985
Obviously I miss read that
Standing for about a year not years

Battery on charge bit of oil down plug hole kick it over a good number of times get the oil circulating check oil level as I said above if pre unit they can and do wet sump
Unleaded fuel goes off quickly s :co my advice about stripping the carb and draining the tank still stands unless the previous owner used a fuel stabiliser then it should be OK
Good luck with it Dai
By Daiwiskers
#86998
papasmurf wrote:
Sat Jan 04, 2020 1:10 pm
Daiwiskers wrote:
Sat Jan 04, 2020 9:20 am


Battery on charge
If it has been stood for years the battery will be stuffed.
Very true but I miss read it
Been standing about a year he may be lucky with it
If it powers up the lights and indicators there's hope
Your probably right though
Cheers Dai
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By black fingernail
#87001
A new spark plug and check for a spark is a good start. Drain the carb and fuel tank, squirt a good bit of carb cleaner into carb up through the drain pipe and down into the inlet pipe with drain screw open , this will rinse out most of the slimey old fuel, rinse the tank out with a bit of fresh fuel, then put a couple of litres in to start it up with. Just drain the old oil out and refill with fresh, you don't know what is in it. A good dollop of oil down the plug hole and turn it over a bit to circulate it around undoing the plug and banjo's as Stinkwheel says, is good advice. Then start it up, warm it up and look for leaks etc. If it won't tick over, the carb may need cleaning out properly by stripping it down and blowing it out.
Regarding the chrome work starting to rust, crumple a lump of aluminium foil @ 8" square, dip it in water with a little bit of wash & wax in it, even washing up liquid will do as long as you rinse it off properly, (no coca cola or anything else!), and just gently rub the rust away. wash it off, then when it is dry, smother it in gt85 or wd40 and let it soak into any rust that didn't come off, for @ a week, it seems to soften it, then try again with the foil.
best of luck, just don't rush anything, fix, clean, each system properly, then move onto the next.

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