starting a bike that's been sitting

tranny fluid works great unsticking valves on old trucks.....:whistle: :laugh:

pstrbrc wrote:

RetroRiceRocketRider wrote:

Bug spray works in a pinch as a starting fluid, but I wouldn't recommend using to much of it! :pinch:

Anyone ever use WD-40 as a "starting fluid"?

AAAAARRRGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!:pinch: :pinch: :pinch: :pinch: :pinch: :pinch: :pinch: :pinch: :pinch: :pinch: :pinch: :pinch: :pinch: :pinch: :pinch: :pinch: :pinch:
Look. Anything flammable can "work". But what damage are you risking to the internals of the motor? Is it harder to scrounge a can of carb cleaner, (which is sold at just about every convenience store!!) even if it's not right at hand, or tear down the top end to repair the damage?
Doggone it! PAY ATTENTION!! Whatever benefit there is in using the closest thing at hand DOES NOT make up for the damage done. And the damage done might not be obvious right away, but it could shorten the life of your bike considerably.

Wow, guess I should have pasted a disclaimer with the bug spray statement! :S :pinch:

I was in no way recommending or endorsing using bug spray, just making the statement that almost anything flammable will aid in starting an engine.
Bug spray happened to be the first thing that popped into my noggin from a past experience in my youth in starting a go-cart.
And yes, it did start and ran fine for several summers after that.
My father wasn't very mechanically inclined, so most things I've learned over the years have pretty much been on my own. So please forgive the ocassional neandertholic methods I've used, as they are not of the norm nor recommended.

As far as using ether to re-seat the bead on a truck tire, this is a trick that has been used probably longer than I've been alive, so I'm not laying claim to having invented it.
Ether works fine here if used in moderation....if it doesn't work the first try, then and only then use a little bit more until it will re-seat.

RetroRiceRocketRider wrote:
Wow, guess I should have pasted a disclaimer with the bug spray statement! :S :pinch:

[/quote]

LOL!! Whoops! Maybe I overreacted! :blush: Actually, I wasn't nearly in so much pain about the bug spray as the WD-40. And I don't care what anybody does to tires, 'cause they're expendable, and easy to change (at least compared to engine internals). And please understand that I have almost a love for machinery, and I tend to overreact when machinery gets abused. I think I need to form the machine-rights group
People for the
Ethical
Treatment of
Machines.

:huh:
Boy, I sound weird, don't I!!!!
So, 4R, truce. Sorry.

wireman wrote:

ive always liked the old carb and tranny fluid down the plug holes trick on motors that have been sitting a while it helps loosen up gummed up rings and gets a little lubrication to things then try turning motor over without plugs to make sure nothing goes clunk inside.unless the oil is really nasty or watered down with gas id try and get the motor warmed up 1st to help flush all the trash out of it then drain it;)im no engineering genius though,just someone with a little real world experiance:P<br><br>Post edited by: wireman, at: 2007/02/25 13:43

I agree with t-fluid down the plug holes and hand-turning several times to lube the rings and cylinder walls. In fact, remembering that the t-fluid really needs to get past the compression rings and down to the oil ring, I emphasise SEVERAL times.
Now, having looked inside a lot of motors after we deliberately tried to fail them, I'm a firm believer in sacrificing oil instead of engine parts. If an engine has been sitting, I'm not capable of judging the condition of the contents of the crankcase until I get them out of the crankcase. So, if an engine has been sitting for an undeterminate time, I'll drain the oil first, pour a quart of fresh oil through the engine, then replace the plug and put in fresh. Then I'll change it again when I get it home.
Guys have told me that they didn't do all that and they got years of use out of an engine, and my response is always, "yeah, but how much more would you have gotten out of it if you had?"
From what I have seen, the answer is surprising.