Kz900 sitting for 10 years

It's not that I'm not comfortable riding it long distances it's that I want to do everything I can to get the bike ready for riding it at all. My question was, how do I protect the rings best without opening it up before riding it?

I appreciate everyone's impute and while I'm rewiring the bike I have Mystery oil soaking in the cylinders. Once the wire is done I might run it for a few minutes just to make sure I have wired it right and the set the timing correctly. After that I'll check the valve clearances and go riding.

The engine was cold and the throttle was shut. Once I have the wiring done I'll check it again. Thanks for the tip

SeattleKZ wrote: The engine was cold and the throttle was shut. Once I have the wiring done I'll check it again. Thanks for the tip

Oh ya, it will come up quite a bit, probably 125-130 or more. Then once you have the test done dry, add a small amount of engine oil to each and retest. Compare Dry and Wet #'s.

cool thanks, it will be a couple weeks before I report back because I'm heading out of town but thanks for the tips.

I agree - Marvel is all my stuff.

I wonder why no one expressed the possibility of valve spring sag. I know some of my stuff sat for years without moving, and they run fine, but technically, when the engine stops, some valve springs are compressed and after sitting for extended periods of time, they will sag or lose there tension. This can be an issue with the shim on top valve adjustments on the KZs. If you rev the engine (near redline) and the springs are weak, you can get a float and pop a shim.

If nothing else, be careful not to red line the bike.

Also, be sure to flush out the brake lines if this sat for some time!

Good points. I do plan to check the valves after I get the wiring sorted and maybe this winter I'll change the valves and springs just as a precautionary measure. Yes, the front brake is sticky so I planned to flush that line for sure.

SeattleKZ wrote: Good points. I do plan to check the valves after I get the wiring sorted and maybe this winter I'll change the valves and springs just as a precautionary measure. Yes, the front brake is sticky so I planned to flush that line for sure.

Do yourself a favor and take all of your calipers and both master cylinders apart and clean the crap out of them. My bike sat idle on Vancouver Island for 7 years, the brakes seemed OK but when I took them apart everything was rusty and mostly seized.