Topic: 78 cb550k, too soon to start it?

[kerryb]

Brought home my next project, a '78  550k.  Seller says it sat in his garage for most of last year  because it wouldn't stay running and he didn't have time to get into it.  Sold it to me to raise money to buy a house.  I haven't tried to start it yet because I haven't finished trying to make sure it is ready to run. 
So far;  compression feels good by  kickstart lever, carbs have been drained of old gas, have new battery, starter is working, oil on the dipstick looks ok but is not fresh, electrics all work and points look good.  Has a new looking foam filter in the stock airbox.
Nervous about just starting it up because I bent a valve on a goldwing project because a valve was sticking and the piston hit it, doh!
Is there more I should do first, or just fire it up and hope for the best?   We got 8 inches of snow last night so there is no rush...but I'm curious to see if it will run before tearing into it.

[evinrude7]

if it were me i'd probably change the oil and try to start it.  some folks put marvel mystery oil or other oils/penetrants into the spark plug holes to free things up, rocking it back and forth in gear and stuff like that but usually that's for a stuck motor.  maybe after an oil change you could get some oil into the top end.  open the valve tappet covers and squirt some in there.  adjust tappets while in there too.  maybe start it in a warm garage or with a heater blowing on it.  good luck.

[Deltarider]

If it has not sat for more than a year, I see no risk to start it. Slow jets will probably be clogged though.

[kerryb]

Thanks for your opinions.  Lucky for me my shop is heated!  I'll take a look at the tappets, maybe leave a cap off to be sure oil is circulating.  You're right delta the slow jets are probably clogged because I didn't get enough gas draining from the carbs to account for 4 bowls. I suppose a squirt of mmo on the cam lobes would be a good idea too.

 Stay tuned...potential startup soon.

[bryanj]

K3 has PD carbs and only way to clean pilot jets is to remove them. They are the press in type.

[kerryb]

K3 has PD carbs and only way to clean pilot jets is to remove them. They are the press in type.

You are correct, and if you have a pair of "hog-ring" pliers, they have a cylindrical  hole bored in line with the handles that just fits a keihin slow jet.  Allows me to carefully twist and pull straight out.  No muss, no fuss jet removal.  I'm sure I'll be using them on these carbs eventually, I just want to hear it run to heighten my enthusiasm,  and maybe get a better set of readings when I do take a compression test.

[jakec]

i've started multiple bikes that sat for more than 10 years and nothing bad happened. I think you just got unlucky with that bike.

[kerryb]

Disappointment at first, so I checked for spark...nothing.  after a few various emotions and planning what to do first, I pulled a plug and grounded it to the head...no spark, damn.  After trying to remember my diagnostic skills, I reached over and turned the kill switch on, then we had spark,
Full throttle, full choke, started so fast I was shocked!  But it won't stay running so those hog-ring pliers are going to get used after all, as predicted.
With the choke on it runs smooth and steady.  No funny noises or cam chain rattles, so I'm stoked!  Now it's planning a full disassembly for a thorough cleaning, paint the engine and frame, clean all the electrical connections, and polish some aluminum.  By spring I should have a nice stocker for shorter rides.

[kerryb]

i've started multiple bikes that sat for more than 10 years and nothing bad happened. I think you just got unlucky with that bike.

Yes, I think you're right.  I don't know how long that one sat, but it had a little corrosion on the stem of the sticky valve.  A little marvel mystery oil on the valves and cranking it over by hand a few times probably would have saved  me the cost of a new valve, head gaskets, and a bunch of hours of labor.  Motor ran great for thousands of miles after that, but my rush to start it was rather costly.

[Deltarider]

Full throttle, full choke, started so fast I was shocked!  But it won't stay running so those hog-ring pliers are going to get used after all, as predicted.
With the choke on it runs smooth and steady.  No funny noises or cam chain rattles, so I'm stoked!  Now it's planning a full disassembly for a thorough cleaning, paint the engine and frame, clean all the electrical connections, and polish some aluminum.  By spring I should have a nice stocker for shorter rides.

Sounds good. Not even cam chain rattles! That sounds very promising and I suspect your bike has not done many miles, because most of them do rattle. I don't see any reason for 'planning a full disassembly' at all. I'd concentrate on making sure the slow jets are free and then first start riding for further analysis. You may have to continue to ad some fuel system cleaner to keep the slow jets free and 'lube' the float swivel pins and float needles. Too little fuel in the floatchambers could indicate float needles sticking. Often the case when bike has sat for a long time. Also an extra inline fuel filter hindering fuel flow, can cause that. Remove it. Also make sure carbs can vent, so check the tube is open. When in doubt, cut about one inch of the bottom end. You'd be not the first K3/K4 owner that has to do that.
That's what I'd do. I am not a fan of undertaking 'maintenance' where it is not needed. You learn nothing that way. I would not even bother 'cleaning' electrical contacts. Not before you have diagnosed a problem. I never had to clean even one contact yet and my bike is from 1976. Don't be misled: in this forum there's a lot of activity going on by folks that rather tinker than ride. These bikes were estimated about the most reliable at the time. If you encounter an issue, there are many here that can - step by step - guide you. That's the way to learn and get familiar with your bike.

[kerryb]

Yes Delta, I am  a fan of " if it ain't broke, don't fix it" , but what I meant by full disassembly was to remove the engine to clean and paint because of the dirt in hard to reach places, flaking paint, and oil coating the top front.  Someone has painted this engine in the past without removing it from the bike.  Telltale silver paint on the frame tubes indicates this.
I'm ok with carb work because of the people on this forum.  They walked me through a full restoration of my first carbs, Pd42b's on a 78 750k, only had to clean part of them twice!
As for the electrical, there is a melted fuse holder which I want to replace with a hondaman blade unit, and maybe spring for his ignition and switch-saver relays while I'm in there.  This also gives me an excuse to restock my wiring supplies from vintage connections as I'm out of female bullets and want a few connectors for another project.
I'm a rattle can paint guy with enough practice to not have runs, so my paint looks ok without spending high dollars.  My engine removal c-hook that I learned about here, makes the job easy.  So this bike is not a major project, just a repeat of all the procedures I learned about from the fine folks on this forum (including you) to keep me busy during a long, cold Buffalo winter.  (Waaay better than refurbishing a bathroom...I hope to finish that soon)

[evinrude7]

As for the electrical, there is a melted fuse holder which I want to replace with a hondaman blade unit, and maybe spring for his ignition and switch-saver relays while I'm in there. 

+1 on the blade style fuse block and the hondaman ignition. 

[Bankerdanny]

I started my 550 after it had sat for 23 years after nothing more than fresh oil. My 750 sat for more than 10 years.

You can rotate it by hand with the plugs out and the valve adjuster covers off to confirm that the valves are moving if you want, but the probability of a stuck valve in a vertical OHV engine is less than say a GL where the heads stick out to the side.