How much work can you do inside without stinking up the house??

[tt_four]

I'm thinking within about 2 weeks I should have a functional basement again, and will finally get to start trying to get the GS running again. I don't have a separate garage, so at the moment the bike is on the back patio with a cover over it, and while I plan on doing some stuff inside, I'm curious how many things I can do inside without making the entire house smell like gas or oil. I don't mind working out back, but I'd be afraid that when I pull an engine cover off I'd end up with a spider or fly inside the engine somewhere. Assuming I leave the gas tank outside, and drain the oil ahead of time, can I get away with pulling my bike into the basement without my wife wanting to kill me? I plan on going over most of the standard things, like spark plugs, valves, timing, jets, all that stuff. What do you think? I see a lot of photo threads on here where guys completely tear apart the bikes outside too, so I was curious

[ineedanap]

Don't tell my wife (or my dinner guests) but the dishwasher makes one heck of a parts washer.

I do most of my work in the winter in the basement.  As long as you don't paint or have anything with gas down there, you'd never know there was a bike in the basement.  I usually do it in pieces, though.  I was able to get my motocross bikes into the basement (215 lbs) but I don't know how I'd get a whole GS down there.

[XealotX]

I always stop by Taco Bell and eat 4 bean burritos and a small coke (no ice) before working in the house. Follow my lead on this and the wife won't complain about the smell of the motorcycle.

[ohgood]

I always stop by Taco Bell and eat 4 bean burritos and a small coke (no ice) before working in the house. Follow my lead on this and the wife won't complain about the smell of the motorcycle.

smartass !


















i like it

[PaviSays]

Smartass or smellyass?

[joshr08]

i am on bike buld #3 in the house with no smell at all.

[XealotX]

Smartass or smellyass?

Yes.

[tt_four]

Cool, thanks, I'll definitely take off the tank, and I'll at least drain the oil, but after that I'll pull it in the basement. I live in the city so I got pretty lucky to find a house with a decent basement with a ground level door, which is rare around here. Well it's ground level with the sidewalk, the basement floor is one step down from the doorway, so I'm going to have to build a little platform/ramp, and hope that I'm able to squeeze myself and a bike through there without too much hassle. The spray painted GS will give me practice before I own something expensive someday. I'm going to have to clean out the tank anyway, it looks like there's some rust inside of it after sitting for so many years. I went through that with my last bike when I pulled it apart for the winter. Any rust removal kits you guys recommend?

I'm also curious about the smell of an already complete bike with the gas tank and all. After you get home, how long do you think you have to leave a bike to air out before you can pull it inside without stinking things up? If I'm going to be using it a lot I'll probably just pull it on the back patio, but for longer time periods I'll just keep it inside anyway. My bedroom used to be right above the garage when I lived at my parents, and I don't ever remember smelling anything, but the only thing between the living room and the basement in this 100+ year old house is a hardwood floor that would be more than happy to let any smells up through.

[simoniz]

My ex-wife always complained about the gas smell from my bikes in my basement workshop, as the a/c system sucks the fumes up into the house. I always did jobs on carbs and the tank outside, everything else was done inside when the bike had cooled down, even oil changes. So that should work for you too.

Make sure your new basement workshop has ventilation, too.

[DoD#i]

My bedroom used to be right above the garage when I lived at my parents, and I don't ever remember smelling anything, but the only thing between the living room and the basement in this 100+ year old house is a hardwood floor that would be more than happy to let any smells up through.

You might want to add 2 layers of type X drywall with taped seams (offset) to the ceiling - ie, a 2-hour firewall. Put some plastic on top of the drywall while you are at it. And see what the ventilation setup is, or change it so it works for this purpose (ie, hot air furnace or a/c [if those apply] NOT drawing air from basement - basement having a small, quiet exhaust fan to outside.) You likely didn't smell anything at your parents because it was a garage built for the purpose and properly ventilated/isolated - which your basement clearly isn't, at present.

[fred]

As long as you aren't spilling gas everywhere (not actually that hard to do when doing carb work), the process should be fairly odor free. One thing to note, getting all of the oil out of the engine is nearly impossible, so don't put the engine on something you wouldn't mind oil getting on. When you drain the oil, some of it stays stuck up in there and will drain out slowly for weeks. I found this out the hard way, but I was on a sealed concrete floor, so no big deal. If you look at the service manual, you'll see they even list different amounts of oil to add for oil change and overhaul.

[badguy]

I've replaced a front end, changed oil, rebuilt calipers, flushed coolant, and gone faired to naked inside.  Here's the middle of my SV's nudification:



I also have a track bike that lives behind my couch.  My girlfriend never complains, so it can't be that bad (my house is tiny).  When I would pull the SV in after riding, I let it cool off and air out overnight before bringing her inside...not sure if it helped or not 

[fred]

I like your ladder scaffolding system. Very clever!

[jdw03n]

I also have a track bike that lives behind my couch. 

Awesome!  My girlfriend would be beyond pissed if she came home and a bike was camped out behind the furniture.

[O.C.D.]

I would be dead!  I have done many "projects" inside the house.  I use all spare rooms, bathrooms, etc.  But this, I would be single and dead.

[Porkchop]

My girlfriend never complains, so it can't be that bad (my house is tiny).  When I would pull the SV in after riding, I let it cool off and air out overnight before bringing her inside...not sure if it helped or not 

Wow! You have a great girlfriend who never complains about wait outside all night before coming inside?  Personally I think it would be a mood killer but hey she's a great girlfriend.

[bill14224]

This is a good way to find a suitable wife.  If she complains about your bike behind the couch and another tied to a ladder, get rid of her.  If she takes it in stride, she's a keeper! 

[XealotX]

This is a good way to find a suitable wife.  If she complains about your bike behind the couch and another tied to a ladder, get rid of her.  If she takes it in stride, she's a keeper! 

Get ready to go through a lot of women before finding a keeper.......