Hello to all, and thank the Gods that i found this forum !!
   Here is the deal, I just bought my first bike since I was a teenager from my neighbor. It is a '92 "E" model. It was his first bike, ever, and he ended up laying it down. As he went down, he was not experienced enough to know to either climb on top of it or to just push away from it. He simply just haung on and rode it down. Well, he ended up breaking his leg. After that he just leaned it against his house, covered it with a tarp and left it alone. It has been sitting there for about 2 ½ years now. But it ran fine when he put it there.
   Anyways, I talked him out of it for only $100. Yes, you read that correctly. I only paid $100 for the bike. He just simply wanted it gone. 

So, here is what I can tell you about the bike by just looking at it;
Minor scratches in places on the right side.
Front break lever bent.
Tach cable pulled loose from the tach.
Front break caliper was froze up. Not sure if it was from the accident or just from sitting for so long. But had to remove it just so I could push the bike to my house.
Tires are dry rotted, of course.
I have not tried to start it. I don't want to yet. Not until I do some work on it first.
The speedo says it has almost 28,000 miles on it !!!!! Even though that only comes out to approximately 1,300 miles a year, that is still a lot of miles on a bike. I have read that these motors are damn near impossible to kill, but holy crap, 28K miles !!!
That's all I can see that is wrong with it by just giving it a visual look-over.

   My plan is to start by draining all the fluids, then start taking it apart and cleaning/repairing/replacing parts as i go.
   I am not the most experienced rider on the planet. I have not had my own bike since i was a teenager. But I do ride every once in a while. I can work on cars and am knowledgeable in hydrolics and pnuematics. I own a computer business and have expert-level knowledge in electronics of just about all types.
I told you guys all that so I could say this; while I am no dummy that you guys will have to lead around by the hand at every turn, I have VERY limited experience working on bikes. I have never taken one apart, nor have I ever even done any serious repairs on one other than the minor stuff like oil changes, break pad replacement, etc.. So, that is why I am here.
I WANT TO LEARN !!!

   Now, with all that being said, here is where I ask for advice.
After I drain all the fluids, what do you guys suggest I do next? Should I just start taking it apart piece by piece like I have planed? If so, any particular order that is recommended, or can I just go at it until it is broke completely down?
   What I would like to do once I get it tore down is completely tear down and rebuild the motor and tranny like smokebombb did in his thread on here, http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=58696.0
I am also planing on doing a complete carb rebuild.

   Now, please remember that i am not very experienced in the motorcycle parts department. So, if during this tread one of you says something like; "Make sure to check/replace the 'thing-a-ma-bob'", please don't be surprised if I reply with, "WTF is that !?!?!". What I am asking is that you guys please try to be a little patient with me as go go through this learning process.

   Here are some pics for you guys. Sorry for the crappy quality, I broke the lens on my phone's camera. I can take better pics later if you guys want them.  Also, I any of you need/want any other pics of something special on the bike just ask.
   Thanks guys for any and all help and guidance you can lend.

Well I would say you have a good start for a nice ride.

Change the fluids as you have said
Take the gas tank off and clean it good
Take  the carbs off - they are going to need to be cleaned anyway.
Take the exhaust off - explain next....

Rings tend to rust to the cylinder wall - particularly if left outside.
Won't ruin them if it is not to bad but you have to be careful not to break a ring land on a piston
Take the plugs out and squirt oil into each cylinder -- leave the plugs out
Squirt some in through the intake manifold also

The best thing to do is take the stator cover off put a socket and handle on the center nut and gently try to move it - you don't want to loosen the nut you want to turn the pistons through their cycle.  A breaker bar works best because you want to just move it slightly up and down (tighten and loosen).

Once the pistons are loose rotate the engine over several times.
If it seems to move freely you can put power to it and spin it over several times.

Clean carbs...reassemble....try to start it.

I don't recommend using starter fluid with the carbs off.  You have no control of the rpm that way.

Have fun with it..

Its a good score, you will get 3 times that back if you sold it off as parts 

Buying non runners is always a gamble despite any claims the seller might make and I agree with Alan_nc.  Concentrate on getting the engine running correctly. No point throwing time and money at the rest of the bike until you know its free of serious internal issues. Saying it ran ok before the crash means nothing, it could have bent the crank end or the timing chain might have jumped a tooth when it went down. For the same reason check the forks and frame are not bent and the wheels run true.

At that age and mileage one of the first things to look at is the gearbox output shaft. 92`s used the old type boss-less sprocket and consequently it gave the splines a hard time so check for wear. I would avoid trying to take the pipes off. After 22 years those cap-head bolts are not going to come out without a fight and if you shear one or strip the thread............you will be in a world of s**t.

Ha! That's the first time I've seen that, clever...but will probably get you a ticket.

"The speedo says it has almost 28,000 miles on it !!!!! Even though that only comes out to approximately 1,300 miles a year, that is still a lot of miles on a bike. I have read that these motors are damn near impossible to kill, but holy crap, 28K miles !!!"

Mate, that's NOT a lot of miles for a bike, there's no reason it couldn't go at least 3 times that mileage, so don't worry about it.
Milage/wear is much more about HOW it's been used, e.g. city/suburban riding or country/highway riding... aggressive or smooth riding. Give me a higher milage non-thrashed country bike any day.

One thing to add re: checklist before you start it... Inspect the timing chain tensioner (and obviously valve clearances) to make sure it's good. Tensioners are not too expensive, but if it loses it's girlish laughter you'll end up with bent valves and a big bill!

Thanks for the reply everyone.
First, Alan_nc; Thanks for the tips. I didn't look at it that way. If the motor will start, THEN I will worry about rebuilding it. No sense in wasting time and money unless it is actually WORTH messing with in the first place. Great advice. Thanks again. Secondly, what would you recommend cleaning the inside of the tank out with?

Sledge; Great tip on the gearbox output shaft. I will be sure to do that before getting too far into other things. Also, thanks for the advice on the pipes. You are probably right about them. I will hit the bolts with some PB Blaster and let them sit overnight then see if I can work them loose without having to put a tremendous amount of force on them. If they come off, great. If they will not come loose relatively easily, then I am going to take your advice and leave them alone.

Suzuki Stevo; I am assuming you are talking about the blinkers, right? Why would that get me a ticket?

Joolstacho; Well that's a relief to know. Also, thanks for the advice on the tensioner.

Too all; Where is the best place to find and order a Haynes manual, or whatever tear-down/rebuild manual is best for this bike?

Quote from: cloudkat on February 16, 2014, 04:34:33 PM
Suzuki Stevo; I am assuming you are talking about the blinkers, right? Why would that get me a ticket?

Some areas have laws in regard to placement of the turn signals, in particular the minimum distance between them (within the US this is generally 9 in); if you don't meet this requirement you can get cited.



As said earlier,after changing fluids, first pull/inspect the sparkplugs and remove the timing rotor cover then use a wrench with light pressure on the shaft nut and see if it will turn over clockwise, maybe rocking back and forth a little if it's somewhat stuck.  If it'll turn freely with the wrench, then you can clean the carburetors and try to start her up (best use a funnel/bottle as a fuel supply in lieu of the main tank).  If it'll start, then you can look into further rebuilding.

Removing the exhaust can make it easier to see if there is anything wrong with the exhaust valves, but on such an old bike you certainly want to liberally apply penetrating oil on the header bolts and let it site for a while before trying to remove the bolts.

Finally got some time to work on my "project". Working 12 - 14 hour days, 6 days a week SUCKS !!!
Anyways, pulled plugs, seat, fuel tank, exhaust and drained oil. As recommended, I put a touch of oil down the plug hole and hooked up a breaker bar to the shaft .... then started to pray as I gently applied pressure in a clockwise rotation.
BOO YAH BABY !!!  It turned without even the slightest bit of resistance. 

So, I have bought new plugs and wires, new K&N air filter, new break pads, battery, oil filter. Once I get the chance to get it all put on and topped off with fresh oil I will try to fire it up. If it cranks I will start my tear down/rebuild.

I want to send Budda a PM and check on getting new jets for my carb, but I also want to completely clean/rebuild them. Are there any good rebuild kits you guys recommend and from where?

Speaking of which, where do you guys buy your parts at on-line? Here in Panama City, Florida, I don't have a really good street bike parts shop locally. Plenty of Harley shops, but not a great selection for other bikes.

Here is a couple of pics now that i have pulled the tank, seat and fairings.




I'll post more pics as I continue the tear down.

i like bikebandit.com and denniskirk.com for parts, bikebandit.com occasionally has excellent prices/discounts on new oem parts... I've bought new stuff from them cheaper than i've seen used being sold on the forum. If your planning on doing a total tear down I recommend the factory service manual, it's more detailed and has tons of diagrams. Not cheap, but worth it... will pay for itself many times over.

http://www.genuinesuzukimanuals.com/cart.asp?rtn=3|23|-1

Thanks for the info kyled25, especially the denniskirk.com. I already had bikebandit bookmarked, but didn't know about denniskirk.