Maintenance for a sitting Vmax

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Nov 2, 2016
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as some may know my grandpa passed and left me his 86 vmax. I should be picking it up soon(waiting for all the legal stuff to happen before I take ownership). so as it appears the bike has sat since 2006. Im taking a guess because the tag says 06 on it lol. Now I have no idea why it sat or what caused it to be parked. Hell it could of been too much bike for my grandpa in his old age. I know it doesnt start so i know i will need a battery and a rear tire, but what should I look into before i start it up? are there any common failures or things that can go bad with time? should I just replace all the fluids, plugs and wires?

I have never worked on a bike before but what worked on a ton of cars.

Sorry for the novel and thanks for the help
 
I would check all the fluids, tires, brakes/clutch. I might be surprised if it starts up after 10 years w/o a good carb cleaning. Do you have the luxury of a friend with a trailer? It was parked inside, yes?
 
Seriously. Disassemble and clean the ENTIRE fueling system (tank, filter, pump, lined, carbs) and start with fresh gas. ask me how I know. A battery and tire are easy to get.
 
I would check all the fluids, tires, brakes/clutch. I might be surprised if it starts up after 10 years w/o a good carb cleaning. Do you have the luxury of a friend with a trailer? It was parked inside, yes?

Yeah it has been parked in a garage under a cover for all this time or atleast so it appears
 
Probably not going to be cheap to do, but you're getting the work done right by one of the best authorities on our rides. There's something to be said for getting things right the first time. You could do it like this:

  1. get the thing running, which as pointed-out, involves overhauling the fuel delivery system. This is where Sean's expertise is most-valuable. He'll get it done, and done right. After that, you can try doing these things, yourself:
  2. change-out the cooling system coolant. Hopefully that's all it needs.
  3. flush all hydraulics. This means, empty the fluids and try a system flush. If you're lucky, the master cyl's work and the slave cyl for the clutch works. If you're not lucky, rebuild/replace whatever needs it. Consider replacing things rather than rebuilding. The difference in price between paying someone to rebuild the hydraulics and replacing the offending component(s) is not as-great as you think. Do not replace hoses unless they are shot. Leave those 'upgrade' things for after you get it running reliably.
  4. Yes, it needs a battery. Your choice, an AGM (absorbed glass mat) is a cost-effective choice; the lithium-ion batteries are pricey, but save a lot of weight. One source: https://www.batteriesplus.com/battery/motorcycle/yamaha/vmx12-v=max/1200cc/2006
  5. Check the electrics closely, rodents love to chew them apart. Make sure that all your lights work, probably just a case of replacing any burned-out bulbs. Avoid changing out any fixtures for that LED headlight, or a CBR taillight. That's on your 'after it's running correctly' To-Do List.
  6. Make sure your side-stand switch is lubricated, same for the starter button, Both can stick, causing you to not run. A bit of WD-40 may be all it needs, and cycled through its range of movement. Handlebar switch pods may require cleaning and lubricating w/dielectric grease, ninjaneer has descriptions of this, on here.
  7. see #1, first sentence.
  8. replace the tires only after it runs reliably, Even if they're only rim-protectors due to age/hardening, they probably hold air, and can serve their purpose to hold the rims off the ground until the slumbering giant awakens.
  9. keep a spreadsheet of your work, including a file for receipts. This will help you to keep track of the cost, and can remind you what you've done, and what you haven't. Use your cellphone to take pics, and store the pics on your computer in a file. I've found this to be an easy way to store the paperwork.
  10. check out the fork downtubes for pitting. If you have pitting, there's no practical way to avoid replacing them. You can ask on here for someone parting-out a bike, but be sure that there is No Pitting on them! Even if you have pitting, you can still get the thing running before you go to that expense. Forking by Frank is a resource for replacement downtube parts. Same goes for the rear shocks' shafts, pitting means, replacement, as they will leak, if they haven't already. Do Sean's 'bounce test' for the front steering head bearings adjustment. If you feel especially industrious, you could remove the top triple tree and throw some grease in the top & bottom bearings. Grease is cheap, so are replacement tapered bearings if you find that replacement is required, if you find the races are worn. One will come-out easily (the outer race) but the other is harder to remove. Some guys will use a stick welder to spot a couple places on the outer race surface to give the punch a 'purchase' to drive-against, using that big ball pein hammer you have. The heat of welding can also help loosen it.
  11. once it's going, then you can make a priority list of improvements. This can become expensive, ask any of us! Welcome to our world. Got questions, need parts, ask, Someone knows the answer, someone has parts you need, reasonably.
  12. brake pads should be able to get you through to the 'OK, now I'm ready to put it on the road' phase, unless a leaking fork seal oil-soaked them. Check the rotors for excessive wear, ebay has inexpensive (compared to stock OEM prices) replacements. Again, you don't need to spend the $$ until it runs reliably, unless you're down to the friction material backing plate.

Tow it to sean's place and revive that thing.
 

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