Date: 09-11-25  Time: 03:40 am

Author Topic: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead  (Read 5442 times)

bellycgb

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Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« on: 18 July 2013, 09:55:24 am »
Hi all its been a VERY long time since i posted here. good to see FOC-U is still going strong :D My 02 FZS600 has been sitting in the garage for 6 years and i really want to get it back on the road. I have two major issues. first it won't move... the wheels are locked solid (maybe the brakes are clamped on?) and the fact that the chain resembles a brown rope doesn't help either lol. also im sure there is old fuel in the take so i guess that will need flushing.
i will take it to a proper mechanic but anything i can do will be awesome.


so i guess the first thing i should do is cut the chain off as its past the point of being usable. see if i can somehow release the brakes and flush the tank. guess the carbs will need cleaning too?


any advice of what to look for and tips would be great.


will post some pictures later

simonm

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #1 on: 18 July 2013, 10:23:00 am »
If you're happy taking the rear wheel off you could leave the chain in oil for a week or so and give it a degrease etc ?


Whilst you have the wheel off you can check the pads, give the calipers the once over.


Change the oil, check the brake oil levels.


TBH my bike was sitting around for 3-4 years before it was passed on to me and bar a seized rear caliper it was good to go until I got my hands on it and dropped it.


The most important things imo are tyres, brakes, oil's, chain, lights.  The fuel might be old, but if it gets you to the petrol station a fill up should fix that.


Just my 2p, E&OE & YMMV

Dead Eye

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #2 on: 18 July 2013, 10:24:42 am »
Welcome back!

In regards to the carbs, a clean couldn't hurt but usually any fuel in them evaporates so I would expect them to be bone dry. If they were kept clean and maintained before hand then they should be ok :)

It would also probably be best to check the battery - it may well have gone flat and there is potential for needing a new one...

Flushing the tank is a good idea - old fuel sat for that long will have degraded and you may well have a bit of rust / crap in the tank that you really don't want to get sucked through!

simonm

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #3 on: 18 July 2013, 10:27:36 am »
Flushing the tank is a good idea - old fuel sat for that long will have degraded and you may well have a bit of rust / crap in the tank that you really don't want to get sucked through!


 :lol .  Nothing that being exploded in a combustion chamber won't fix  ;)  ....I thought the Fazer had a fuel filter ?

bellycgb

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #4 on: 18 July 2013, 10:44:08 am »
thanks for the input guys really loved my fazer and such a shame its got into such a state. but kids and work meant a car was needed and hence the neglect.just gonna work my way through the service interval sections in the haynes manual and try to do as much as i can. it was always properly maintained before i stopped using it.

Hedgetrimmer

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #5 on: 18 July 2013, 11:08:24 am »
http://www.sterndrives.com/old_fuel.html
Other sites give similar information, so best to drain that old fuel out.
A chain that is rusted to your description is never going to be recovered by any amount of soaking/re-lubing, so that has to go too. Check tyres for signs of cracking/deterioration too.

darrsi

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #6 on: 18 July 2013, 11:25:28 am »
Flushing the tank is a good idea - old fuel sat for that long will have degraded and you may well have a bit of rust / crap in the tank that you really don't want to get sucked through!


 :lol .  Nothing that being exploded in a combustion chamber won't fix  ;)  ....I thought the Fazer had a fuel filter ?

Someone needs to change their fuel filter  :lol

Dead Eye

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #7 on: 18 July 2013, 11:35:25 am »
Apparently so :P

Won't be much of a filter left after if tries to process what's left in the tank

darrsi

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #8 on: 18 July 2013, 11:51:51 am »
Apparently so :P

Won't be much of a filter left after if tries to process what's left in the tank

That was aimed more at simonm, if he wasn't sure it was there then it hasn't been changed for a while :)
Easy job though.......once he finds it  :lol

Dead Eye

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #9 on: 18 July 2013, 12:02:44 pm »
Yeah, I know it was, my response was kind of split between the two but wasn't overly clear, sorry :P In any case, they should both do it haha

simonm

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #10 on: 18 July 2013, 12:05:52 pm »
What does a dirty fuel filter look like ? I've never seen a fuel filter that looks anything other than cleanish.

bellycgb

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #11 on: 18 July 2013, 12:22:51 pm »
well some progress, managed to get the brakes off,  so at least its rolling. first thing i need to do is get it outside and pressure wash the tons of crap and cobwebs off. got a charger connected to the battery but i doubt the battery is any good after all these years. the chain is very rusty but not solid like i first thought. maybe a soak in oil will make it usable for a little while until i can change it. the rear brake caliper is stuck, i need to part the pads to get it off the disc how can i do that?

darrsi

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #12 on: 18 July 2013, 12:38:07 pm »
well some progress, managed to get the brakes off,  so at least its rolling. first thing i need to do is get it outside and pressure wash the tons of crap and cobwebs off. got a charger connected to the battery but i doubt the battery is any good after all these years. the chain is very rusty but not solid like i first thought. maybe a soak in oil will make it usable for a little while until i can change it. the rear brake caliper is stuck, i need to part the pads to get it off the disc how can i do that?

I seriously don't recommend using a pressure washer on bikes, they cause all sorts of problems like blasting paint off and getting water into electrics.
I used one the other day on my engine before a spray job and was amazed how much paint it blew off.
A few weeks before that i used a hose with a fine spray and my air horn started screeching for three days to the point that i bought a new one, then it dried out and worked okay  :\
 
I'll be amazed if you can get your chain into a decent working state, it will have sticky links all over it.
 
As for the rear pads, i reckon once the pad pins are removed then a bit of brute force with a pair of pliers will be needed to slide them out.

darrsi

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #13 on: 18 July 2013, 12:40:01 pm »
What does a dirty fuel filter look like ? I've never seen a fuel filter that looks anything other than cleanish.

It's all internal, so you won't know what's going on inside, but they're only a few quid so if you've never changed it just do it anyway and make a note of the date you changed it  :)

bellycgb

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #14 on: 18 July 2013, 12:50:05 pm »
to be honest there isn't much paint left on the engine anyway lol its all flaking off with a white powdery substance underneath. but yes a hose is a better idea :D will try removing the pins and getting a pad out


darrsi

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #15 on: 18 July 2013, 01:03:07 pm »
to be honest there isn't much paint left on the engine anyway lol its all flaking off with a white powdery substance underneath. but yes a hose is a better idea :D will try removing the pins and getting a pad out

 
Look at the inner paint on my engine, that was caused by jet washing!!
 
 http://foc-u.co.uk/index.php/topic,8354.msg82143.html#msg82143

bellycgb

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #16 on: 18 July 2013, 01:40:21 pm »
to be honest there isn't much paint left on the engine anyway lol its all flaking off with a white powdery substance underneath. but yes a hose is a better idea :D will try removing the pins and getting a pad out

 
Look at the inner paint on my engine, that was caused by jet washing!!
 
 http://foc-u.co.uk/index.php/topic,8354.msg82143.html#msg82143



holy cow looks fantastic :D got the brake off it looks awful inside hope i can revive it

darrsi

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #17 on: 18 July 2013, 01:43:12 pm »
to be honest there isn't much paint left on the engine anyway lol its all flaking off with a white powdery substance underneath. but yes a hose is a better idea :D will try removing the pins and getting a pad out

 
Look at the inner paint on my engine, that was caused by jet washing!!
 
 http://foc-u.co.uk/index.php/topic,8354.msg82143.html#msg82143



holy cow looks fantastic :D got the brake off it looks awful inside hope i can revive it

 
I have my mate to thank for that, he did a very good job  :thumbup


Dead Eye

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #19 on: 18 July 2013, 02:00:22 pm »
My rear probably looked just as bad before I serviced it so it should be rescuable :)

JoeRock

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #20 on: 18 July 2013, 02:07:09 pm »
What does a dirty fuel filter look like ? I've never seen a fuel filter that looks anything other than cleanish.

They're usually caked full of a brownish crud from what I've seen - it's generally very small flakes of rusting metal I think!

With regards to the OP:
If you are capable of fitting a new chain and sprockets (they generally need replacing together, unless you'd literally just replaced the set 6 years back and the sprockets have hardly any wear on them), then you should be able to do most things on there really.
For sure I'd drain the tank, take it off, take the fuel tap off, drain it out. Fuel tap back on, stick a couple liters of petrol mixed with some redex in it and swoosh it around for a bit, then drain that too. Then fill it back up with petrol with a load of redex, and see if she starts. If you're lucky, the carbs will have had the fuel evaporate and you should be okay, worst case scenario you'll have petrol residue that'll have built up and the carbs will need a strip and clean. Hopefully though redex in the fuel and a good run will be enough to sort that out.
Second thing, after that amount of time sitting there, most of the fluids on your bike will have gone off, so I'd personally do a fork fluid change, engine oil change and coolant change. As the calipers are stuck on also makes sense to split them and clean them too, then as you'd have to rebleed anyway get a set of braided hoses and rebleed them up.
Only other potential thing that really needs to be looked at after a bike has sat for a while is that the tyres can develop flat spots, so just take it for a ride being careful, and if the front handles really strangely, probably good to replace the tyre!

darrsi

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #21 on: 18 July 2013, 02:11:13 pm »
What is that, salt erosion?

DryRob

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #22 on: 18 July 2013, 02:39:13 pm »
I've read plenty of times on here not to split the calipers (see downloads section)

bellycgb

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #23 on: 18 July 2013, 02:45:54 pm »
What is that, salt erosion?


i believe so i live on the south coast a few minutes away from the sea :(


chain and sprocket kit are in the pipeline. i've rocked the bike and can't hear any sloshing so maybe there isn't any fuel in there and when i did get the display to come up fuel gauge says empty? does the bike have to be running for the gauge to move? tyres are in perfect condition, no flat spots or signs of deterioration  :D  full fluid and filter change will be done too.

darrsi

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Re: Bringing the foxeye back from the dead
« Reply #24 on: 18 July 2013, 02:51:44 pm »
What is that, salt erosion?


i believe so i live on the south coast a few minutes away from the sea :(


chain and sprocket kit are in the pipeline. i've rocked the bike and can't hear any sloshing so maybe there isn't any fuel in there and when i did get the display to come up fuel gauge says empty? does the bike have to be running for the gauge to move? tyres are in perfect condition, no flat spots or signs of deterioration  :D  full fluid and filter change will be done too.

Gauge will move when key switched on, it doesn't need to be running.
I would imagine your fuel pump would be going nuts though?