| Author | Message | ||
     Jwblue |
Hello, I have an opportunity to acquire an '07 Ulysses that has been sitting idle and neglected for about four years. The owner kept it well maintained and rode it often until then. My question is how to best clean out the four-year-old rotted gas in the Ulysses fuel tank (fuel-in-frame) and clean its injectors, etc? Thanks | ||
| Froggy |
07 is a crankshaft time bomb. Go for a different bike That said, fuel tank has a drain plug, remove it, fill it up with some fresh gas and seafoam, and enjoy. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Depends on the price I'd say. There is some risk with the 07 cranks, but it's not a guaranteed failure. If the price is right, go for it. My Uly has been pretty tolerant of sitting with gas in it. It's done it a couple times, once after the accident, and last winter I didn't bother to winterize it. My carb bikes are all full of ethanojello, the Uly fired right up. | ||
| Jwblue |
I'm not buying the bike: it's a gift from an old friend. So I'm not asking about the '07 model versus other years. I'm hoping to get information about the best way to completely clean the Ulysses fueling system, tank, pump, injectors, etc. And I'd be grateful for any other Ulysses-specific information about freshening one up that has been sitting neglected for four years. Thanks | ||
| Ratbuell |
Drain it as noted above. Fill with fresh premium, mixed with SeaFoam. That'll clean the system as it runs. Don't worry about anything else unless you see/smell fuel leaks. If it starts and runs, take it for a short spin to get everything warmed up, and change both oils and the filter. New tires. Check all the seals, including forks. Check all soft goods - anything rubber, anywhere. Check all bearings - fork, wheel, etc. Adjust as necessary. Basically...do a 5k service. Check all your torques. ALL of them - brakes, triple trees, swingarm, belt pulleys, handlebar clamp. If it's a bolt, torque it. And mark it with touchup paint so if it moves, you'll see it on your preflight checks. If it doesn't start and run, swap plugs and wires with new stock pieces and try again. If it doesn't *crank*...dig until you find out why. | ||
| Ratbuell |
And get a shop manual. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Bikes with stories are the best bikes. Get a new battery. Put the old battery on a smart charger (a good one, not the harbor freight one) and reboot the charger every week or so for a month. Then you will have two good batteries. Pop off the seat, and the airbox cover and air filter, and look for mouse nests. Put in fresh gas and it will probably fire right up and start bringing smile after smile after mile after mile. | ||
| Tootal |
+1 on the mouse nest! First thing to look for on a bike that been sitting. Fresh gas and Seafoam.  | ||
| Jwblue |
A shop manual comes with the motorcycle. So does a never-mounted rear tire bought four years ago. I'll definitely change all fluids, check forks, seals, bearings, fasteners, look for nests, etc. I'm mostly concerned about the fuel system on the Ulysses being gummed up from rotted four-year-old California gas. How do you clean an in-frame fuel tank? Thanks | ||
| Tootal |
Drain it and see what it looks like. If it's really bad then fill it with fresh fuel and seafoam and let it sit for a day and drain it again. I'm going to guess that if you drain it, it will look a little bad but still good enough to run. I've got fuel in a car that's been there since 2007 and it still starts and idles perfectly. The good thing about premium is it does last a lot longer. | ||
| Fotoguzzi |
drain and flush is about all you can do, Use Seafoam! like the guys say it will probably fire right up (with a good battery).. injectors should not be gummed up since they've been closed the whole time. Your a Lucky guy! | ||
| Hughlysses |
Unless the gas in the frame is so fouled up it won't drain out of the drain hole, I don't think you need to worry about any residual foul gas. Gas deteriorates as it evaporates and the remainder is exposed to air. The fuel in the lines and injectors shouldn't cause a problem as it can't evaporate and it's not exposed to air. Fresh gas and an additive like Seafoam should remove any residual junk from the tank quickly. | ||
| Jesse_lackman |
If the gas smells like varnish it needs to be drained. Running bad gas can stick valves. I learned that the hard way. |
