1998 Tiger Needs to be Resurected

[NOVA-98Tiger]

Ok, here goes....

Bought my lightly ridden, British racing green 1998 Tiger in 2006.  Rode it lightly for two years, then drained the fuel and put in it storage for a few more years, and a few more...and a few more still...  until finally almost 10 years later she is seeing light of day again.  I probably should have sold it years ago, but that is not the point now.  Even though she is not running right now, she has good bones.  Really good.  As in......less than 3850 miles on the odometer.  For a 1998.  She demands to be restored and ridden....

So there is a whole host of things I need to do, am sure.  Comments on how to properly get her in working order are welcome, however, her is what I am doing first:

-- First off, am going to drain the oil and replace - does anyone know if I should use a detergent to make sure all the old oil is gone, or just replace whatever is in there with the mfgr recommended oil?

-- Second, new battery.  Duh.

--  Are 3850 mile brake pads still good, after 19 years?  Need replacing? What about brake fluid?

-- Curiously, I can not get the petrol tank open.  Key fits in and turns OK, but the door does not open at all.  Have tried gently inserting flat head screwdriver into crease and trying to pop it, but no luck, and I don't want to force it.  Any ideas why it will not open?

I can replace pretty much any part on my car, so am pretty handy... BTW, I really regret that it is a steamer and not an injection.  I remember having a bear of a time starting her back in the good old days when it was really cold outside.  That said, I think with a carburetor she should be pretty easy to going again.  Deep breath....

[tonytiger]

When the old oil is drained, leave the sump plug out and tip some fresh oil in it should flush the old oil through then new filter. Job done?
Try some wd 40 sprayed in the key hole it loosen the cap.

[Mustang]

even if you don't want to .....................the carb's HAVE TO COME OFF !

so get the beast up on stands and
pull the drain bolt and oil filter put em somewhere safe and sound .
let it drip for days while you work on other shit .

the tank and body works gotta go .....................

while your at it drain the tank ..........the cap being stuck is probably the rubber gasket melted to the tank from old age /gas vapors and being in place for 10 years ...............be prepared to repair it or replace it .

yank the carbs after you get the air box out
disassemble and get all the bits soaking in carb cleaner,
blow out all the passages with compressed air , you may also need to run a pc of fine wire thru the pilot hole , they always block up with aluminum oxidation .

now see if you can get the airbox split without the plastic disintegrating..............the 20 year old foam element should be crumbling apart from old age
if you were successful  in splitting the box
if not a new filter from triumph (if available) comes with the box
if you were successful ....snag a new k&n element for like 40 bucks
if these are keihins , while its apart you may as well fix the piss poor factory jetting .

theres a post somewhere on here how to do it .

and nows a good time to bin the gill coils , cuz they just plain suck .................nologys 

put it all back to gether
dont forget the oil

hook your new battery to the car with jumper cables and hit the go button ....................let it spin , the faster the better ..................soon it should cough cough sputter , eventually start m don't touch the throttle use the choke .................let er run at 2000 rpms for a bit then you should be good to go .

oh yeah tires and brake pads too

[JayDub]

When the old oil is drained, leave the sump plug out and tip some fresh oil in it should flush the old oil through then new filter. Job done?
Try some wd 40 sprayed in the key hole it loosen the cap.

I wouldn't... Rubber doesn't like WD40 - it usually swells.

[Sin_Tiger]

While you've got the carbs off, flex the carb / head and carb / airbox rubbers a serious flex, any signs of cracking = replace them, save yourself a world of pain later.

Brake pads, personally I'd replace them. I've taken pads out before where the friction material just fell away without any contact, revealing rust behind even though the outside looked OK.

I'd be tempted to sacrifice a few litres of 10w oil after draining and refitting the drain plug, take the spark plugs out, stick a big jump battery on it,  warm the 10W up to about 50°C, put it in and spin the engine over until you feel a rise in temp on the cam cover before draining again.

On the plus side, having sat for so many years, it probably didn't have much of anything in the way of ethanol in it before layup.

[bemusedinsojo]

 
Follow the mustang and sin tiger-the animals of Steamers. Their advice is like Scotch-sometimes it burns but always makes you feel better.

[NOVA-98Tiger]

Short update..

So I purchased a new battery recently and just for kicks installed it and hit the ignition.  Without any hesitation, this bike that has been in storage for nearly eight years turned over like she was ready to fully roar.  I disconnected the fuel line prior since I wasn't actually trying to start it, and didn't want any muck from the tank to get into the fuel system.  Which brings me to the next bit...

I apparently did not quite drain all the gas out of the tank.  There was 3-4 cups worth of some really vile stuff in there.  I think when I originally drained it I did not select "reserve", on the fuel tap assembly to fully drain it.  I ended up removing the whole tank, and taking out the fuel tap assembly to make sure everything was indeed out of the tank.  Good thing, since the fuel tap also had some gunk in it that would have prevented fuel flowing easily.

Today I also took apart the right and left hand knuckle guards to clean the clutch and brake fluid reservoirs, and drain them.  I have the clutch and right hand brake leavers off and noticed the lube grease is nasty.  Does anyone have any recommendations with what is the appropriate type of grease I should use when reassembling?

[Timbox2]

On brake and clutch levers that contact master cyl pistons, either Castrol Red Rubber Grease or a Rubber safe grease is normally recommended. Many general purpose greases can swell the piston rubbers.

[Sin_Tiger]

 

When cleaning out the master cylinders, take special care to ensure the tiny holes on the bores are clear.

[tonytiger]

Is synthetic brake fluid recomended with new seals?

[threepot]

I use this on everything

[Sin_Tiger]

I use this on everything

Everything 

DOT4 is fine, open a fresh bottle, DOT5 has it's + & - and isn't any real benefit for road bikes.

[NOVA-98Tiger]

So, I found this gem on Wikipedia....

"...The 'steamer' has proved a durable and tough motorcycle as befits its Dakar Rally type image, but it does suffer from several minor design flaws that hamper routine maintenance and give rise to some recurrent mechanical problems. These disadvantages tend to imply that most long term owners are at least mechanically competent and moreover somewhat idiosyncratic in their determination to keep this type of machine running...."

Which is a nice segue into my next point, which is my belief that there is a special circle in hell waiting for a British gentleman, probably in his late 50's or older, who was the engineer responsible for designing the placement of the airbox on the 885. Why the hell do I need to remove virtually all body fairings and the carburetors in order to replace the GD air filter? I need to remove the carbs anyway to clean them, but I am probably going to "modify" my airbox with a Dremmel tool to allow the air filter to be slid out.

Madness. 

[Mustang]

It ain't thar bad....once you learn the trick

[Sin_Tiger]

"Idiosyncratic" is probably one of the nicer things I've been called