Harley Davidson Forums - Reviving A Dead Sporty

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Reviving A Dead Sporty

Hey guys, I just wanted to get some advice from someone more knowledgeable than myself on an issue I'm having with a used sporty I picked up a few weeks ago.

It's a 1994 XLH 1200 that's been sitting in a garage untouched for roughly just under a year.

After picking it up I gave it a good once over, drained the old fuel from the tank, replaced the dead battery with a new one, changed the spark plugs, installed a new fuel line to replace the old one which was turned into a sticky tar-like putty, and put fresh gasoline with a bit of SeaFoam into the tank.

Also, in my feeble attempt to locate to the oil drain plug, I gave up and decided to add some fresh oil to the very little bit of oil that remained in the tank in an attempt to at least get the engine running before eventually doing a full and proper oil change. I think the only way drain the oil would be to remove the hose attached to the nipple at the bottom of the oil tank, attach a drain tube, and hope it all comes out. Are there any tricks to getting oil out of a cold engine?

Here's where I'm stuck: I tried starting the bike, but couldn't get the engine to turn over. The starter sounded just fine. I've tried putting it into gear and moving it around to get the oil somewhat circulated as well.

Is there anything I'm missing or anything else that I can do to get this baby back on the road? I was planning on taking the carb apart to clean it and get any gunk out of it.

What do you guys think?

Thanks alot!

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrooklynChopper (Post 9640652)

Your oil drain is the hose on the bottom of the engine that is routed to the right side of your frame. It's clamped on a nipple sticking off the frame. If it's only been sitting for a year, I'd say you're on your way to getting it fired back up. Check/switch out the plugs and all the vacuum hoses too.

Back in my pre-EFI days, if I were lazy or forgot to put Stabil in the tank before putting the bike away for the winter I would encounter this problem. The issue was always the carbs. Of course my laziness didn't subside in the spring time when I wanted to get the bike out and go play. So, I would simply throw the bike in the back of the truck and drop it off at the local shop to have them clean the carbs and get it running.

Work the handlebar switch (run/off) several times, the contacts may be corroded. I think they might be "self cleaning?"

John

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrooklynChopper (Post 9640652)

Hey guys, I just wanted to get some advice from someone more knowledgeable than myself on an issue I'm having with a used sporty I picked up a few weeks ago.

It's a 1994 XLH 1200 that's been sitting in a garage untouched for roughly just under a year.

After picking it up I gave it a good once over, drained the old fuel from the tank, replaced the dead battery with a new one, changed the spark plugs, installed a new fuel line to replace the old one which was turned into a sticky tar-like putty, and put fresh gasoline with a bit of SeaFoam into the tank.

Also, in my feeble attempt to locate to the oil drain plug, I gave up and decided to add some fresh oil to the very little bit of oil that remained in the tank in an attempt to at least get the engine running before eventually doing a full and proper oil change. I think the only way drain the oil would be to remove the hose attached to the nipple at the bottom of the oil tank, attach a drain tube, and hope it all comes out. Are there any tricks to getting oil out of a cold engine?

Here's where I'm stuck: I tried starting the bike, but couldn't get the engine to turn over. The starter sounded just fine. I've tried putting it into gear and moving it around to get the oil somewhat circulated as well.

Is there anything I'm missing or anything else that I can do to get this baby back on the road? I was planning on taking the carb apart to clean it and get any gunk out of it.

What do you guys think?

Thanks alot!

This doesn't make any sense. "Turning over" means that the starter is cranking the motor (pistons going up and down). The starter can't sound "fine" if it's NOT turning the motor over.

Do you mean that the motor is turning over but not starting?

Quote:

Originally Posted by cHarley (Post 9641570)

Woops, sorry. I did mean that motor is turning over, just not starting. I'm hoping a carb tear-down and cleaning will do the trick.

You are on the right track - Carb would be what I would at next.

Pull a plug and turn it over to make sure you are getting spark is always a good thing to check.

pull the ac and turn the throttle ....you should see gas being pumped in to the carb body...if not you need to take the carb off and give it a good soaking and cleaning....also you can spray a shot of starter fluid in the carb and if it starts and dies after a second that tell you its not getting fuel....with you description of the fuel line, i would say you have a gunked up carb......it may be something as simple as the float being stuck in the up position and if you tap on the carb with the but of a screwdriver you may jar it loose....once you get some fuel in the carb the new fuel should loosen and clean everything up....it s only been sitting a year it shouldn't be tooo bad....

Spray some starting fluid in the air intake to see if that will at least get it started for a second then tackle the carb cleaning.