In 1994 Dad bought a Electroglide. Im not sure of the overall model, but it was the high end elctroglide in that year. Anyhoo, he does not ride anymore due to medical reasons. The bike hasnt run in maybe 6 years, but its been inside all this time, I think the gas has been drained out of it. So I guess my question is what should Dad do maintenance wise to a non-useful bike.

I never thought a lot about this, until I started riding myself. It seems that engines that get stored for long periods are never right again; hence my concern.

I cant bring myself to tell him to sell it. I suppose that would be ideal.

 

If he ever decides to sell that "non-useful" bike, please let me know...
seriously...
I'm no EVO-expert, but I would think that some fresh gas in the tank, maybe some new oil, a fresh battery (and a good charger with a "start" feature), prime the carb, kick it over a few times it may just surprise you and fire up.
A mechanic I knew once told me about an engine he tore down after an extended period of sitting unused. He claimed that the camshaft had drops of oil still adhering to each lobe.
Best of luck.
You never know...if you show interest and initiative, you may even convince him to someday sell or give it to you.
BTW, just FYI, it's Electraglide ('A' instead of 'O')

 

sorry for the duplicate post. I'd delete this there was a way...

 

a small amount of oil in each cylinder sta-bil in the gas tank and run thru the fuel system elevate tires off the floor to prevent flat spots. really the best way to preserve this scoot is for you to stop by once a month and ride for an hour or so. let him know its the best way to store a hd

 

Before you get it on the road, I would put two new tires on her regardless of how the current ones look.

 

Sorry to hear about your dad. Hope he can get back in the wind again. If it was my dad's (rip) bike - , I'd do the standard check over stuff - like look at the tires and hoses for dry rot, make sure the belt is in good shape, fork seals, etc. Rubber tends to deterioirate over time and storage does not prevent that.

Then I'd drain fuel from tank, pull the petcock, clean the screen, reinstall the petcock, pull the float bowl off the carb, drain it, clean it and reinstall. Then charge the battery and put fresh fuel in it. Then kick it over, if it runs, let it warm up for "at least" 4 to 5 minutes at normal idle. Till the cylinder heads are pretty damn hot to the touch. Check for leaks at the base gaskets, head gaskets and rocker boxes. aLso check for oil puking back up into the carb, the 94 is a headbreather and uses umbrella valves (small rubber valves in each rocker box that do get brittle with age and can f*ck up in terms of dealing with reccirculating oil). If everything looks good, go take it for a ride and be gentle on it for the first bunch of miles.

Once it's nice and hot, I'd take it out on the highway for a good 1hr run and then bring it back. Drain the engine oil, primary oil and tranny. If it's not running synthetic in it now, don't put that in, it WILL find leaks on an old bike, just fill the tranny , primary and engine with regular, thick , old oils per the factory speacs and put a fresh oil filter on it. Then fire it up and make sure it runs fine with a decent 1/2 hour run.

From there, I'd put some stabil fuel additive in it, let that run thru for a little bit, turn the petcock off, put it on a quality battery tender and do what BLUEFLHT reccomends - take it out and ride it at least once a month! And if you have a lift it can sit on to keep the tires off the ground that's good to, it sounds like this is not the case right now, so it's worth taking a good look at the tires on it now to see what thiere real condition is.

 

i just want to add if this were the case in my family ie: if I was the one who couldnt ride i would wish someone in my family and that includes my very close personal friends would do that for me to ensure when the time does come for the scoot to pass on to someone else it is a joy to pass on not a basketcase who may cause more trouble than joy.

 

Don't forget to check the brake calipers to make sure they are working AND releasing. I would also change the brake fluid in addition all that is mentioned above. I bought a Goldwing once that had been sitting for 5 yrs and had to rebuild all three calipers, not that big of a deal it just needs to be checked

 

I would be a happy guy if my dad(RIP) was gonna let me maintain his bike. What a thrill that would have been.Jump on it and be with him as much as you can.It may lead to a new understanding for you both..LOL

 

I'm not sure about the '94 (I had an '89) but if its the EVO motor and it hasn't been running for a while, make sure you place a drip pan under the motor. There is a crankcase blowby line that can accumulate oil after it's been sitting for a long time such as in weeks, months or years. It just blows oil overboard when it starts up, usually right out the bottom on the right side of the motor. Don't be alarmed, this is normal and it stops after a few seconds. Just my $.02.
Best wishes to your dad. And I hope you can keep that 'Glide in good shape and bring it back to life.