Hi all,
I inherited my father-in-law's 1968 R60 US a few years back. It had been sitting in his garage since the 1980s (not stored properly). I pulled it out and brought it up north where it sat for a few more years until I had the time and resources to work on it. Which is now. I'm not a super experienced mechanic, but I'm a fair hand with a wrench. Spent years working in bicycle shops, kept a 1982 Suzuki bike running for awhile, and have worked on all sorts of cars, small engines etc. I'm currently riding a 2014 G650GS Sertao that I maintain.
The R60 is complete, but the engine is stuck. I can push it around in neutral just fine, but put it in gear and nothing. Guy I know up here in VT says he generally fills the cylinders/crank case with kerosene, lets it sit, then sees if he can't get the engine to turn. If it does, he tries to start it just to see where the bike is at. My goal is to tear the whole bike down regardless, so don't know if I should bother trying to start it if I get the engine free, or if I should just get the engine free while in the bike, then just start the removal process.
After reading some threads on here, I decided to try putting some Coca Cola in there first (I figured if I can spend $3, that's better than $20 in penetrating oil!). So now there's coke in there, and I've tried lightly working the kick starter, with no luck. I'm hesitant to put it in 2nd/3rd and rock it, as I read some folks say this can affect the drive gear. Soooo. what's the best way to proceed? If I pop off the front cover, does the generator need to come off for me to try turning the crank with a wrench? Should I pull the valve covers and heads and tap on the pistons with a mallet and wood? Should I just pull the engine right from the start and work on it that way? I am planning on draining the coke in another day or so and then pouring in some marvel mystery oil.
Any and all thoughts/recommendations greatly appreciated.
I inherited my father-in-law's 1968 R60 US a few years back. It had been sitting in his garage since the 1980s (not stored properly). I pulled it out and brought it up north where it sat for a few more years until I had the time and resources to work on it. Which is now. I'm not a super experienced mechanic, but I'm a fair hand with a wrench. Spent years working in bicycle shops, kept a 1982 Suzuki bike running for awhile, and have worked on all sorts of cars, small engines etc. I'm currently riding a 2014 G650GS Sertao that I maintain.
The R60 is complete, but the engine is stuck. I can push it around in neutral just fine, but put it in gear and nothing. Guy I know up here in VT says he generally fills the cylinders/crank case with kerosene, lets it sit, then sees if he can't get the engine to turn. If it does, he tries to start it just to see where the bike is at. My goal is to tear the whole bike down regardless, so don't know if I should bother trying to start it if I get the engine free, or if I should just get the engine free while in the bike, then just start the removal process.
After reading some threads on here, I decided to try putting some Coca Cola in there first (I figured if I can spend $3, that's better than $20 in penetrating oil!). So now there's coke in there, and I've tried lightly working the kick starter, with no luck. I'm hesitant to put it in 2nd/3rd and rock it, as I read some folks say this can affect the drive gear. Soooo. what's the best way to proceed? If I pop off the front cover, does the generator need to come off for me to try turning the crank with a wrench? Should I pull the valve covers and heads and tap on the pistons with a mallet and wood? Should I just pull the engine right from the start and work on it that way? I am planning on draining the coke in another day or so and then pouring in some marvel mystery oil.
Any and all thoughts/recommendations greatly appreciated.