Triumphrat

RPedersen

Say you have a 1969 Bonnie that has sat in your house for 10 years without starting.....................yeah I know, let the beatings begin! But what would "one" do prior to starting.......replace battery, plugs, oil and fill with gas...........

Skidemon44

All of the above.........and I'd put some air in the tyres!!

Has it been turned over at all during it's hibernation?

KADUTZ

Well I guess your saying you bought a bike and my first guess is its 69 T120.
Here is what I would do and the order you do them in probably doesnt matter much.
I am assuming the bike is stock and when you say in the house you mean in the house(such as a family room) not a garage. Aloso since you dont know if the bike ran when it was parked you go to square one
1 change all fluids and clean oil tank.
2 check timing and clean points lubricate auto advance cam(you might want to pull the auto advance unit and lubricate same)
3 clean condenser connections
4 loosen rocker box banjos and kick engine over until oil come out (its easier to do this with the spark plugs removed) you might want to put a bit of Marvel Mystery Oil in the cylinders while you do this.
5 clean carbs and lubricate cables
6 check and adjust valves
7 clean any p00p from the gas tank and put in fresh gas also check fuel lines.
8 new battery (12N94B1)
9 before you ride the bike NEW TUBES AND TIRES as the old ones are now dangerous

REMBER IF YOU GET HURT YOU HAVE DAMAGED GOVT. PROPERTY AND WILL BE IN A HEAP OF TROUBLE.

jus my pinion
K

GrandPaulZ

I would toss in a new set of Champion N3C spark plugs, too...

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RPedersen

Thank you very much!!!

It has been inside a house, has not been turned over in 10 years, and is a 69 T120.

Again, thank you very much! I will take all the advice I can get!

Nick Dionise

what would you have to do differently if the bike was in the garage for ten years? my dad left it there and im fixing it now.

ROCKET69

What are you fixing? My 69 Triumph that I have owned for about 40 years sat in my garage for about 9 years. Two years ago I decided to take take the transmission apart to find out why it was making a noise in 2nd and 3rd gear. Found the broken gear tooth problem and repaired it with new parts. Bought a new battery, removed the gas tank and cleaned it out, new fuel lines, and installed new original type mufflers and pipes that I had been saving.
Took a few kicks, but got it started and after a about a minute it was running fine.
If you don't put new tires on it before riding it be very careful turning a corner. Old tire rubber harden and don't grip very well on the first ride. Turning right from a stop light the front wheel on My Triumph lost its grip. Only damage was scracthes on a brand new right muffler when it went down.

henryanthony

Hi Rocket69,

I wish I had kept my old '69 as you did but, I have a '70 now. Cool that it started right up. How could you just let it sit for 9 years. Stuff happens I guess but gee whiz man!

How old were the tires that caused you to skid? Too bad about the silencer.

FYI, you answered a post that's over a year old.

Henry

ROCKET69

Henry the tires are in the 15 year old range, I have the invoices somewhere. I ride my Triumph mainly to work, 20 mile round trip. Just a couple days ago I had to really stop quick for a traffic light change from a speed of 55-60 mph. This light has a camera that results in a ticket in the mail if you don't stop and the yellow is not on very long. Tires griped the pavement pretty good and maintained control until stopped. Most of my ride is highway and interstate to work.
Other factors when my front tire slipped in the turn is from a dead stop I turned to another street and there is this white stuff they put on the street to outline the crosswalk that was wide, the front tire started it loss of traction on this white slick crosswalk marking stuff, I was leaning into the turn some, not much since I was leaving from a lighted intersection. It was a very quick spin out, I pulled in the clutch and still had the handlebars in my hands although I was down.
I let my Triumph sit because I was leary of taking the transmission apart, I knew I would do it when I could commit the time to do it. Jim

Wonder if Nick Dionise got his dad's Triumph on the road?

henryanthony

That white stuff is slippery. I doubt any tire would have gained better traction.