Motorcycle Rejuvention! Help me bring it back to life!

Dayao12

Dayao12

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Hello Good People!

So a friend of mine has postponed his riding urges for 2+ years now due to circumstances and has left a beautiful 2006 Ninja 250 out in his backyard, exposed to the elements for 2 years without any maintenance or even a cover!
Yess...so sad =( Poor motorcycle! I cried inside when he told me its tragic fate.
It is brand spanking new at ~500kms too!!

SO...now circumstances has put it in favour of the motorcycle and he wants to get back to riding.

Obviously there is quite substantial internal damage that immediately comes to mind even without opening it up...
~gummed up carbs
~rusted tank
~Seized parts
~possible worn electrics?
~and MORE RUST RUST RUST!

OKAY Ladies & Gentlemen...

We want to rejuvenate this sleeping, worn down beast. PLEASE help me, help him!
Take us through a checklist of what we need to accomplish before we can even think about pushing play on this bad boy!

Links to Tutorials/personal experiences/professional opinions, we are open to everything!
Worst comes to worst, we'll bring it to a shop. But why not have some fun and learn something and try it ourselves first!

OK..... GO!

(Thanks in advanced =D)

**Yes, I understand google was invented for this very purpose...but where's the mystery and anticipation in the process of procuring information?**
 
Last edited:
danesetti said:
Tell him to buy a new bike, for a 06 ninja250, it would probably be the cheaper route
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Bhoring! where's the adventure and satisfaction in restoring life to a machine? Besides...what can you really get for a bike in that situation? $1000?...if we're lucky
Thanks for your input though =D
 
Am not sure what you want. You've been advised, sell it and move on. Think about it man. For such a cheap bike, do you want to replace brakes, tires, chains, clean carbs, safety it and still ride a piece of junk? Sounds like you have the spirit it takes to restore a bike but an 06 ninja 250 is no bike to restore.
 
tires
chain
sprockets
brake pads
brake calipers
carbs
oil
gas
rad flush
battery
corroded electrics
 
If you're sure you want to restore it, look for one thats been in an accident to source parts from.
 
THanks for the input so far, friends. Definitely quite a bit to consider.

In the end, it will be up to him, once we tally up how much it would cost, if he wants to sell or fix 'er up. Sure, perhaps it's not the greatest thing to restore, but we gotta start somewhere. I def would like to do a full on resto on a classic bike...maybe even my own! I feel the ninja250 will have plenty of readily available parts and can give us a base on how a resto is done.
 
Post up some photos, so we can see how bad it really is. If it's just a matter of a carb clean, fresh fuel, a new battery, and a good cleaning, then I'd say it's definitely worth it. If the engine is seized, that's another matter.
 
matthew mentioned it in his list, but check the sidewalls of the tires. cracks mean replace.

and why was your friend stupid enough to treat a new bike so poorly? I mean, a cover is cheap.
 
flush the rad and oil then try to fire it up..if it runs great ride if not good luck..
 
Good long term project, get another bike if you want to ride soon.

As has already been said, check for bikes that have been in accidents for parts, check the cycle salvage sites etc. Frequent the builder/restoration forums, I found a WEALTH of information on the GS forum for restoring my '83 Suzuki....

If you feel this is too much, give me a shout, I'll need a new project in a couple weeks. ;)
 
matthew said:
tires
chain
sprockets
brake pads
brake calipers
carbs
oil
gas
rad flush
battery
corroded electrics
Click to expand...

Why would someone replace chain/sprockets when the bike was just sitting for two years? There is no way modern chain and sprockets would rust out from just sitting in the yard. One ride on the salted streets will do more damage. Same for corroded electrics. I don't see the sealed connectors corroded after a couple of years sitting in the backyard. Everything else doesn't seem like an expensive or any long-term project for a person who has all the basic tools. Change the fluids, swap tires (if cracked or have flat spots) and brake pads, *maybe* replace battery if it's dead, clean the carbs and you're good to go. Where the long-term project in there?
 
ViperZ said:
Why would someone replace chain/sprockets when the bike was just sitting for two years? There is no way modern chain and sprockets would rust out from just sitting in the yard. One ride on the salted streets will do more damage. Same for corroded electrics. I don't see the sealed connectors corroded after a couple of years sitting in the backyard. Everything else doesn't seem like an expensive or any long-term project for a person who has all the basic tools. Change the fluids, swap tires (if cracked or have flat spots) and brake pads, *maybe* replace battery if it's dead, clean the carbs and you're good to go. Where the long-term project in there?
Click to expand...

I don't think he means to replace them all but to check them.
Common sense would be to check the chain, and lube it. Not replace it (unless it was in really bad condition)
Tires (check for sidewall cracks, reinflate if ok, at 500km treads should be fine)
sprockets should be fine, scrub the rust if any, or just ride it. should be fine.
brake pads likely fine, check how much pads are left in the front and rear
calipers not too sure what u can check, check for normal operation
carbs easy way, drain tank, new gas, dump some sea foam .. probably 1/3 bottle into tank... hard way take out carbs and use carb cleaner
oil change it... maybe flush it plus filter
rad flush make sure to use distilled water
battery trickle charge it, clean the terminals

won't take a lot of money or time to bring it back to life.
if you're in scarborough, pm me if u need any help
 
Kuro said:
I don't think he means to replace them all but to check them.
Common sense would be to check the chain, and lube it. Not replace it (unless it was in really bad condition)
Tires (check for sidewall cracks, reinflate if ok, at 500km treads should be fine)
sprockets should be fine, scrub the rust if any, or just ride it. should be fine.
brake pads likely fine, check how much pads are left in the front and rear
calipers not too sure what u can check, check for normal operation
carbs easy way, drain tank, new gas, dump some sea foam .. probably 1/3 bottle into tank... hard way take out carbs and use carb cleaner
oil change it... maybe flush it plus filter
rad flush make sure to use distilled water
battery trickle charge it, clean the terminals

won't take a lot of money or time to bring it back to life.
if you're in scarborough, pm me if u need any help
Click to expand...

Kuro, sounds like a good plan to me. I just don't see why some people think that the bike which was sitting for 2 years outside is a "long term project". All of these things would take maximum a day to do on your own with some time to chug beer and enjoy the weather.
 
ViperZ said:
Why would someone replace chain/sprockets when the bike was just sitting for two years? There is no way modern chain and sprockets would rust out from just sitting in the yard. One ride on the salted streets will do more damage. Same for corroded electrics. I don't see the sealed connectors corroded after a couple of years sitting in the backyard. Everything else doesn't seem like an expensive or any long-term project for a person who has all the basic tools. Change the fluids, swap tires (if cracked or have flat spots) and brake pads, *maybe* replace battery if it's dead, clean the carbs and you're good to go. Where the long-term project in there?
Click to expand...

On a chain with 500km, it should be perfectly fine, but since its been sitting for two years, there is a good chance there is surface rust on the chain and sprockets. Depending on the severity of the rust, it may adversely affect the condition of the o-rings on the chain.

The electrical connections can become corroded if water found a way to them. A bigger concern would be mice making a nest of the wires and having them chewed up.

I agree that it's not a lot to tackle, I was just thinking off the top of my head of things to look over to be safe.
 
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