Busy day for me...

L

lalalove<3

New member
Well, as I mentioned in the other thread, today was a busy day of wrenching. My 1993 Intruder 800 has been sitting since October 2 of last year. I never really meant to let it sit, so I didn't run the carbs out of gas, add fuel stabilizer, remove the battery, or anything else that should be done when a bike is stored. The clutch was slipping when I parked it, and the front brakes worn, so I ordered parts and figured I'd fix it when I had time. I have been riding the old Harley, or the 1400 I got for my GF, so the 800 went on the back burner...

Well, now the battery was dead, and I figured everything would be gummed up. So I aired up the tires, put on the front brake pads ($14), put in a new battery ($38 ), and pulled the case cover to do the clutch. New friction plates, steel plates, and springs (about $75 total) were installed, and I changed the fluid. The brake fluid checked OK, the rear drive fluid was good, the coolant was fine, and the air cleaners were OK, so I put in fresh oil and figured I'd try to start the beast, but would end up pulling the carbs and changing the fuel out.

I pulled out the choke, crossed my fingers, and hit the starter...

The starter ran for about a second and a half, then the beast fired up and ran like a champ! The motor sounds great (Rotilla 15W-40 oil), and she runs like a scalded dog. The aftermarket (EBC) clutch is a lot smoother than the OEM one, and of course it grabs a lot better than the worn one.

I can't believe it fired right up after almost 8 months! What a great, great bike the 800 is!

I need to put the tag back on it this week, but she is ready for a dragon run!
 
Good job getting it up and running, I only wish I knew how do all those things, I could save myself some serious money when it comes to maintenance issues other than oil changes.
 
Good to hear, DrB. I think you can usually get away with negligence once without gumming things up too badly, but it's when you do it repeatedly that the gasoline varnish really messes things up.
 
Get a Clymer manual and follow the directions, and most things are easier than they look. Even the clutch only used some basic hand tools: allen wrench for the footpeg braket, 8mm socket for the case bolts, 9mm (or maybe it was a 10mm?) socket for the clutch bolts, 17mm wrench for the oil drain plug, and a razor blade to scrape the old gasket off. A torque wrench to re-install the clutch bolts completed the kit. Except for the razor and the torque wrench all are found in your toolkit on the bike. The front brakes need only a philips head screwdriver and a pair of needle-nose pliers, and the battery used a 10mm socket and a philips head. None of the work required a lift.
 
I tinker around with things that I have no use for just to see what the outcome is, but anything I do not have a solid understanding of, that I will have to rely on (bike, car) I will leave to someone more qualified than myself. I am learning more though, I helped my brother in law change the starter and alternator in his Goldwing a couple days ago.
 
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