Buying sorn/garaged

[FG1]

I have seen a bike which is currently sorn and has been sat in the garage for over a year. The owner has been starting it on a regular basis but not taking it out for a spin.
Any things I should be careful of as it has been idle for so long.?.
Also, what is the best way to get it home if it is sorn.?.
I have asked if it could be taxed by him and he is going to check and let me know.
There is a possibility of getting a trailer but obviously, riding it home would be preferable.

[jimmy__riddle]

check tyres for cracks- can happen if sat on one patch of the tyre for too long.

Also check wheels spin freely and the brakes havnt ceased.

[Stu]

unlikely he will tax it as he would need to insure & MOT it 1st.
You can ride it directly from his to an MOT station near you without MOT or tax as long as you insure it & you can ride it from the MOT place to your house afterwards if it passes or not & without tax.

I reckon if it starts, you wouldn't have a lot to worry about it being stored. Although allow for the cost of a new battery as he may just take it off a charger the moment you arrive. Just don't pay top $ because of the low mileage as it's obviously not good for it.

[Biker Biggles]

Tyres flatspotted?Chain dried out and fubared?Battery been regularly charged or will be fubared??Electrical gremlins from damp/dry joints?
The sorn expires every 12 months or if the vehicle is sold to another keeper,so you will need to either tax it or sorn it if you buy.Is it MOTd and insured?If it is you could buy it and tax it yourself.If not you need to van it or you will break the law.

[hovis]

i would (and did) just ride it home with no tax

[Sosha]

i would (and did) just ride it home with no tax

I would like to say I have never done any such thing..... :rolleyes:


Oh and break the fork seals in gently....

[Lozzo]

Usually takes more than a year to do serious neglect type damage if the bike has been garaged and run up to temperature regularly. As mentioned check the tyres out for flattening in any one place as they do tend to deform if left sitting in the same place. You'll know this when you ride it cos it'll be a bit shaky or wobbly. If it's an older bike check the condition of the collector box on the exhaust, they have a habit of corroding away to nothing on some bikes if left in damp garages with condensation in the pipe. While on the subject of condensation, look at the conditon of the oil in the sight glass and if it's of a milky white consistency this may not mean the head gasket is fubar, it could be condensation in the engine itself. An oil and filter change should sort this, and it'd be wise to do that before using the bike on a regular basis. Get the engine nice and hot beforehand so everything flows out nicely and wear Nitrile gloves cos they can stand more heat than latex ones.

Other than that just make sure it's capable of passing an MOT before you bother taking it for one.

[Sosha]

So what is it anyway.....

[thefallenangel]

strip down calipers as they won't be in the best of states is another one to add to the list.

[scottjames]

i aquired a honda that had been garaged for 10yrs with out running. cleaned the float chamber and some new fuel. Jmup leads on it and started 1st time. the tires are shot and things needed wd40. but new tires and battery it could be bk on the road.

just be careful i think it was quite lucky. :)

[Lozzo]

My CBR600 hadn't seen started for 4 years before I bought it. I changed the tyres, checked the brakes and levels and put a new battery on it... then took it to Oulton Park for a trackday a couple of days later. 2 weeks later it did another trackday at Rockingham, a week after that it did another trackday at Silverstone and that cycle continued throughout the summer with a total of 13 trackdays under its wheels (I lent it to a couple of trackday instructor mates for 4 of them). I did stick more new tyres on it and did an oil/filter change about half way through summer. It was dynoed at 95bhp just after the last one

This winter I'll do a proper full service on it, change the tyres again and stick new pads in.

[AndyBrad]

How do you break the fork seals in gently?

[Lozzo]

How do you break the fork seals in gently?

I haven't a clue where Sosha got that one from, but I've never heard of anyone breaking fork seals in gently on any bike, whether it's been sitting or not.

[Paul the 6th]

you on about piston seals andybrad? lol

[monkey]

So what is it anyway.....

+1

[Sosha]

I haven't a clue where Sosha got that one from, but I've never heard of anyone breaking fork seals in gently on any bike, whether it's been sitting or not.

Yeah well - I s'pose it's my comfort blanket. My twisted reasoning being if they've got a bit dry(?) / sticky(?) cobwebbed in the 18plus odd months they've been doing FA it's possibly best not to do what I did and practise emergency stops straight out of the box.

Guessing in reality it prob makes no difference at all.

[Lozzo]

Yeah well - I s'pose it's my comfort blanket. My twisted reasoning being if they've got a bit dry(?) / sticky(?) cobwebbed in the 18plus odd months they've been doing FA it's possibly best not to do what I did and practise emergency stops straight out of the box.

Guessing in reality it prob makes no difference at all.

What you're saying is you bought a bike that had been sitting and immediately started barking hard and found the fork seals leaked. If you'd 'broken them in' I doubt they wouldn't have leaked. A dried out seal is a dried out seal, no amount of breaking it in, gently or otherwise, is going to save it or resurect it from that state. They're screwed no matter what you do and your only option is to replace them.