15 year old oil OK?

[ccs368]

I'm a worry wart when it comes to motorcycles and besides oil/filter change, I would pay close attention to the tires too. The pic shows hydraulic clutch design and I would flush that with new fluid as well as the front/rear brakes too. The pic shows an amber color and typically new fluid is more clear.

Again, that's just my opinion.

 

[02SE]

Originally Posted by ccs368
I'm a worry wart when it comes to motorcycles and besides oil/filter change, I would pay close attention to the tires too. The pic shows hydraulic clutch design and I would flush that with new fluid as well as the front/rear brakes too. The pic shows an amber color and typically new fluid is more clear.

Again, that's just my opinion.


Good call.

Assuming they are the original 14 year old tires, they won't have the grip they did when new. Tires have also improved significantly since then.

As for the brake and clutch fluid, I'd change that out right away. Certainly no later than the first break-in service at 500 miles.

Nice bike.

 

[Bonz]

Believe me, I understand the desire to get a bike like this on the road for its first miles! Take an extra few days or an extra weekend or two and get it all done, that is my feeling.

With that said, if you're going to change fluid within 500 miles, may as well do it now... The fluid may have made gunk in the calipers front/rear, the clutch slave cylinder, and I can't see the master cylinders getting away unscathed either.

How's the grease in the wheel bearings?

The bike is liquid-cooled, has the antifreeze held up sitting in there and the hoses are all good? It still is a closed system where antifreeze is keeping things from corroding and doing its thing. Those hoses are like the tires, the rubber isn't getting any newer and it would suck to have one fail.

Overall take a look at the service manual, what does Honda recommend for inspection and replacement intervals? Anything that should have been replaced on a time basis alone should be gone through.

 

[kmrcstintn]

you do not know how extreme the temperature changed during storage or how much the humidity changed...could be a bunch of water contamination in the crankcase; the additives could have settled out of the base oils and may not circulate at optimal concentration levels; if it was me...start it, idle it, run it 10 miles, and dump it (get enough circulation to cover all internals, pick up and suspend any water contamination, and heat up oil long enough to hopefully reconsitute any settled out additives...consider it a quick engine flush! replace with a good rated conventional motorcycle oil and complete engine break-in with fresh oil & filter

 

[berlyn]

Exactly what I would do too. Great looking bike!!!

 

[Panos]

I would ride it until it gets nice and warm and test the overall condition of brakes suspension engine smoothness feel the weight distribution have some fun for let's say 50 miles or so then change the oil. Wouldn't dump a completely unused oil just because it's old .

 

[Bonz]

All right let's have some fun... get a clean suction device and pull some out of the oil fill hole, send it in for analysis and see what they say.

Before you put a mile on that bike, and test anything out, put new tires on it. You are going to do it anyway, and trying to get a few miles out of 15 year-old components whether they are tires, oil or fluids seems contrary on such a unique bike that you probably didn't get for just a small song or dance.

For real, a gallon of rotella T4 costs $12! A quart of Dot 3/ Dot 4 fluid might cost $8 bucks. I doubt it holds more than a gallon of 50/50 antifreeze / coolant, another $12. And you're going to put tires on it regardless.

By my count that's $32 in fluids. How much did you pay for the bike?

Not being a butt-head here, but this discussion should have began and ended with "just replace all fluids and the tires and be done".

 

[spasm3]

I would change the filter in case it has not aged well. I'd change the oil/brake fluid in case the bike had many hot to cold swings over the years( could be condensation in the oil). I'd change the tires. I would not risk that nice of a zero mileage bike with 15 year old tires.

 

[Silverado12]

FWIW I'm restoring a 1976 Triumph that's been parked for over 16 years and I rode it the other day and changed the transmission oil. It looked ok to me, but I didn't like the idea of old oil either. I used Harley Formula+ in the Triumph tranny BTW.

 

[Silverado12]

 

[BusyLittleShop]

I lived in Japan for 3 years and I made the pilgrimage to every Honda
factory on the Island... They would build a bike in 12 minutes then
run it to red line on the rollers you see in the pic... it's not bike
abuse but doing what's need to seat the rings in accordance with the
engineers and designers...

On the 1000cc bikes they would run it wfo in a dyno control room...

Whats in your oil from the factory are particles from the break in...

 

[Bonz]

Cool pictures! Those bikes look 35+ years old. What time frame was it?

Hearts are breaking all across BITOG, who would ever think the manufacturer would run it to redline straight from the assembly line, ship it to you and tell you to "break it in gently"? Omigosh, say it isn't so!

 

[BusyLittleShop]

I was stationed in Japan years 1979 to 1981 as a member of the USAF
and I was just as dumbfounded as you after I witnessed 12 minutes to
red line at every factory I visited... I was told the "break it in
gently" are written by their corporate lawyers not by their
engineers... if you follow their engine rebuild steps in shop manual
there are no reference to any "break it in gently" warnings...

How do you know if break is done??? take a compression test... if your
engine shows factory compression then break in is complete... if your
engine shows less than factory compression then more break in is
require... more B.M.E.P. (Brake Mean Effective Pressure)

Me and Hirotoshi Honda, #1 son of Soichiro Honda and president of Mugen; hang out at Mt Fuji racetrack 1980...

 

[DLP]

Thanks all again. Already planned to flush brake fluid. If they don't bleed back hard or if I see funky fluid coming out I'll strip the calipers. Tires a no brainer - Dunlop Q3+ arrived today. Good call on the potential condensation but I don't like the idea of an old filter even for a heat cycle. I'll drain oil, put in t4 and a new filter. Ride it a couple of heat cycles and change oil again. Then switch to Amsoil at 600 miles.

 

[DLP]

Wow - great posts!
Here is my Sept 72 Z1 - last weekend . I assume it got the same treatment when built.

 

[rekit]

Nice Z ! I bet mine did too. Here it is in 1975, bought her new. And I'll bet the sound of the CBX's howling for the break-in was music. Here's my 81.

 

[BusyLittleShop]

Your CBX came from this assembly line at Saitama... CBX was ichi ban number 1 Honda bike... if the workers so much as scratched a fork leg it would go into melt down start over bin...

 

[02SE]

Originally Posted by BusyLittleShop
Your CBX came from this assembly line at Saitama... CBX was ichi ban number 1 Honda bike... if the workers so much as scratched a fork leg it would go into melt down start over bin...


It's a shame they apparently didn't have the same high standards, when the CBR1100XX I bought new was made.

Several quality control issues that should have been caught during assembly of that bike. I did get most (but not all) of them fixed under warranty. Really inexcusable on what was then their flagship sportbike.

The only bike I've never had any regrets getting rid of.

 

[BusyLittleShop]

I've never had a new bike with zero issues.. more like the standard is for every minute on the assembly line equals one issue... so if it took 12 minutes assembly time expect to find 12 issues... .

 

[02SE]

Originally Posted by BusyLittleShop
I've never had a new bike with zero issues.. more like the standard is for every minute on the assembly line equals one issue... so if it took 12 minutes assembly time expect to find 12 issues... .


Maybe it's just a Honda thing...

I've had a bunch of new bikes over the years, none of them had issues like my CBR1100XX had. Including the four sportbikes (Suzuki, Ducati, and two BMW's) we have now.