Starting a bandit 600 that's been sitting 3 years

Help & Advice
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Well firstly it’s been almost a decade without a bike and I’m pleasantly surprised to see this forum still alive.

I had a bandit in 2013. Sold it to a friend and assumed it gone forever tbh. Anyway turns out he dropped it a garage at the end of 2022 to get the carbs cleaned out as he had had it sat for ages himself and it wouldn’t start. He however subsequently moved and bizarrely stayed at the mechanics for the next 2.5 years, when eventually he got in touch, got the bike back and asked if I wanted it. It’s in lovely condition paintwork wise considering, but I’m really not sure how to go about starting it. Rocking it back and forth there doesn’t seem to be much fuel in there, hardly hear a slosh. Suspension seems smooth, and front wheel turns left and right nicely. Engine oil looks brand new although obviously been sitting a long time so less than ideal. Am I running a risk of damaging anything by just putting in a new battery and some fresh fuel and hoping for the best and seeing if it a) starts b) runs well and go from there? I haven’t worked on a bike mechanically in over 10 years and I was a novice then so just hoping for a bit of advice of anything I should be wary of.

tdlr:

Bike sat 2.5 years. Carbs were ultrasonically cleaned and plugs replaced at that time. Can I just turn it on and hope, or do I risk trashing anything?

Thanks.

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To clarify some bits, were the carbs stored dry, or with fuel in?

Id say it wants all new fluids and filters before doing much, and all the hoses want to be checked they have not perished.

Though I’m not good at following this advice, and would have probably put some fresh petrol in and tried to jump start it before making this post.
Its worth noting you will want new tyres before riding it too, as they age and dont like to be more than about 7 years old

2 Likes
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I’d be inclined to:
Drain the tank and check inside for rust.
Put in a gallon of super unleaded if all ok.
Drain the carbs.
Pull off the plug leads and turn it over a few times to get the oil circulating,
Put the plug leads back on and go for it,
If all goes well then start doing all the safety checks and give it a service.
Bandits are hard to kill so you should be ok.

Good luck

2 Likes
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I’d assume they weren’t stored dry as I don’t think it was intended to ever be stored.

Yeah I’ll probably do fluids, hoses etc but like to see if it starts first if that makes sense. Assuming carbs aren’t gunked, then I’ll mess around and get it mot ready and get some new tyres sorted at the same time I think :crossed_fingers:

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Thanks for this, was sortof the plan I had in mind for the weekend, glad to have some confirmation I’m on the right tracks.

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