Older bike been sitting, start?

[jostith]

I am looking to get an older style enduro dirt bike to use to get to class. A lot of them have been sitting for a while and don't run but ran fine when they were parked. I've read a few places on how to start them but I wanted you guys to give me some pointers since you all have a ton of knowledge on the subject of powersports.

Found an older yamaha 100 that is a real ugly green but the guy only wants 180 for it. He got it from an estate sale. He says the bike turns over and has good compression. Said it just sat for a long time. I am thinking about buying it from him. What are the thoughts on that? It'd have to sit in the back of my truck until I go home next weekend for laundry though, haha.

 

[yb200]

umm check the compression before you buy

if it has a steel gas tank check for rust other then that your gonna need to flush the tank and clean the carb and petcock good

also check brakes cables and such

 

[4cfed]

yup, clean the tank out, pet weiner, new fuel line is always good, clean carb really good, lube throttle and clutch cables good, and chain, change trans oil..... after saittin for along time the clutch plates will stick, just change the oil and ride it and they will free up

 

[brandoz28]

yup.....in general most of the time if you put in a new plug, clean out the tank, replace fuel lines, and clean the carb, you'll be good to go. this is assuming that the cylinder hasn't happened to rust while its been sitting. if its a 4 stroke, find the points and use just a regular old piece of paper and put it in between the contacts and use that to clean them. that'll generally be enough to get something that used to run going again.

 

[jostith]

What do you mean points? Sorry, still learning my terminology. The rest of that sounds pretty simple on a bike like this. Only has one carb. It's also got mechanical brakes for that year so won't have to worry about brake fluid. I honestly didn't consider replacing the fuel lines, was trying to think of a good way to clean them. Haha. Autozone has them for pretty cheap, did it on my CR125. I may look into to buying it.
Any good way to check compression before I buy? I heard that it is a good idea to put 1 teaspoon of oil in the cylinder and let it set for a full day, what are some thoughts on that? If it ran it would just burn it up and smoke right?

 

[brandoz28]

points are a part of the ignition system that some 4 stroke bikes have.