[mrasdf]

Ok so here is the story:

I own a 2005 Kawasaki Ninja ZX10r. About 5 years ago I moved from an area where there were lots of motorcycle shops to an area where there are very few (basically none). I have never been good with performing maintenance and maintaining my bike became a great inconvenience.

About 2 years ago I needed some work done on the bike (new tires, oil change, etc) and it was so inconvenient that I let the insurance lapse and stopped ridding it... The bike sat for 6 months... I let 6 become 12... Then all of a sudden here I am ~2+ years later wondering wtf I am going to do with this bike.

Long story short, I have decided I really want to get the bike fixed up so that I can ride it again, but I don't really know where to begin... I know so very little about bike maintenance that I am not sure if it is even possible to fix the bike economically (preferably less than $1.5k). This is where you guys come in! I am looking for any advice on how to proceed with getting the bike up and running, or if there are any huge red flags I should be aware of before dumping some money into this bike (that has always performed exceptionally well). I know the bike will need new tires, fluids/oil, probably chain and sprockets, possibly brakes, definitely battery, and any other number of odds and ends.

My options are:

1) Try to fix the bike up myself - I have almost no experience in doing something like this, but if I can be convinced that it is not too much of an undertaking I may try it.

2) Rent a UHaul and drive it out to a decent shop (probably 60+ miles away) and have them do the work - Not completely opposed to this idea, but if I can do the work myself and save some money that would be great.

3) Any other solutions you guys have that I may not have thought of.

So anyway, I was hoping that I could get some help from some experts on what I should do or where to start. I was going to just start messing with the bike tomorrow but I decided to post here first since I really have very little idea of what to do (and any advice would be appreciated). If I have left out any important details or other information please let me know!

Also I can post some pics tomorrow (when it is not night time) if that will help.

So, where should I start? What is my best option? Since the bike has been sitting for years, am I completely screwed? Please help.

 

[Dodsfall]

Was the fuel treated with stabilizer before storage?

 

[yahmyxs]

necessity before desire

the work you do yourself, has alot to do with the type of tools you have and what kind of place you have to do the work in.
You really can't do a complete restoration without having over 20 feet of shop, and about 2.5 g's. I can see where making it like new again is going to sting when its your pride and joy., but you have to face the facts, having someone else do the work is trusting their sources, parts and know-how. I have heard stories about guys who do what they can to fix-er-up and I never liked any of them.
If you asked me this(what you have asked every one on this forum) I would say, you buy the parts, I'll put them on and I would give you a per hour cost ratio vs repairs that I might have to do to complete the repair properly, that means like this....

If I was asked to change the rear tire and you brought me a tire, and I found the wheel out of round because you took it skyjumping, I would replace the wheel, install the tire, balance the rim, and probably replace the axle for fear of it wobbling with the new rim on it... further, if the forks were bent, I would have to replace them also... now you see why you should do your own work, cause my bill would be easily around the 1.5k you had to spend on the lot.

consider the stuff that doesn't work, and mentally replace the first part, and be frugal. use canned spray paint and do some clean up on any other parts that are nearby. good luck, also you could sell it. buy a project that you know you can do, and become that guy that fixed up a bike over the summer(ps, summer is over)

 

[Critter]

I'm going to guess you didn't treat the fuel when you let it sit. You are lucky in the fact that it is fuel injected.

Start be empting the gas out of it. get new gas and put something like seafoam in it. Get a battery and turn it over until you know you have new fuel in the injectors. Let it sit for a couple of days. Make sure you have oil in it when you are doing all of this.

Then try and start it.

 

[mrasdf]

Dodsfall: I did not treat the fuel whatsoever.

yahmyxs: Thank you for your response. I have considered selling it, but at this point I am going to try and fix it. I suppose selling it would be a last resort.

Critter: Thanks so much for that response. Good info there. I will start with those steps and see if I can can get it to start with the new fuel/battery. It has always started right up in the past, so that is probably a good place to begin.