Just bought my first airhead!

[SteveD]

The bike has some issues, but for the Money I payed (2750£) it is still a good buy. There is some valve noise-there should be, they all do that sir! , the left front shock is leaking, try a very thin feeler guage inside the fork seal, working it up and out. You might get lucky and dislodge a little gunk-problem them might be solved. and there is a tiny fuelleak when parked (or possibly all the time). Check/replace the float bowl gasket. Always use the centre stand for anything other than short term parking.

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[barryh]

Generally with a bike in this condition, its BIGGEST fault is that it hasn't been really ridden recently.

That was my experience when I bought a bike that had done only 6000 miles in it's first 28 years. Things like a grabby clutch and the turkey gobble honking from the engine breather sorted themselves out with use as the rings freed up and the seals got a bit more supple. 12 years on the bike still has all it's original seals and no leaks to speak of.

The 28 year old tires didn't improve so I was force to change them with tread remaining

[Wobbly]

The bike has some issues, but for the Money I payed (2750£) it is still a good buy. There is some valve noise, the left front shock is leaking, and there is a tiny fuelleak when parked (or possibly all the time).

► Luckily for you, this is a latter model bike with the better valve seats. Run the valves as they are for maybe 50 miles, then go in and adjust them. At idle some people will notice the valve noise (especially those bikes with a fairing), but at road speeds it should all disappear.

Have some new valve cover gaskets ready, however they are usually only needed about every 4th or 5th cover removal. Each of the covers are marked with an "L" or "R" to keep you from mixing them up. DO NOT over-torque the center bolt !!!

► You may need to replace the petcock packing. The petcocks ARE rebuild-able and the packing is available. If one is gone, so is the other. Replace both.

► You may need new fuel lines. Purists will want the exterior cloth-braided German lines, but I use standard 1/4" ID hose from the local auto parts store. One thing... it may first appear 5/16" (8mm) is a better size line, but its large OD will have great difficulty passing under the air filter housing, and may in fact become crimped closed in that passage. Don't go there! You'll also find that precision is needed to get the fuel line lengths exactly right so that nothing is placed in a bind.

► Some fuel weeping may be the result of old float needles. Those have a Viton tip and are known to take a set with an indent that changes the float level. If you can see a divot on the float needle seat, then replace them both.

► Unlike the valve cover gaskets, the carb float bowl gaskets generally need replacing every time. Not becasue they can't be re-used, but becasue they shrink when they dry out. It you can pop them off and into a dish of fuel, then you're OK. What I'm saying is that Bing float bowl gaskets are something you'll always need to keep on hand, and shipping is more expensive than the gasket. So order 6-10 gaskets to have around.

► Other carb parts that the newer fuels cause to age rapidly are: the intake manifold hoses, carb diaphragms, and several small o-rings under each of the screw-in jets. It's going to be your cheapest insurance to simply go ahead and replace those inexpensive parts and avoid the imminent failures.

► Try changing the fork oil before to do the full seal job. 250cc or name brand 7W or 10W fork oil in each leg.

Happy riding.