Problems with 1989 MC19 CBR250R

Hey folks. My first question here. I have a 1989 CBR250R that I'm trying to get back up and running. Worked 6 months ago. After the run I changed the front brake handle which had its end broken off (from previous owner) and left it. I then came back last week after travelling and it doesn't want to run and the front brakes are jammed onto the disk. I could hardly move the thing and I was worried I would warp the disk. I had forgotted to put the bike in the garage for the 6 months due to my idiocy and it was subjected to the elements. Do I bleed the brakes to sort this out? It couldn't have been the new brake handle could it? (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130557188780&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:AU:1123)

The other major question : Since the bike wasn't running I decided to give general manitenance first by changing sparkies and oil before I troubleshoot. I started with sparkies today and went for the toughest one - the spark plug for 3rd cylinder from the left when you're sitting down on the bike. Funnily enough, it seemed to be lower than the rest of the spark plugs (as in scewed in further which did no make sense)- the socket could not screw it out. It was as if the socket was not 'meshing' with/catching onto the spark plug to be able to screw it out. I hope spark plug didn't catch any cylinder head when I tried to start it. Can spark plugs melt from that? The other spark plugs could be removed but not this one. Any ideas?

This is what it looks like - almost nothing to catch onto:

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/2696/img20120531174639.jpg
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/8237/img20120531174636.jpg
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/2140/img20120531174610.jpg

This is a good spark plug:
http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/2359/img20120531174741.jpg

THanks and sorry for so many questions at once. I hope we can sort this out, man I feel like an idiot for leaving it out and not covering it up at least.

 

Thanks for the reply. Yeh for the brakes, the master cylinder lid screws are rusted and do not want to come off. I was hoping to do a full bleed. I will try and get that caliper loose first though.

The sparkie - yeh good ol phone camera does the job. I was pretty stoked. The rubber plugs seem fine and not damaged so not sure what this bung looks like. I tried poking around the spark plug with a thin screwdriver and seeing if I could scratch that 'black' thing surrounding the plug but didn't seem to make a difference. Should the other plastic plug holders have this 'bung' as well?

EDIT: I re-read your post and realised you said the plug 'tool' not the holder. I just checked and that rubber thing is still intact.

 

To be honest, I remember the owner changing the plugs for me before I got the bike. Dammit, it would have been from his tool coz I didn't take my tools with me! That might be it and seems most probable. Any ideas how to get rid of this melted rubber then?

 

Sorry fellas called in to work from last weekend and finally got chance to do some work on bike today. 4 hours later I am the proud father to this little baby. 5 g and name Nelly:


The tools I used to finally get it out:



I had sprayed the spark plug cylinder with WD40 night before. The tools I tried were, copper wiring, speaker wiring, flat head screwdriver, sticky residue on end of spark plug socket (to let it stick to the rubber and pull it out), guitar strings, telekenesis. Almost had it out 1 hour into it but knocked it back down with my butter fingers.

Also, sprayed the master cylinder cover screws with wd40 and hammered drilled them out. Gonna get new ones tomorrow.

Also, see some rust on the chain - might not risk things and just get a new one. Where is best place?

 

Cheers for the ebay tip. I bought it and they upgraded it to x-rings due to some time delay reason.

How long do fuel pumps last for? Since I'm giving the bike a rebirth thought I might ask about the pumps. Replace it? Reasonable price considering locally they want it for $200 or more.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/180852300436?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

Yeh gonna leave the pump for now..but maybe later. First of all fix the bike. I finally got the chance to work on the bike this weekend. Seems like weekends is all I can afford for working on the bike at the moment...pretty busy.

Little Update:

So I got a chance to empty fuel tank, replace fuel filter. Emptied tank last night and left it covered outside overnight. Picked it up today and hear some rustling - the inside has got what seems like little black rusted off chunks and pieces. Poured some fuel down there to flush it out but seems to be more coming off as I shake it. I'm worried it might block the exit line (fuel seems to be dirtier when I tried to dump the fuel - slight brown tinge). Don't know what is going on but not all came out. Any ideas? Do I have to start looking for a new tank? Don't want to reattach and start the bike.

Also got a chance to bleed the brakes. Did the front first. There was almost no fluid in master cylinder. I remember getting front brakes checked, cleaned and bled before I could get roadworthy (so I am hoping they did a good job - but fluid this low!!). Filled up and tried to crack nipple - bit of rust on nipple and spanner began to slip. Could get maybe 2-3 bleeds (fluid was dark with little black flakes through it - very dirty) when I couldn't unscrew anymore. And front brake handle now can be squeezed with no resistance at all (not sure what this means - possibly coz of nipple not creating vacuum anymore). Need a new nipple tomorrow after work. Brakes still are seized on front.

And to make matters worse - the back brakes I somehow found were seized onto disk as well!  :BangHead:
Tried to bleed these but didn't seem to help me dislodge brake pads from disk. I don't know how this happened since the bike has been in the garage since I slowly moved it there. Back wheel was fine. So now I have 2 seized brakes to have fun with.

 

Quick question to people out there - for cleaning the rust on the fuel tank (and it is pretty hectic inside there). I have 2 options:

1) Clean and sealant kit - $90 locally or $77 for 20L tank from ebay. I'm uncertain as to how good this product is - there is a lot of rust from the sounds of it (sounds like a maraca)!

2) Buy a good used one from ebay as well - only $150 AUD (no rust, no fuel cap (can add for 10 Euros), no fuel tap - can use my old ones). And probably give a quick sealant if I want to be extra careful.

 

Thanks I will give him a call tomorrow.

 

Does anyone know how to remove rear brake caliper? I only have one attachment bolt that I undid. The second one I do not know how to undo. Or do I need to remove the caliper mounting bracket as well? (this would mean wheel as well?)

 

Ignore previous question:

Yeh it is actuall 1 bolt attaching itself to bracket nothing else. Here's what I did for anyone out there.

Yeh it was the brake pads catching on the bracket - so first removed attachment bolt, removed the hanger plug, pin (this bolts onto other side of caliper so not technically the same as the other attachment bolt), brake pads slipped out and caliper was able to be twisted away from disk and then gently removed from pin extending toward the exhaust from the bracket.

Here are pics for anyone in future - quite simple in the end. As it always ends up being.

 

Update:
Ran around to many bike shops, brake places and finally Honda got seal kits for calipers and master cylinders and also new pistons for front and bake - total $330!!! I put a deposit down but am still considering getting decent second hand pairs. I read a comment about brakes and how much my life is worth...haha. Still second guessing though. Wonder if it too late to cancel deposit order