Just bought an '89 Pilot. Hey y'all

[still_kickin]

Hi Everyone,
I did it. I'd been looking for a while for one and happened to come across one in South Louisiana a couple hours away.

I'm in a wheelchair so this style of vehicle works real well for me. It would had been perfect of my hand grips weren't so weak.

Anyway, I'm glad I bought it. Looks a little beat, but pulls strong. Running a bit rich looks like. Get some blue smoke from exhaust. I've used 2-stroke bikes in the past but this is a bit excessive.

Brakes are loose, steering is tight. Will examine the brake pads over the weekend and bleed the system. Well, I'll get it done...

Well, I'll stop here. Hope to know y'all better here.

Thanks admins for keeping this site up and running. Its a gold mine for noobs like me.

[KTM265]

Welcome to the site... Bar none, this site has the best people on it...Lots of good info without a lot of BS attitude...

Do you have some picture of your machine? 

[Factory 45]

Welcome...you have just purchased a limited production machine...TOTAL made between 89/90 was around 4500. There are many tricks to keeping it alive...PLEASE ask for advise and tips BEFORE doing work. Guys here have wrenched them and can give you advise before you get in over your head. PARTS ARE VERY SCARCE on certain components for the FL models...and the guys who have certain discontinued items will ask a MINT for them.

DRAIN THE GAS...look down in the tank...make sure its not ruined from water/ethanol. There is a drain plug at the bottom of the STOCK tank (black unit to the right rear of you when seated) the drain is easily accessable. Treat or repair any rust etc. This will get you started...also check fuel system from beyond the tank if there is an obvious contamination. REPLACE any BAD fuel...use QUALTY 2 cycle pre-mix (amsoil DOMINATOR is AWESOME stuff) and YES YOU have to mix it. No injection unit is present like on most current 2 cycles. Reccomend somewhere between 32:1 and 50:1 with a GOOD oil and fuel.

I run a powersports shop in NH and bad fuel will kill your machine...so start there. Glad to hear you got the Pilot.

Follow up with a compression test...a healthy engine will put your needle easily into the 130-140 range...if not and it blows near/under 100 its tired...But make sure you do consistant testing with a good battery with a charger attatched...NOT your car or truck on a set of cables as powersports just cant handle the voltage/current.

YES PICTURES PLEASE

[still_kickin]

No pics just yet...i'll post them over time.
Thanks so much for making me feel welcome. Not very experienced, but I should be able to understand mechanical terms as y'all spit 'em at me.

Factory, that sounds like great advice. I do tend to get ahead of myself. So I'll make sure to check with y'all before I get any work done. My disability restricts what I can do myself and will probably have to get help for most undertakings.

What octane gas should I be using? the manual says 87 or 91. I found a local station which sells pure 87 gas (no ethanol.) Would that be better than a higher Octane rating?

To start from the fuel tank sounds reasonable. I think I can do that this week. Should I expect rust inside? If so how would I treat it?

I go some  off brand 2-cycle oil from the local shop. What do I look for in "good" oil? Mixing wont be a problem. The ratio is what I'm confused about. Manual says 20:1, yet you write differently.

Compression test will have to wait until I can get a buddy with measurement device.

What voltage should my battery be reading at?

[Factory 45]

Before you choose a specific octane...my suggestion is to get a number in PSI of what your compression is currently. Someone along the way could have done some hot rodding. If the compression is HIGHER than normal...SUPER (92 octane or better) Unleaded. But otherwise...YES if you are lucky enough to be able to get Ethanol Free use it. ESPECIALLY to store the machine. (for any period longer than a few weeks)

The effects of ethanol are easy to see...you will need a bright flashlight on a string to lower into the tank while drained. If you see a yellowish stain around the inside...get a long stick of sorts and a few Q-Tips. Swabb the bottom of the tank and take note of the sediment you get...if it is rusty and has a greenish yellowish gel or powder...get ready to pull out the tank...and flush it thoroughly. If you have a good clean tank...it will have a grey look to it inside...like spray primer. Take note of the pickup tubing and screen too.

Some tanks just take a quick flush with a heavy chemical...like acetone (home depot in the roofing isle) and then good shot of compressed air to dry and free any loose stuff. But others are gonna take a week or two to get to a usable point...many tutorials and products available around the web. TAKE YOUR TIME...these tanks are one of those hard to find items. Swapping to an alternative tank is a project in itself.

20:1 will foul plugs and make your buggy into a mosquito control devise (smoking heavily almost all the time) Off brand oil is where most noobs make a mistake. Some is inteneded for directly pouring into oil injection systems...and some is for pre mixing. ANYTHING that does NOT have an API symbol on the back (Mandated by SAE) is a product that SKIPPED the API inspection and the product in the bottle could be ANY mix of fillers and garbage...making your buggy not only SMOKE but trapping a resin or sludge in your engine and pipe. GO TO A BIKE SHOP AND STOCK UP ON GOOD OIL...Dont go to Walmart/Home Depot/Auto Parts for your P/M oil.

If you read on most sled oil bottles (not sure if you are ANYWHERE NEAR a shop that has ever seen a snowmobile lol) or even blowers and trimmers...they are ALMOST ALL 50:1 (That is what my pilot runs 50:1 Amsoil Dominator...and can ship you a bottle if you want) Oil is all about quality...the better it is the more you can phase it out. 32:1 will smoke a bit but would suggest it over a 20:1 mix. Until you know what type of riding and what kind of shape your engine is in...stick with 32:1. If you find out that you have a strong stout fresh engine...pull back to 40:1.

If you have a stock exhaust on your pilot...there is NO way to get it cleaned up inside. The oil resin blows back into the silencer and gets trapped. Packing it up and becoming very restrictive. If it is an A/M pipe and silencer...the oil will wick into the fiberglass packing and do the same thing...but you can change it...and re pack it.

Its not really what your charging voltage is...or standing battery voltage...its all about CONSISTANT cranking RPMs during compression test. Which is why batt charger attatched is the prefered method. BUT healthy batt/system voltage while running is around 14 volts.