Hydrolocked 00 1500 valk sell or fix

[cghasken]

Just looking for some opinions... This is my situation:

I have a 2000 Valkyrie 1500 with 4300 miles on her. I picked it up over the winter to work on. It had rust in the gas tank and the carbs were gummed up... I went through the carbs and did the Kreem process on the tank. After everything was done i was able to get it fired up (without gas tank on) by feeding it with fuel through the main hose. Putting the tank on, it would not allow fuel into the carbs. I ordered a new petcock by suggestions on this site. After installing the petcock I still wasn't able to get it to fire. The next day i went into garage and hit the starter and it sounded like "click, click, click" the best time it went crack zing   after reading post on the site i pulled the starter and indeed found a gear inside that was missing 2-3 teeth. So my question to the group is should i try and sell it as is and have the buyer fix it? Send it to a Honda shop and pay out of my rear, or take it to a local motorcycle shop and try and get a better deal? I have a few other motorcycles, i did plan on keeping this one but I'm frustrated.
Please let me know what you guys think.
I am somewhat mechanically inclined but don't really have the time to tackle a full motor drop...

[John Schmidt]

First, you need to add your location to your profile on the left side. That way members will know where you are and possibly lend a hand. Dropping the Valk motor isn't hard but takes time and effort. I most certainly wouldn't take it to a dealer unless you want to drop close to $2k when you can do it yourself for a few hundred. As for fixing the engine, good replacements are usually available online. That would be your quickest method to get back on the road, allowing you to fix the old motor at your leisure and possibly sell it to recoup some of your cost. I did that in 2012 and the replacement engine ended up only costing me about $275....and I didn't fix the old one, sold as is. 

[Michvalk]

There is more to fixing hydrolock than just replacing the broken parts. You will need to clean the carbs, and make sure the fuel system is in good repair. There is a lot of work to do to get her back on the road. Me, personally, I would do the work and fix it. You should be able to do the work, as it isn't THAT complicated, and there are many threads on the tech board that can guide you through the process (complete with pictures!!) if you want to tackle it yourself. Otherwise, I would sell, and find a running bike

[Patrick]

click, click, click or CLANK, CLANK, CLANK.  

Just tap that start button, too late now though.

[wingrider02]

Ah, just sell it....to ME!  

Ultimately, you know what you can handle.  Take a look at the various threads, and see if it is something you want to take on.

[Gavin_Sons]

Fix it yourself. 400 bucks and a couple weekends she will be as good as new. Only takes a day tomdrop the motor and pull it apart to find what gears you will need. Then while waiting on parts you can clean the carbs real good and replace any worn out parts. Or sell it for half of what it's worth. If a bike wont run when I buy it I'm only paying half of what it's worth.

[indybobm]

For hydro-lock to happen, you need fuel available and a way for it to enter the engine.
Either the petcock is leaking AND the float valve(s) are not working properly (allowing the carb to overfill and run down the intake), or the diaphragm in the petcock is bad and gas is going down the vacuum line to carb #6.
Do you know which cylinder(s) filled with gas? You can pull the plugs, put the bike in gear and roll the bike forward. Which cylinder(s) spurts gas?

You said that you have already cleaned the carbs. Did you replace the float valves when you had the carbs apart.  You can buy new float valves on Amazon for less than $30.00 for all six and is money well spent. There is a spring inside of the float valve that loses it's tension over time and keeps the float valve from working properly.

[Grumpy]

Just one thing to remember, it does take special tools to remove the clutch , clutch basket and output shaft etc.  I have all those in my  shop, but it is a several hundred dollar investment for them. Without proper tools you can do more damage to the engine.

[gordonv]

Not "special" tools, but large sockets. They can be bought for less then $50. I posted about a place I got them, when I took my motor apart. Links and all (2011? search clutch sockets). Since I have found some of the large sockets in SAE which work, locally.

[R J]

You might PM AtticRat in Oklahoma.

He does a lot of work on the 1500 and just might be interested in the motor or working out a trade for a spare motor he might have setting in his shop.

Do a search for AtticRat and you might come up with a phone # so as to call him.

If you can't find any information on him PM me and send me your email address.

I'll forward it on to him.

[Attic Rat]

Thanks RJ as you know I do a lot of engine work and I do have the special tools to do the job. I am getting ready to rebuild 5 engines that I have setting around probably start on them sometime next month. I have the granddaughter here this month. If CG wants to contact me I would be happy to help him out and get his bike back up to speed for him.

[R J]

I sent him a PM.   If he respomds, great, if he doesn't, then I figure he doesn't need your help.

Cheers.

[tbone]

If looking for a good valk mechanic I have a shop close to me. Might be an hour or better drive for you but he is good with Valks. Has his own. If that is something you may be interested in let me know and I will give you there number.