Restart after a lay up
 

Hi Folks, not been here in a while but I could do with a bit of advice, due to what is best described as a crap set of personal circumstances the 748 hasn't been started since last August and I haven't had the opportunity, apart from loading it in and out of a van to do anything with it at all, so basically it has sat on it's paddock stands for 6 months, I have had a look at it and of course the battery has had it , but I managed to turn it over slowly on the button before it died, but all it did was backfire a couple of times, so clearly a new battery is in order.
Secondly the belts are due for renewal, which I had lined Kev up to do for me, but due to the lack of funds right now I am not sure that it isn't going to sit around for a lot longer than expected.
The oil in it is virtually as new as the day it went in I only managed a few hundred miles after the change, and all the other fluids were changed at the same time, so is it a case of leaving it on the stands, getting a new battery, change the belts and hit the button, or should I check anything else out before I get to trying to get it started like dropping a bit of oil down the bores etc.
Any advice gratefully recieved, thanks

Chris

There are thousands of Ducatis all over the country which sit there for 6 months over the winter, so I wouldn't have any concerns beyond the ones you've identified - as you say, battery, belts, hit button. (People talk about fuel degradation but I'm a sceptic: I do drop some fuel stabiliser in mine at the start of winter but it seems to me that flushing tanks and refilling them just cos the fuel is a few months old is pointless, and what people sometimes think is a 'stale fuel' problem is invariably something else.)

If you can turn it over to build up some oil pressure to feed the top end, wont harm the rockers

I'm all in favour of either filling with cheapish oil or better still the oil I drained last time and I do mean filing so as to bring the oil level up so as to flood the mains and big ends and swamp the oil pump, let it soak for a few days, then Drain, replace filter fill with new quality oil. remove plugs and turn engine over a bit and make sure the oil light goes out