Resurrection procedure?

Hi group -

Just picked up an '81 550 Seca. I was told that it ran by the previous owner, that the engine has been rebuilt and that there was an oil leak.

When I came upon the bike, it was stored in an unheated shed, out of the weather. Looing in the tank, not only was it not varnished inside, it was still shiny! The bike was complete, including both side covers, no broken plastic and the clutch, choke and throttle seem to have "normal" response. The only damage was that the starter button is missing. (They included a small screwdriver to short across the contacts.)

I did my preliminary mechanical examination and the two big takeaways were that the chain was off the rear sprocket and that the shifter did not move.

Once I got it home, I gave it a bath and looked for obvious external engine damage. There was none. The engine was covered with oil and grime, but it came off quickly with dollar store Awesome Orange. (Sidebar - be careful, as it appears to etch aluminum!) I opened the oil fill and stuck my finger in to feel for oil. I did not feel anything in there. (I still need to look in there with a light.) I gently tapped on the shifter with a hammer and got some movement, but it was very stiff (as if the transmission were filled with glue).

So, my question to the forum is, what is my next step? Do I throw a battery in and see if it turns over? Do I get a wrench on the crank and try to spin it by hand? If so, where is the crank bolt, and in which direction do I turn it? (Still waiting for delivery of service manuals). Is there something else I should do? This will be my first resurrection of any kind. It's not helping that I'm going into it blind, not knowing the history.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Here's a picture, after the bath . . .

 

Left crankcase cover is where the bolt is and iirc the square but is 19 mm. Check oil level on the little window at the bottom of the clutch cover and take a sniff to see if the oil smell of gas.
Remove spark plugs and throw in a couple of tablespoons of diesel and turn the engine over a few times by hand and then 5-10 seconds with starter. Let sit overnight then install spark plugs and fresh fuel in tank and give it a go. A compression test should be done to see if any cylinders are low. All may be low from sitting so do it again after it’s running then do a valve clearance check.
If it starts or not carbs will need to go to “Church of clean” new oil etc....

 

Awesome! Thanks for the direction.

 

Jeff don't try and start it, do this first. Remove the sprocket cover to make sure the chain has not bunched up against the cover because if it is in gear you don't want to turn the engine over with the chain locking the engine sprocket against the sprocket cover. A loose chain on my old Honda CB 750 bunched up and smashed the sprocket cover, I was lucky it didn't smash the crankcase. Turn the engine anticlockwise with the spanner.

 

Yikes! Ok, will do.

 

Good call! That was it!