Hello Fellow Riders,

I bought my 05 Wee brand new in late 04. I rode it only 10k miles over the years and parked it after a close call in 2010. It has literally sat on the side of my house for 3 years untouched. Today, I pulled it out into the drive way, after checking fluids and rolling it in fifth gear to make sure it wasn't seized, I hooked it up to some jumpers and it fired right up on the first touch of the starter. ITS ALIVE!

Its in a total state of disarray. The sun and weather has thrashed the seat, grips, paints, plastic, tires, and just about everything else. The fork seals even gave way and leaked all down the lower forks.

Its time for the most kick ass resurrection/restoration project. I'm thinking of completely rebuilding it as a family project, and doing a sort of Jeep/Mad Max kind of theme. Olive drab paint, wrapped exhaust, shorty fairing, tan weathered leather saddle etc.

If y'all have any input, spare parts, positive advice, or whatever.....let me know. Im in Southern California. Thanks.

Welcome back to riding! It's funny how a few years of disuse can drain the "life force" out of a bike. At 10K miles your original tires are not only getting a bit dry, but they are worn anyway. Take care of them and the fork seals first. The engine will smooth out one you work a tank of fresh gas through it. With new tires, proper riding gear, and some new riding (focusing on technique) you and the bike will be in good shape to proceed.
From there you can decide to what the bike should look like. If you need a seat many people have spares, since they opted to upgrade from the stock seat anyway. Now for the mods... a custom, hand-built fairing, maybe? I like the Mad Max theme, it might go well on a DL650.

I was just through Temcula the other day. If only I knowed you were working on a near death recovery I'da stopped by for a gander. It's too bad you didn't have an indoor space for the bike. It's a lot less destructive than sitting in the sun for a few years.
A friend in Oklahoma did that with a 1980 800GS BMW. Just let it sit there until it was fairly rotten away. Gets pricey to make mo bettah later.
Much luck with the project.

the first thing that I would do is drain the fuel, add fresh with SEAFOAM. Run a little while then change the oil.

Then start with fork seals and brake pads--likely fouled from the fork oil (the rears may be fine) followed by tires. You should also bleed the brakes front and rear to get new fluid into the system.

You may consider a vinyl job to cover the paint.
Time for a seat! I've considered tooling a brown leather seat similar to a saddle for a horse--not shape-wise, just design-wise.

I had a brown leather saddle on my Vee and now have another on my DL6L2

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L2V -- she's a stocker!

The grunge look personified by Black Lab certainly was one side of the coin. I personally think Glitch is an artist. This thread has some beauts in it;

650..."The Mongrel"

I personally like the shots in frame 109, but the green mongrel shown in frame 77 is a thing of true beauty to me, too.

Good luck and have fun with it.

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Bob
73 CB 350
07 Wee
10 NT 700

Thanks all for the welcome and words of encouragement/advice. My plan of attack is exactly the way you all said.

Are there any online tech manuals, fluid types and capacities, etc to help me on my way?

Any online manuals are pirated copies and therefore illegal. You can buy the paper copy from some and or most dealerships or online, or put an ad here in the wanted section. I highly recommend getting a manual if you plan on doing this work yourself.

Good luck and take pictures!!

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DL650K7
XL1200N (Sold)

Didn't have a garage or shed to store it in? I think it is a sin to store your wee outside....

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'12 DL650 Glee in White

Never argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference.

I think it is a sin to store your wee outside.

In most public places you'd get arrested for doing that too!