best advice you would give to a new (used) concours owner

[Jet86]

You just may be one of the lucky ones, my advice would be to go to this link witch is a sticky link on this forum and read up, it tells you how to check if you bent a rod... i would not start it up again til you change the oil and filter.
http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=276.0

[Jet86]

Check to see if your petcock is working properly, remove the fuel hose from the petcock.
in the "On or Reserve position" there should be no gas coming out unless the bike is running, in the Prime position gas should flow with engine on or off. since you forgot and left it on prime overnight and you also had a stuck needle/float that's what caused the lockup.
if the petcock is leaking in the on or reserve position then you need to fix it or replace it. i chose to replace mine.

[Mettler1]

   If you didn't hear a bang you may be ok. The way to be sure is pull all the plugs and measure each piston at top dead center. Go to the "sticky" how to check for hydrolock by SiSF. It is at the top of this page.
 I understand what happened but the float needles should have prevented it. At least one float needle leaking. Time for a good carb cleaning and maybe new float needles.

                                                     http://sites.google.com/site/shoodabenengineering/intake-and-exhaust
  Go here to get it done right.
   Also use the "search" feature for more info. And don't take it to a dealer as a lot of them don't do it right and charge you a LOT of $$$.
  Sounds like you petcock is working right in the "run" position but if that fails your in the same position as "prime".
             

[Steve in Sunny Fla]

Jet and Mettler,

... tried to start it. The first three tries,as I said, it wouldn't start, wouldn't crank over at all. I could hear the starter engage but it WOULDN'T turn the engine. I spent about fifteen minutes looking for other problems, tried again and it turned over and started. It wasn't running rough and didn't backfire. There were no loud clunks and the motor DIDN'T lock while it was running. Is it possible to bend a rod without the motor running? 

  It sounds like a cylinder was completely locked with fuel. If the engine wouldn't turn ANY - ZERO ROTATION - then the rod wouldn't bend. It also won't bend while running; it'll only bend when the engine has turned enough to get some inertia and then the piston suddenly stops. The fact that it sat for 15 minutes then started means the fuel bled past the rings into the crankcase. You need to change the oil NOW and do a hydrolock rod test... unless you just don't want to know     Steve

[ZG RIDER]

  It sounds like a cylinder was completely locked with fuel. If the engine wouldn't turn ANY - ZERO ROTATION - then the rod wouldn't bend. It also won't bend while running; it'll only bend when the engine has turned enough to get some inertia and then the piston suddenly stops. The fact that it sat for 15 minutes then started means the fuel bled past the rings into the crankcase. You need to change the oil NOW and do a hydrolock rod test... unless you just don't want to know     Steve

Whew, Tragedy narrowly averted! 

 Thank you to ALL who helped with my education on hydrolock. If I never utter that word again it would be too soon!! Ill be performing all the recommended  procedures to ensure it never happens again! As for now I'll have to wait since I just blew my budget on the bike, Insurance, registration, transfer fee's, a new helmet, not to mention two teen's attending school here in California. I'm tapped for the next few months! I'm going to cringe now every time I press the starter button until I can get the carb work and the tube kit!! I'll just have to keep a close watch on the petcock, making sure it functions properly, until then.

 Steve, I'm also interested In the two minute mod and the exhaust cam kit. It looks like you've made some great innovations and come Highly recommended in the forum!

Well, gotta scrape up some change and go buy some epoxy to repair the loose seam on the air box front bottom corner. Then, short of any other parking lot operator errors, I gotta go RIDE!

Thanks Again!

[Two Skies]

Well, besides investing in overflow tubes or some other measure to deal with the dreaded hydrolock (harbinger of death for Connies), I'd suggest looking seriously at tipover bars.

I put off getting them for my bike, and thanks to a bad day, and in an unrelated incident, a drunk person knocking my bike over and falling on top of it, as well as some other minor incidents I have some significant damage to the plastics and pegs.  Not to mention needing to repair the sidebag brackets as well.  Oh, and of course the mirrors.  If you want your bike to stay pretty and avoid the potential for some somewhat costly repairs if she ever goes over, invest in tipover bars.  These won't be 100% foolproof, but will give you peace of mind r.e. minor incidents.

http://www.murphskits.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=127

[roadkoan]

+1 for the tip-over bars.
Cheaper than new plastics, and I think they look cool too. (just IMO)

And most importantly, buy good tires!
I'm not just talking about ones with tread either. Unlike men, not all rubber is created equal, and when I went from the Bridgestones that were on her when I bought her to the Avons I ride now, it was like night and day. Maybe they wear out sooner being softer, but when the chips are down there is no better insurance than good traction! 

Oh, and practice, practice, practice. I get cone patterns here Go cut some tennis balls in half to mark the course and don't forget to have some fun!

[Boomer]

FONDLE! Then Fondle some more.
Ride, then Fondle.
Fondle in the privacy of your own garage.
Fondle, fondle, fondle! 

My personal standout fondles were;
Fondled Jerrys bike in a motel car park in Klamath Falls. Gene was a fellow fondler and much beer was drunk.
Pic of Jerry and me is here http://gtr1000.com/graphics/boomerpics/Boomer_Fixin_Jerrys_ride.jpg
Fondled Hans-Oves bike in Denmark @ first GCE Rally.
Fondled Walters bike in Altenmarkt, Austria after he binned it in 2003.