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Bill Baffi...WELCOME to the Greatest Show on Earth, or...Greatest SIDECAR Show on Earth.

There are several members here that are quite adept at H-D's, and they will come along shortly and chime in with experienced knowledge.

However, seeing as how I am first to welcome you, I will offer some sage advise, as I was an H-D guy for many years...a little over 600k miles on H-D's.

A 2002 H-D FLHTC-U been sitting for 10 years, with only 3,500 miles on it.....hmmm...that is less than 1 week of riding mileage.

I would suggest removing the battery, and don't even attempt to revive that battery. Wait for the next F-150 to go driving by, and just toss that now 22 year old battery into the back of that F-150, then run.....

Buy a brand new battery, and whilst I prefer the new Lithium Iron batteries, like the Shorai Lithium Iron battery, there are others that prefer their brand, kind of like "OIL" choices. But get a brand new battery, and make 100% certain that if it is a lead acid battery, that the person servicing it up the very first time does it correctly, otherwise that new battery will be dead in 6 months.

Put the new battery on a Battery Tender JR.....off to the side...and allow it to trickle charge at a low amp rating for a couple days.

On the bike, drain the fuel out of the fuel tank completely. Once it is completely empty, LOOK inside that fuel tank, to see if you have any rust or corrosion.

If there is rust or corrosion inside, report back to us, and make sure you let us know, so we can go forward with correct info on how to treat that.

On the engine, drain the engine oil, the primary case oil, remove the oil filter, remove the spark plugs (us olde guys call them sparking pins), and...order a brand new set of tires...all three tires. They do NOT have to be the H-D branded ones from Dunlop. If you want those H-D branded ones, then go for it, but others here with an H-D sidecar rig can inform you as to what tires CURRENTLY work best on your 2002 FLHTC-U sidecar rig.

Why replace the tires, because with 3,500 miles on that 22 year old rig, those are most likely the original tires, and VERY olde rubber, which means they are hard.

Okay, going to let others Welcome you, and offer advise, but you have an excellent rig to start with, just need to breath new life into it.

Edit: Bill, one of the important factors regarding reviving this 2002 FLHTC-U is....where was it stored ?  Inside, outside, in a heated garage, in an ice box....all those things matter, as to how the rubber bits survived during the past 22 years.

Is that bike a chain drive, or a Belt drive....I suspect Belt drive.....which means...( in my world) I would be replacing that belt drive BELT, and carefully inspecting the drive sprockets.

Welcome Bill!! Flying Monkey pretty much covered all the basics. If there is a family owned, small business Harley shop in your area, they'd probably be happy to either check your outfit out or advise. My opinion- I'd avoid the dealership. 

Bill Baffi, that is a great  point  brought  up by  Reardan Tom, possibly  having a  smaller  local H-D shop do the  "revival" of your  bike and  sidecar. 

Where are you located,  Bill ? If you  live relatively close to one of  our  knowledgeable  H-D sidecarists,  they may be able to offer  on-site  advice,  or even  lend a hand. 

Are you  mechanically  inclined,  with an aptitude  for  doing the  "revival " yourself,  or....would you  prefer to  have someone else do it for you  ?

If you  live in The Great Pacific Northwest,  I am  happy to offer  my own services,  my shop, and all my labor at no cost to you. 

WELCOME.  As your new we'll let it slide that you didn't post any pictures but please correct that infraction as soon as humanly possible.  We're a voyeuristic bunch up in here.

I'd add one thing to the above list and say do the transmission oil too.  There are videos of doing the three hole oil change. 

I can't remember which one we watched when we did my buddies HD this fall but here are two.

Also if you find rust in the tank. Don't panic.  The new tank coating systems are pretty easy to use these days. 

Like FM said.  Let us know and we'll point you in the right direction. 

(Spoiler: KBS, POR15, or Kreem.  I liked POR15 but RDHCraig preferred the KBS cause it coated easier in his cold garage.)

Welcome aboard Bill, I can't offer any help on this one but want to extend you a warm welcome from Savannah Ga 

All good stuff above.  So I'll just add a Pearl White HD with sidecar sounds pretty epic.  Will look forward to pics when you get a chance, and your thoughts on how the revival project goes.  🙂

 Welcome.  So it has not been run in 10 years. Is the bike FI or carb 2002 had both options.

Do not try to start it yet.

Latter I will post some things you need to do. On the list for after you get it running you will need new tires. You can get away with easy test ride but nothing more until replaced.

While gathering information spray around spark plugs wit JB8 and let it soak. The spray again keep it wet for a good long while.

Get an HD service manual for the bike. You do not need one for the sidecar really but the SM will be of great use to you.

Thanks for the welcome & advice the rig has been covered inside an unheated garage so sheltered but not pampered. I live on Long Island in NY so if anyone knows of and feels good about recommending a local shop I am all ears. At my age (71) I can’t do things like I used to, but will take my time to try and do things correctly. With that said it is winter here and a little chilly in the garage so it will be a slow start.  Bill

For what's it worth, Bill, 40+ years ago we purchased an old gasoline tractor that'd been sitting in a shed for several years.  After confirming the gas tank wasn't too crusty and the engine would turn freely, we drained and refreshed all the fluids while soaking the spark plug threads as mentioned above.  After removing the spark plugs, we squirted thru the spark plug holes, with one of the old-timey oil squirt cans, a mixture of oil & kerosene along the cylinder walls, slowly rotated the engine a few turns, the spun the engine with a fresh battery, all with the spark plugs removed.  I truly don't know if the oil & kerosene coating helped, but the old tractor served us well thereafter.

Bill, the suggestion above ^^^ by SwampFox is exactly what I would have recommended, however a more modern version (albeit this has been done for more than 100 years) is to use Marvel Mystery Oil, the stuff in the RED can.

I have a 1 gallon can of Marvel Mystery Oil in my shop...probably had it for more than 30 years now...and it is a Marvel how it works, it's also a Mystery how it works, but it is also Oil......so it works.

The perfect thing about using it inside the cylinders is....it is a product that can be added to the fuel system (so it can burn), and a product that can be added to the engine's Oil system, so it also lubricates.

Oh, and Bill....the correct amount of Marvel Mystery Oil to spray into each cylinder, is between 2 to 4 ounces. Science has shown that precisely 3.14159 ounces is the perfect amount.

Oh, and SwampFox, an IH tractor that olde, those things that you removed were called Sparking Pins, rather than Spark Plugs (man, I am olde)

U r not old just wise beyond your years!  Thanks for the tips, I had forgotten about marvel mystery oil  but I will pick up a can asap.