Oh boy has it been a minute. More like seven years... So getting this bike running has been a huge PITA. I could never get her running well despite all my, my father, and brother's best efforts. Rebuilt the carbs a million times, tried another set of carbs, bought a used engine (yeah). We could get it running but it had zero power and always had a cold cylinder (which seemed to be random). Once it was restored it just sat in my barn. I had a couple kids and life went on. Rewind to three weeks ago and my wife says she wants to ride it and I better get my a$$ working on it. Game on.
Pulled the used motor and put the rebuilt motor I did back in. While the motor was out I ground down every conceivable inch of powder-coat that touched the engine, electronic grounds, and coils. Then I made damn sure there was a good ground by adding an additional ground strap to the battery/frame and linking the electrical ground by the airbox to the negative battery terminal. Rebuilt the carbs. Rebuilt the front brake again and added an aftermarket master cylinder and braided steel lines. Installed a MAC 4-into-1 exhaust ("Drag Queen" moniker is dead. Working on a new name). Dyna-ignition went back in. Flushed the tank and added an in-line fuel filter. Piece by piece it came back together. Took a few solid days of work. Turned the key this afternoon and BOOM!!! Purred like a kitten the first time. Adjusted idle and snyched the carbs and took it for a spin. Whoa does it pull now.
Pro tip 682: when powder-coating a frame be a savage when it comes to grinding/taping electrical grounds.
Last things to do are fix an oil leak from the oil pump and get the headlight/blinkers/brake lights working. Time to find my Clymers manual...
Cheers,
Matt in Orono, MN
