Update--
I'm still working on getting it tuned up and running well to ensure I don't need to rebuild anything on the motor. I got it running fairly quickly after cleaning the carbs, but it's not running well yet. Still learning the fine details of a coil/points/condensor system, and how to revive and tune it. Just want to know it will (or atleast was) running OK before I pull the motor and start paining. I woudn't mind tearing it down to work on it if needed, just don't want to find this out after I have it all painted.
I used a 1 gallon "Carb Medic" carb cleaner setup. It comes with a little steel basket. I thought it worked really well. The carbs came out nice, clean and shiny with little to no scrubbing. I also disassembled the entire stay plate and cleaned/lubricated it. (take several pics if you need to do this, it helped me get it back together)Carbs before/after:
My biggest hurdle initially on getting it running was the start switch. It was not working. I tore it apart, and put a simple toggle on for now. I have this on another thread, and some people have told me how to make this better. Heads up for anyone with the same issue, the headlight runs through this switch.
I am working from a donor tank right now as my tank needs A LOT of work. First pic is what I dumped out of the tank when I got it.
Here are my plans for the upcoming weeks--
-I got adapters for my compression tester, going to check and document current status of compression as-is today just to know, and also look for any head gasket issues.
-Adjust valves, re-check compression if anything was out of whack.
-put in new capacitors, new plug caps, possibly new wires, get the ND plugs Hondaman recommends, clean points, re-time. See if this gets some good spark back, and takes care of the dead cylinde problem I have been having.
-re-synch carbs. (picked up Motion-Pro CarbSynch pro, like it so far)
If all goes well, and she seems to run good, it will be time for tear down.
I initially put on some inexpensive pod filters, but realized after a quick ride that this affected jetting much more than I realized. I have since put the original filter back on.
I see some darkening around the head gasket on the outside of the cylinder. I have seen some posts talking about "seeping". Not sure if this is what it is, or if I'm due for a new one. Ill be doing some reseach on this as well.
I did get my brakes un-stuck and working. Not completely rebuilt yet, but working. To get them unstuck, I pumped them out with the master itself. I got as much of the old fluid out in the resovoir, and put new in. The front was easy (single piston). On the back,(dual-piston) I did the same, but it obviously un-stuck one at first. I then stopped, then blocked the one that freed first by putting some steel bars across the caliper to hold that one back until the other freed. I sort of did that back and forth until both were 90% out then they came right out. I found hard, dry, crusty brake fluid in the caliper cylinders. I carefully and lightly scraped these with a pick to remove, then a light polish with scotch-brite. I left the seals in for now, until I get the rebuild kits. Pistons were pitted enough that I will be getting replacments once I rebuild these.
I also adjusted the cam chain early on as I had some noise. I took it apart to make sure it was free to move properly. I thought I heard noise, but I am learning that I need to have it tuned well first as this could cause what sounds like cam chain noise. Another thing I will be researching is if anyone recomends cam chain replacement at 20k mileage (if its a known issue that it may just be time to do it, or if it is a "ain't broke don't fix it type of thing) I took a pic as I questioned if the end of the adjuster looked OK. It appeared to have the rubber coating worn off, but I don't know if this means anything.
Of course, to keep myself motivated and like any good project, I am buying things I will have no need for for a very long time:
