Almost ready to start...

Found a few hours today to work on the Honda. Now that the carbs are completed, they were ready to put on the bike. I picked up a 4-into-2 exhaust, but ran into a snag while trying to mount it. The mounting studs on the right two cylinders were either bent, rusty, or non-existent. I decided that I would remove the bad studs and these two cylinders would have bolts instead of studs.

Well, that turned into the battle I'm sure anyone would expect. Over an hour with vice-grips, a hammer, PB blaster, and a ton of sweat later, this is how they turned out.

After the studs were out, I ran a tap through the hole and cleaned up the threads. The new bolts went in very smoothly and now the entire exhaust is mounted (mostly).

I was also able to get the carbs into their boots, which was just as fun as removing the studs. Four carbs into four hard rubber boots was a huge pain in the - everything! But I won the battle and they are on, but still need clamps before it can run.

So now that fuel delivery and exhaust are taken care of, the starter was the next step. A few days ago I was inspecting what would be needed to start it and found a super fuse.

What is supposed to be in place of that copper wire is a 30A fuse. The battery is wired directly to the solenoid, and that wire/fuse is the main fuse for power distribution to the rest of the bike. After discovering this modified fuse I rerouted the main power line. I tied the two power wires to an inline 30A fuse and terminated it to battery terminal. The two starter solenoid wires are now the only wire on the top of the solenoid.

Using a mutimeter I verified that the starter system now functions as it should. The only parts missing to attempt starting the engine is the power cable from the solenoid to the starter itself, a battery, fuel delivery/tank, and oil in the engine. I hope my next post is a video of it running!