This morning I found my way to the garage at 8:30 with the hopes of getting the Honda to fire up for the first time in 2 years. First I had to install what remained of the left side exhaust. It was essentially straight pipes. They went on quickly and then I re-checked all my previous work. I grabbed the tank which was still on the bike but not bolted down and the fuel line right after the petcock valve ripped. So I grabbed a dog and walked over to the auto parts store to get more fuel line. I repaired the line and mounted the tank. I put the key in and hit the starter button. It turned over but that's all it did. I did this dance for a few more minutes and then went back to basics. The first thing I did was pull a plug. It was wet with gas. I checked for spark and it was great. I knew I had fuel at the petcock and at the carbs but I didn't know if it was getting through to all the carbs. So I checked the drains in the bottom of the bowls. All four had fuel but it looked like shit. It smelled worse. Bad fuel. 

I took the tank back off and drained all 4 bowls. I emptied as much from the tank as I could. I put in fresh gas and washed out as much of what was left in the tank as possible before reinstalling it. I hooked up the fuel line and cranked it a few times to get fresh gas running through the carbs. I drained the bowls until I finally had fresh gas coming out. After several hours of fooling with things it still would not start. Frustrated, I went inside to sit with the dogs and have a coffee. After an hour, I went back in the garage and tried a few more times. Same thing. Then I looked at the top of the triple tree and saw a knob. I didn't even know there was a choke. I pulled the choke out, hit the starter and the thing fired right up. I didn't let it run for long but I started it 4 more times and each time it started right away. I know the compression is totally screwed up so I ordered the exhaust and it should be here in a few days. 

This is what the shitty varnish in the tank looked like. 

I don't have much experience with motorcycles at all. In fact, the biggest repair I've done on one was a valve adjustment. This has really been fun. I keep looking at the bike and seeing it change to something I'd dig. Get rid of all the extra bullshit like crash bars, fenders, big lights, silly mag wheels, high rise bars, wind screen, etc. Put on some spoked wheels with black rims, clip on bars, LED brake light and turn signals, and put on bigger tires. Something with subtle knobs. I'd also strip it down and clean it all really well, do some minor body work on the tank and then see if Eric Barr from Ground Up would paint it some color with loads of metal flake and then have him hand stencil Honda. The bigger issue now is will my friend let me keep it? He didn't seem amused when I reminded him that the title was in the repair manual that he brought along to help me out.