After the carbs had been removed, <a href="http://www.zjautoparts.net/product/Carburetor-Needle/">Carburetor needle valve</a><br/><br/> was obvious that the intake manifolds had cracked around the flange and had been sealed up with some black RTV sealer.
Removal of the 8 screws was a challenge due to some kind of corrosion buildup between the screws and threaded holes. One screw had a slotted head instead of the normal Phillips head versions and that was the one that twisted its head off as it was being
unscrewed.

Thirty minutes of drilling out the old screw remains, tapping the hole for a Heli-Coil and installing the insert correctly finally solved the problem. All the screw holes were cleaned out with a six millimeter tap to ease reassembly.

New manifolds, sourced from an eBay seller, had been shipped via 2-day Priority Mail which has tracking associated with the shipment. After five days, an enquiry was made about shipping status to the seller and to USPS. Tracking showed the parts being
received into NY depot, then "in transit" for another five days. Eventually they made their way to SoCal and the mailbox on a Friday. Total transit time was seven days, blamed upon the Christmas season mail volumes.

With new manifolds mounted up, it still required some leverage via a crowbar to get them pushed fully into the fresh rubber mounts. Last few tasks were to reconnect the push-pull throttle cables and prepare the petcock for fuel delivery.

Somehow, after reinstallation of the oil filter mounting plate, the o-ring seal apparently moved out of position and the bike dumped 2 quarts of oil in about 30 seconds when it was fired up for the first time. After the sea of petroleum was contained and
cleaned up, the filter bolt was found to be a little loose.

After tightening the bolt, the engine was re-started and again it dumped another quart of oil on the floor instantly. The remaining oil was drained, the plate o-rings re-examined and the whole assembly once again reinstalled. 3 more quarts of oil were
added to the sump and with fingers crossed, the starter button thumbed one more time... This time, no leaks; just a lot of coughing and cackling of the exhaust system as the engine woke back up again, spitting out carbon deposits, dead insect bodies and
who knows what else.

The engine slowly warmed up, running somewhat smoother as it regained operating temperature. The front brake system had been refreshed with new kits and fluid, but remained with a mushy feel probably due to some trapped air in the convoluted brake lines
and softened flex hoses.

Still, the front brake did have some effect, despite the amazingly thin brake pad material remaining on the pads. The bike was backed down the driveway and with the front brake pumped up and held firmly, the shift lever was pressed down into 1st gear.

The <a href="http://www.zjautoparts.net/">Carburetor float</a><br/><br/> was that after 18 years, the clutch plates would all be stuck together and the bike would lurch into 1st gear and stall immediately. Surprisingly, 1st gear was selected easily
without any banging or drama at all. The bike was slowly ridden around the block under its own power for the first time after decades of inactivity.read more to zjautoparts.net.

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