The Sad $300 Motorcycle Story Part 2

After really looking at the Seca, it's really not bad at all. It's evident that the bike spent some time outside judging by the surface rust on some places like the front fender and the pegs. The chrome, or should I say "chrome" since it is Japanese after all, is pitted but cleaned up well enough with some chrome polish.

Before I delved into anything mechanical, I waxed the bike. There is something about dull, dusty paint that makes me want to make it shine. The paint cleaned up better than I thought it would, though I still think it would make a concourse judge want to kill himself. It's very uneven, it's darker in some spots than others and kind of rough.

But who cares about all of that, it's shiny!

After making the bike shiny, I installed the battery and hit the starter button. I can't say I was surprised when it didn't start but I was thankful when the engine turned over. I had this gut feeling that, despite the clean oil, the engine would be seized from sitting so long.

Before I tackled the massive carb cleaning job, I decided to check spark first. I started with plug number 1 and was shocked at the newness of the plugs.

I grabbed a ratchet and a plug socket but forgot the spark tester and since I am too lazy to walk the five feet back to the tool box, I pulled the plug (ha!) and laid it on the head while I cranked the engine. I saw that I had spark but wanted a better view so I reached down and grabbed the plug while cranking and promptly electrocuted myself.

Getting electrocuted is a weird feeling. At first you're like "what is going on?" but then you realize what is happening and then you let go of whatever is electrocuting you.

After electrocuting myself once and finding good spark from all four plugs, it was now time to clean out the carbs.

Yay.

Before I went after the carbs, I peered into the gas tank. Wow is all I can say. The gas was a strange brown, like a brown found on an early 70's Cadillac that was left out in the sun, and smelled rancid. I think Mad Max would turn down this gas, it's that nasty.

The tank is ridiculously easy to remove on this bike. Pop off the fuel line and the vacuum line, pull the clamp off of the bolt head under the back of the tank and it's off. It's a 10 second job.

After spending about 45 minutes staring at the carbs wondering how to remove them instead of following the instructions (whatever instructions are), I engaged in combat with my motorcycle.

I fought with the bolt under the battery, which started life as a 12mm bolt but is now a corroded lump of an indeterminate size.

Once that was taken care of, I fought with the with the airbox. The rubber booties that connect the airbox to the carbs thankfully are removable. I realized this after swearing profusely and almost knocking the bike off of the centerstand.

With those booties removed, I could now remove the carbs. What I mean by that is, I could now almost knock the bike off the centerstand again.

The drain for the float bowls were frozen and the screw heads were starting to strip so whatever gas was in the bowls would have to stay there. The gas stayed there until I turned the carbs upside-down and spilled gas all over the floor and myself.

Once the bowls were removed, the severity of the clogging was revealed. When I say clogged, I mean clogged.

The next few weeks were spent cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. I also think I installed and removed the carbs about 100 times during this span of time.

All of the cleaning and cussing and smelling like rancid gas was worth it when I hit that starter button and the bike came alive. It has a long way to go before it'll be running right, or even close to right, but right now that doesn't matter.

All that matters now is that this once non-running machine is now one step closer to being road-worthy.

The heart beats...