Now for the results:
I desided to patently wait for a new head gasket instead of reusing the old one even though I was convinced by acutemp and Robcolo that it would be fine. I didn't want to rush things anyway, so I mounted the carb and inspected the milling on my bike's head.
The carb is a simple plug-n-play swap with the old carb. I took it apart anyway just to be sure the jets were tight and of the size Ron said he put in there. They were fine. I inspected the floats and checked them for level as well as inspect the fuel valve. All o.k. there too. I changed the screws on the bowl to allen head since those phillips tend to be pretty soft metal and wear out easily. The head was milled so well, it was hard to see any machining marks. When asked by Canyncrvr to check the volume of the head before and after, I used some modeling clay to fill the cavity and I am now seaking a graduated cylinder so I can see how much area they displace in a beaker of water. The results will tell CC how much the chamber was reduced in volume overall. When assembling the head back onto the barrel, I noticed the gasket didn't perfectly line up with the milled cavity in the head. At the front of the head, I could see that the gasket didn't reach all the way to the recessed combustion chamber. I took my calipers and checked this against the barrel opening and it was fine. Compaired the gasket to the old one and they were identical, so I guess there isn't a problem. I verified the sparkplug would have adaquate clearance to the piston with the newly reshaped head, and that the alignment pins wouldn't bottom out before the head/gasket/barrel surfaces were to their specified torque. Ron asked me to check before I put it all together. Torqued everything else down to specs and refilled the radiatior with coolant. I shoved the tank on and connected it to the carb. After turning on the fuel and waiting several minutes, there was no leakage. I tipped the bike way over and held it there for 30 seconds then the other side. No pee! On the stock 33mm PWK I had to reset the floats to the lean side of specs to keep that from happening.
So now for the fire:
I set the choke, held the kill button and kicked the bike over a couple of times, with the throttle part open to get a little juice going the right direction. I expected more compression so I was prepared. Yes it had more, but not as much felt resistance as I expected. I released the kill button, and kicked the bike twice. She fired right up halfway through the second kick and the throttle cracked open. The bike sounded a little muffled and needed the throttle blipped to keep running until I remembered the choke. I released the choke and blipped the throttle one more time, ah, much better exhaust note, but now the dog was crying. It seems that I always forget to remove the SparkArrester plug. Kaydee, my almost deaf yellow lab, was in the garage chewing on a tennis ball and happened to be in the line of fire. This was the first time my bike spit it's plug out and my first clue there might be a little more poop beneath the gas tank. Kaydee soothed down after a dog bisket but I noticed the bike had died when I went back to see why she was howling. So, I kicked her over again, and this time, started on the first kick. Great. Wouldn't idle, not to worry, I grabbed the screwdriver I used to use for adjusting the air screw and gave the idle screw a turn, but it was already almost all the way in. The air screw was set by Ron at 3/4 turn out so I cranked on that about another half a turn. the bike revved up and I backed off the idle screw. I set the A/S for almost peak rpm, about 1 full turn out, and set the idle screw one last time.
Warmed up by now, I tossed the seat on had threw my leg over the saddle. A poke at the shifter after a tug on the clutch lever and we were in gear. Felt the same as before. I slipped the clutch out and headed up my concrete driveway. It is steep and about 75 feet long, great for wheelies. So I gave a little throttle figuring that if I was going to loop it, now would be a good time since I stood a fairly good chance at crawling back to the garage and dialing 911 if I hurt myself. I was home alone, the wife going to church this evening. (probably to pray I didn't break my neck with my new toys) No loop but she sat right up and headed for the street. Very controllable since I hadn't even let the clutch all the way out yet.
So, now on the street. What first? A quick run through the gears at not more than 1/2 throttle showed me that there were no flat spots there anyway and settled me into my riding frame of mind. Next run up the road, a bit more throttle and the front is gently lifting up in the first three gears. The bike so far didn't feel much different than it had before I changed things. I was thinking that was good and feeling a little disappointed at the same time. This time I desided to set the A.S. It was about 1 1/2 turns out. I set it back to 3/4 as Ron had provided it to me and again, the bike would not idle, I set it for 1 turn out. Took off in 2nd gear at a crawl and wicked the throttle from shut to just over 1/8. It was like I was riding a throughbred race horse that I just kicked in the ribs. I wasn't expecting that and it almost jerked the bike out of my hands. Now ready and expecting it, I wicked the throttle over and over. Each time she LEAPED forward, snapping and hopping like the lead husky dog on a sled team. This girl spoke to me and she was saying, "lets GO!"
Now, I'm grinning. A couple runs up and down the street to get the feel of her and the next wick I open it up and take off. Wined out first, short shifted second, and tugged the bars as I dropped the clutch on third. No one warned me not to tug the bars. She didnt' loop but it was close. A couple more runs trying different AS settings. That thing is tight. 1/16 of a turn OR LESS and she'll fall out of her zone. Thanks CC for the heads up or I might not have found it. Exactly one turn out is my bikes "happy place".
Now to the dirt. I live on 5 acres and it is steep, 600 feet from the bottom to the top and 200 feet elevation change. Heading down, it really wasn't long enough to see if it would load up, but at the bottom I wicked the throttle, and again, instant response. I turn it around and headed up. Very controllable, I could loft the front wheel up and over anything I wanted and never felt out of control. I was learning her spirit and she was starting to mind her manners with me. A couple more loops up and down and then back to the garage. The light was failing and I wanted to check the engine temperature. Back at the garage, the engine was 178 F. I shut her down for the night and came in to write this up while the impressions were fresh.
First impressions? Bolt up out of the box as Ron set things up, I only needed to adjust the AS from 3/4 to 1 turn out. If this is as good as it gets, I got my money's worth and a lot more. If there is still more to discover as I play with needles and clips, Oh Boy.
I love the CEK needle at 3. Tomorrow, a plug chop and if the jetting is on, then a move to clip 4 on the needle.