Kawasaki Screams to Life!!!

I had been trying to get the Kawasaki to run for the past couple evenings. I had spark, and I managed to fill up the carb full of fuel using half of an old filter as a funnel and a piece of fuel hose. It acted like it wanted to try, but wouldn't quite start.

Today I got serious after installing the new exhaust. With just enough choke and throttle, it almost started. So I fiddled with the timing a little, and advanced it a smidge. Roughly 1-degree based on the mark on the flywheel. As it happens, that is all it took, as it instantly fired up and ran.

I immediately grabbed Susan and the digital camera, and had her take this short video. This is only the second time it ran, so it is extra smokey.

After 30 seconds of running, most of the smoke cleared. I needed to adjust the idle speed up a bit, and it would idle without the choke, and take throttle very cleanly.

Getting a bike running for the first time is always exciting!