Wiring and carbs.

Last night I started stripping the bike down further. I removed the rest of the tail section of the bike, including the tail lights, turn signals, and rear fender. 

I removed the wire harness. That was an interesting experience. I know absolutely nothing about electrical, really nothing. So I had to write down and label all of the connections that were disconnected. This all seemed fine while I was disconnecting the tail lights and turn signals, then I made my way to the headlight. I could have never guessed the hell that was waiting for me there. 

This is basically where all the wires are connected and tucked on the bike. The picture above doesn't do the cluster of wires justice. After a couple of hours, I had everything labeled and fully removed the wiring harness. The frame is ready to be cut and welded. The fork is the only thing really left on the bike. At this point I'm only held back by budget. I'm hoping I can get all the electrical back together after powder coat.

The picture above is after I labeled all the electrical, right before I removed the harness from the bike. I helped a guy today at my bike shop. He is an auto mechanic and owns a motorcycle. I've talked to him a couple of times and he seems eager to help. He has been down this whole "build it yourself motorcycle" road before. If he decides to help, I'm sure I will learn a ton from him. I also worked on the carbs this morning. I picked up a parts soaker from the auto parts store. I soaked two of the four carbs. They seemed to clean up pretty well, but I think I can do better.

The carb kit came in from Japan earlier this week so once I have the carbs nice and clean I can re-assemble them with all new internals and seals.

The tank liner also arrived so I will be cleaning and lining the tank soon as well. Before I clean the inside, I want to figure out what I'm going to do on the outside. I'm thinking brushed and polished, but I'm going to do a bit more homework first. 

After talking to Jorge last night, I went over my budget for the bike. My hope was to be under 3k on the final build. After crunching the numbers I have confirmed that is more than doable. I am also planning this bike in stages. If, for what ever reason, I get this bike on the road and it isn't what I want or isn't reliable (enough) for my needs, I don't plan on having more than 2200 dollars into it. If it does turn out like I'm thinking it will and it is reliable, I will spend the rest of the budget that I initially planned. New suspension, upgraded gauges, newer brake components, etc.