So, are we okay, or what?
This story can finally start to be told & it's funny that you should ask today - the very day that I had decided to post something depending on the results of my latest experiment which I have just come upstairs from conducting & it was the best of ALL of them in the past 13 days since that first (beginner's luck
) 4-kick start after all the head work & a new, different carburetor.
First I'm sorry it's been so long especially for you, Ace, but I had to do this my way so I could keep all the changes straight in my head & not get too many suggestions thrown at me for each new little problem that always seem to be 180 degrees from each other.
I'm gonna stick to just the good stuff in this post & leave the "nightmares" for tomorrow. It's sposta' rain.
First off, the engine is absolutely MARvelous in every way out on the road & is now a totally improved better bike in every way in every gear. It gets to any given speed way easier than before & is perfectly tractable in any gear any speed. It sits on 50 in 5th so easy & solid (or in 4th) it's mystical. It jumps to 70 (on the speedo) from 50 in 5th so easily & quickly I sometimes think I'm on the harley. I think I've held 70 with no problem & no feeling of straining 3 times for a couple miles only because I'm not comfortable any more at 70, I hate the wind. I'm sure it would cruise at 60 as long as I'd care to or the gas ran out.
I've also checked very carefully for ping in a lot of different ways & there's not a hint of the evil ball bearings in a coffee can (93 octane with a dash of MMO).
It will also putt along happily like a watch on the blue roads (flat, no load) in 4th at 30, 35, 40, 45 up & down with smooth, Porsche-like down shifts for any corners where 3rd feels better with just an uncanny smoothness. Also solid as a rock idles (now) at lights or stop signs with no sign of "fixin' to die".
My real problem (nothing new) is that after 20 miles my right arm is in such F-ing pain from neck to fingers that I have to head home or stop & get off. Just the weight of the arm itself will dislocate it. It's what gonna stop me very soon, I think. But not yet.
More tomorrow. Ace, I could not be happier. Thank you.