I'd say remove those "chrome" things above your bars, on the triple tree, and slide your forks up so the bars are at the top of your shock legs (where they should be. Previous owner must have had arms like an orangutang

 

Haven't update the thread in a while (and didn't have a chance to take any more recent pictures) but I've made decent progress:

wheels are back on
carbs are cleaned and installed
oil lines are installed & the bike once again has oil in it
wiring harness is hooked back up (for the most part)
cooling system is installed

I need to reinstall the master link on the chain, align the rear wheel, finish installing the airbox and it should be ready to run! Unfortunately, not all has gone perfectly ... I got the cooling system re-filled only to find the front hard-pipes are leaking (slowly, but steadily), so I had to re-drain the system ... going to search (the forum & manual) to see what may be the cause. Oh, and I got the forks & bars back into their normal position(s).

 

Rust and or ORINGS imo

 

Could be the 3 way plastic connector near the radiator - they are inclined to fracture when getting older and leak under pressure, which just gets worse.....easy fix tho'

So no more gorilla arms, huh ?

 

Ha, the gorilla arms are no more!

The bike is pretty well rust-free so I'm thinking it's definitely the o-rings (thanks for the input!). And the little 3-way ball was leaking at first, too, but I traced that to a too-loose clamp. Thankfully it (the "ball") looks to be in decent shape still, no signs of dry-rot or over exposure to the elements.

I'll be working on (and hopefully finishing) it tomorrow and Monday, so will be sure to report back again.

 

Put new ones in boiling water prior to install will help a lot and avoid pinching 'em

 

Well today was a good day: I heard her run for the first time! Got the o-rings swapped out and everything else wrapped up, then got her running on starter fluid (figured having her run might get the fuel flowing into the carbs quicker than just hammering on the starter). Of course doing so killed the battery I was using (which was on its last leg anyways) so I need to pick up a new one ... and I didn't get it turned over/running enough to get fuel through the carbs yet ... anyone have a ballpark on "time" to do so? I've been spoiled with FI'd bikes the last few years.

 

If you pull the vacuum pipe off the side of the LHS carb and suck on it, fuel will flow straight into the carbs. Do than for 10-15 secs and replace the tube - bike should fire up straight away......

 

Awesome, thanks very much for the tip! I'm so excited that she actually started up & ran (and sounded good in the process) ... it's almost like I know what I'm doing! Almost.

And it actually looks like a motorcycle again.

 

Sounds like it's coming along nicely. Good work man. Love the Chinese garage.