Quick update!
COMPLETED:
--replaced side oil filter and gaskets with new one. Thanks
@Machine ! No problems there.
For reference, here's how much gunk accrued on old filter between last oil change and now (note that filter wasn't soaked, I just scraped stuff off, so I don't know if this is saying much)
--readjusted clutch mechanism today. Will see how well that went on next ride.
--Ran the rotor/stator scrape test again. (I didn't trust that I'd marked up stator sufficiently). Not seeing anything that says it's conclusively scraping--shining a light on it kind of tricks your eyes in this dim work area but I don't see an actual scrape. And I've run it several times. So I say move on and if I still have problems after everything else, I'll look again or look at other charging area possibilities.
--Drained the float bowls according to
@650Skull (post 357) instructions. They didn't have any clear tubing at the local place I went to and I was rushed so went with some black hose and drained it into a foil pan. There was some black debris that hit the pan from both sides, but pretty minimal. I did it twice since I realized I'd need to drain them after the prime test if I was going to take off the bowl. On the first test, neither kept dripping after draining, so it seemed the floats were sealing. I then ran both sides on prime for a few moments. Gas flowed freely. Then I put petcock back to "on" and drained the right side again. That didn't keep dripping after emptying, but when I was draining that carb, some gas dripped a bit out of the left carb drain. Then stopped. I then drained left side and and it drained fine and didn't continue to drip after some moments... So excepting that brief drip from left when draining right, it seems like floats are sealing. I'll have to drain again when I remove the float bowls so we'll see if that happens again.
REMAINING TO DO:
--Remove float bowls and inspect choke inlet and look for debris (re
@5twins instructions, post 367). I tried to do this today, but it seems that my stubby screwdriver isn't stubby enough to get to the screws that secure the float bowl. It looks like there's 4 for each. Going to look into a smaller screwdriver or maybe there is one that has an adjustable head so I can reach in there and still have enough torque to turn, especially for those further to center.
--Put in new battery. It has arrived! I also got some copper anti seize
*
In other news, rechecked for oil in cam covers. Left is dry, right has a tiny touch--looks like maybe just a bad/loose seal? I should've wiped out before putting back on to check how quickly this happens..
Also, in last rides, I have seen no oil pooling or even weeping on base of left cylinder!
In general, the rides have been about the same as I've been saying, some better than others. It idles between 1.5k and 1k at different intervals of the ride (idle assessed at stops in either first or neutral; not seeing significant difference between idle at 1st v neutral.) It's running (done rides up to 45m round trip, 55-60 max so far) but basically it's still requiring lots of warmup time to get to 1.2k, sassy about that drop in idle throughout ride, and sometimes starting requires several attempts (this seems to have improved a touch..). Noticed that the RPM on this rarely ever goes above 3k, even when pushing it at a speed higher than that gear wants...that said, again only hit 55-60mph max.
A note about the choke: Assuming I'm understanding what you guys mean by a "fast idle" choke, yes, I believe this is basically how this choke operates. It's not just "on" or "off." I can gauge how much choke I give. I generally put it to about 1/2 way (used to only need a bit over a 1/4) to start, let it idle around 1.5k for a minute and then back off the choke until I can get it to sit at 1.2k without any choke. As noted, this has been taking a long time to do. Still the case, but last few times, I've been just doing choke a it a few minutes, to where choke is around 1/4, then I ride it for a block or two, lower as much as possible without it dying, and then kill choke completely in next block or two and keep on throttle if needed to keep it above 1k. I hadn't done this before as I was unde the impression that it wasn't good to throttle/ride when engine is still "cold" and I felt like sitting at 1.2k without choke was really a sign of that, but clearly it's quite literally hot before that happens...
To buy: adjustable screwdriver thingy, on board voltmeter, valve tools, oil drain gaskets, valve cover gaskets, ...