IT'S ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!

My wife has been out of town for work this week (coming back tonight actually) so I took advantage of my free time and got busy on rewiring my 71 T Bolt. After trying to differentiate between the yellow and white wires (which were identical due to age) I finally got it wired and for the first time since I had the bike I was able to get her to spark. A nice big blue spark to be exact. So I rebuilt the carb, adjusted the rocker valves to .008 and .010 (as someone from the Britbike.com BSA forum kindly informed me) slapped the rocker cover on with a new gasket and reinstalled the rear wheel (so that I could try to kick start it without dropping her on the swing arm). I don't have the gas tank ready yet so I sprayed some starter fluid into the carb and after a few failed kicks I realized that one of my connections had come loose. I reconnected the wire, kicked her again and VROOOOOOOOOOM! Just a few seconds of muffler-less roaring glory but I am beside myself with joy that she actually ran. This is my first attempt at resurrecting a motorcycle (which hasn't run in over 20 years) so I'm quite ecstatic!

I still have a few issues to deal with before I can get her on the road, but I'm hopeful that she'll be ready by early spring. Today was a very good day!