Motorcycle Repair: Honda Trail 90, honda trail 90, motorcycle mechanic

Question
Hi there, first off, thank you so much for your time. I have a 1969 Honda Trail 90 K1b, It looks exactly like the 1970 model except for the air intake filter and cover. It has 296 original miles on it amazingly and i'm in the process of gettin it up and runnin. The carb was varnished up pretty good, so I cleaned it up and put it back together. After replacing the fuel on/off petcock gasket, new plug and 30 failed kicks, I successfully fired it up by push starting it.  I ran it around the block and brought it back to the shop, where it woulndnt idle.  Air screw and Idle screw were set to specs but still wont idle very well.  Upon sitting for an extended period of time, I can start it first kick with full choke and it will idle for a few minutes until it starts to sputter a bit and as I turn the choke down slowly it dies.  Trying to start it again and again is difficult but I usually can by having choke off and giving it lots of throttle, at this point the bike will barely run and only if I give it lots of throttle, it revs high and almost dies repetetively, finally without fail it dies.  I am far from a motorcycle mechanic but can follow directions well :-) Sorry for the long story, but thought it may help.  Thankyou so much for your time.

Answer
Cody, it sounds like the carb is running too rich.  An engine like a rich mixture to start cold but as it warms up, it needs a leaner mixture.  You can verify this theory by shutting off the fuel petcock.  As the float level drops, the bike will start to run better until it gets too lean again.   You can fix this by lowering the float level.

Regards
Rich