Motorcycle Repair: Honda Ascot, fuel valve, eyedropper

Question
Hi Chris.  I'm doing some work on my 1984 Honda Ascot.  The bike had sat for about two months this summer while I rode my Nighthawk S and after starting up okay and running reasonably well on the highway and city for two days suddenly lost power.  I can start the bike but as soon as I give it some throttle it basically stalls out.  When the problem first occurred it felt like I was running out of gas.  I put in some new plugs and no change so I moved on to drain some gas from the carbs and noticed a discoloration in the gas.  It turns out the tank has rust in it and I drained the tank as best I could.  Obviously the tank needs to be replaced or treated but I was wondering if there was a temporary solution in the meantime.  For example, I was going to reinstall the tank with fresh gas after cleaning out the fuel valve and filter and also install another filter on the fuel line to the carbs just to see if I could get it running so that I can get the bike to my mechanic.  My question is - does this sound okay and is there anything I need to do to get gas back in the carbs after reinstalling the tank?  For instance, I've heard that putting an eyedropper of fresh gas directly into the carbs helps in the process.  I would very much appreciate any help you could offer.

Answer
Hi Rob.
 You need the carbs cleaned out properly, that's for sure.  As far as the tank is concerned, drain it and let it dry out.  Then simply reseal it.  It will take the bike out of service for 2 or 3 days tops and the rust will not be a problem any longer.

 As far as a quick-fix, there is only 1 temporary fix, but it is not the best thing to do.  The best thing to do is to simply do the above mentioned fixes.

 If you must use the bike before those repairs are done, then install an inline fuel filter with a replaceable element.

Good luck.
FALCON