Motorcycle Repair: restarting a stored bike, alignment issues, british bikes

Question
I am looking at buying a 1972 norton that has been stored for 10+ years.  What should I look for before purchasing, any maintenance before restarting, any other thoughts?  Thanks.

Answer
  Ultimately you would want to ride the bike to determine if there is any frame or fork damage, ensuring the bike doesn't have any alignment issues due to an accident.  It sounds like this might not be an option so all you can do is closely inspect the bike for signs of previous damage.  Also, make sure the engine turns; optimally you would want to perform a compression test and/or a leak down test to make sure there is no serious engine damage.  The bike does not need to be running for this and you can borrow or rent the tools from a local auto parts store.  Parts are fairly easy to come by for many British bikes of that era although you may have to acquire some through the mail overseas.  Many, many clubs exist online and they are an excellent resource for obtaining info and parts.  
 Before attempting to start the bike, assuming it was stored in less than admirable preparation, you will need to drain the fuel tank and carburetors as well as the engine oil.  Refill oil to correct level w/ 10W-30 synthetic or crude and a gallon or so of 92 octane or higher in the fuel tank.  Remove the plugs to check there condition and replace w/ properly gapped ones if necessary.  A drop or two of oil into the cylinders before replacing the plugs wouldn't hurt.  Kick the engine over a couple of dozen times in the OFF key position to insure the start of oil flow and the purging of old oil.  After this give it a try.  If you have no luck, remove the plugs and check for spark upon kick over.  If you have a strong blue spark your problem may lie w/ the carburetors.  More often than not fuel is left in the carbs before storage and as is evaporates it leaves a thin film of varnish over all internal parts.  Here are is some basic information I've given others on cleaning carbs.:
Disassemble, clean all jets and orifices with solvent and COMPRESSED AIR ONLY, use NO wire or picks to clean holes/airways. Rebuild carbs with new gaskets and make sure your floats are set correctly and that your needle valve works smoothly. Do not overlook the float level, be very sure you are not starving for fuel. In relation make sure fuel flow is unobstructed and use a good in-line fuel filter from the tank to the carb. Even tiny particles in the fuel can get logged in critical areas and cause havoc.  
 If you have no spark you will need to work backwards; plug then coil wire, high and low tension resistance checks of the coils, and lastly the condition and settings of the points and their condensers.  If you plan to ride the bike often w/ good reliability I suggest you purchase an aftermarket ELECTRONIC IGNITION to replace the points.

Hope this helps,
Mike