Hey Andy, looks like you have been having fun - thanks for your efforts!

Great news - it's Alive =)

After getting the carbs cleaned, electrics figured out, the new ignition switch wired in, and the lights and horn working, I wanted to check for spark 'just to be sure;' I pulled the wire off the front plug, stuck in a dummy and kicked it through as hard (fast) as possible with my hand while watching for sparklers ... and it started on the rear cylinder only! I shut it down, hooked up the front wire, and it started on the first kick easy as pie.

I had gassed it up with the premix bottle (always use premix on the first starting) beforehand to make sure the carbs didn't leak, so it was ready to go, which it did. The motor sounded tight with no excessive piston slap or crank-bearing noise - these motors are surprisingly quiet. The center crank seal is good too because it settled right into a smooth, low-rpm idle. The motor is quite fine.

Nice job on the race bike graphics; it looks totally bad++! I appreciate the offer and may take you up on it if plan A foils - the path of least resistance. I did find a seller in the UK that offers the NS250R Rothmann graphics, but other than generic Honda decals, that was about it. I did order a sheet of universal black transfers with the tank wings and block-letter Honda for the fairing (plus a couple smaller 'Honda's' to put on the rear section). Straight white with black graphics; the good seat I have is black - the red one is ripped. There were quite a few broken tabs and cracks to repair (used fiberglass cloth for strength); there were some old repairs already, so no heroics on this fix. I figure the next owner would appreciate the option to change graphics (or plastics) with the least effort, so am thinking minimalist with just enough contrast to not look stark.

Life is good - hope it stays that way,
Warren