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I went ahead and checked the reed valve: it was fine, some of the petals were a little loose, so I gently curved these into a flatter position, made a new gasket for the valve, and re-sealed it against the engine block. The trick right now is how to re-attach the valve to the carburetor: apparently it has to go down quite a ways! I didn't realize how far when I took it off. Wasn't able to do it using just my hands, am considering wrapping it up with a ratchet strap and seeing if I can force it back together that way. The rubber of the join here has to stretch a LOT go get back on that carburetor!
Anyhow, I think the reed valve is not the problem. What I really aught to do is get a torque wrench and use it to tighten down the cylinder nuts to spec, it's just more cash that I don't want to spend (I ordered a replacement elbow joint for that air box, another $15 for a piece of rubber I won't have for another two weeks) and I've managed to tighten them down once before without said wrench and got compression. Of course, the risk of over-tightening the nuts is pretty horrendous (stripped cylinder posts, I know), but it looks like the only possible remaining problem here is the seal around my cylinder, yes? And if I can get that to seal, I should be golden....?
It seems like every time I turn around, I find another part that is slightly damaged or out of alignment or needs partial replacement. I guess that is part of owning such an old machine. Sure is a pain in the ass though. I am not sure how much cash I will have spent with this repair that began as an attempt to lean out my fuel supply and inflate my rear tire (!) but I think it's on the order of a couple hundred bucks so far. To say nothing of all the labor and the time, both yours and mine! I am learning something as I go, which I guess is worth something somehow. This damn bike better last for another 10 years problem free! (I suppose that is too much to begin to hope for... considering that it still isn't even running normally yet).
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