6-1-11 4hrs Started on carbs. disasembled carbs and reed cages, and cleaned. All looked great. Hit a snag wen I went to install new boisen reeds. For some reason the new reeds are much smaller than the originals, but they do fit with the provied adaptor. Will email boisen to ask for input.

6-1-11 8hrs Primed and painted pipes. Installed on the bike. all went well except for the rear mounts. Some frame modifications will need to be done to accepted the rear brackets. Fixed the clutch issue, basically it was the incorrect installation of the clutch mechanism on the left hand side of the bike (that's what happens when you get a bike in pieces); all is well and the clutch has much adjustment left in in. What was a big help was a rd400f parts manual I bought off eBay from a company in Australia ($30). The graphics and the related part descriptions really aided in correctly assembling the clutch mechanism.
Also fixed the kick starter by taking apart and reinstalling.
I continued assembling the rear brake system. After much conversation on the USA 2 stroke forum, I received good guidance to buy a brake vacuum bleeder kit, which I did from harbor freight ($40). I will try it this weekend.