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I'm serious about the rear tire pressure. It's probably around 35-40lbs of pressure right now. Get a really good tire pressure gauge... because you need one anyway. I could build a nice house for what you have invested in that bike, so don't be cheap and get a good one. Hell, even if you don't change the tire pressure like I'm suggesting, you still need a good tire pressure gauge.

There's a ton of $10 gauges floating around, but I've never found two that read the same, so all of them can be counted on to be inaccurate. But there are good, relatively inexpensive gauges out there. Avoid the digital ones unless you into the >$200 product lines. Not necessary unless you work on a racing team and 1/10lb differences are going to be appropriate and necessary for track condition changes. But GOOD dial-gauges with flexible hoses can be had for about $40-50. Intercomp and Joe's Racing both make reliable, accurate gauges, and they're almost as good as the ones for professional racing teams. Make sure these are 60lb gauges, because you can use them on your car and truck, too. Buy a good one once and you'll never need to buy another. I know you understand this idea.

You probably don't have an inner tube in that rear tire so don't go below 20lbs ever, although I've limped my Road King home on a tire going flat that had about 15lbs in it (an 800lb bike is NOT the same as the 475lb bikes that Harley recommended 15lbs of pressure for). but 22-25lbs is more than enough for the tire to retain its bead on the rim under almost all conditions (except drag racing, unless you're rolling on the throttle instead of dumping the clutch) and hitting a hard curb straight on at 50+mph, and then you'e already got other problems. But running 22-25lbs may make the difference between enjoying every minute of your ride and having to buy a football mouth guard to keep from breaking teeth. OK, you probably don't need the mouth guard, but the difference between 35-40lbs and 22-25lbs will be night and day. Give it a try?

Bikebuilds is a new site that catalogs custom bike builds. There are some similar builds indexed there.

As for reference, my experience was a little different because I was altering bikes for my own use in racing, so it's all really focused on handling, but still, you might find it useful: go-to books have been Bradley and Tony Foale.

That said, if you're really into understanding the implications of swing-arm lengths and rake angles, I have heard high praise for Cossalter's Motorcycle Dynamics, though I have not read it myself.

You got a link to that? Sounds funny lol I'm not 100% sure i'm doing it the "right" way but i'm trying to do as best I can.

It was a lot of work, getting in all the cracks and crevices on the frame was a pain. Eventually invested in one of [these] (https://www.amazon.com/Forney-72730-Crimped-2-Inch----008-Inch/dp/B001GM8POY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1475185920&sr=8-1&keywords=wire+drill) and it made life a lot easier

Though about something like this? I can't personally vouch for it, but it gets great reviews and has a very broad range.

Thanks for the suggestions. Is there some minimum standard of spline drive sockets I should look at, or would something from Harbor Freight, or something like this be fine?

I also may see if I can rent/borrow a 1/2 impact wrench first...

What's your view on using one of these or something like it to check what the fuel/air ratio is actually doing?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MDT8MW/ref=s9_simh_gw_p263_d1_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-5&pf_rd_r=0SR1QZXMS7Y8R9K1FG1T&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=1935682402&pf_rd_i=desktop

This is a wideband O2 sensor plugged into the exhaust and a continuous digital readout of your air/fuel ratio. You want 14.7:1 most of the time, 12.8:1 balls-out-wide-open. This thing is supposed to tell you THE TRUTH[tm] about what your lean/rich condition really is and should make tuning issues like this involve less guesswork, more science.

You also have to pay a local muffler shop a little bit to drill a hole in your exhaust pipe at least 18" from the heads (just ahead of the muffler is fine) and weld in a bung for the sensor. If you pull the sensor after tuning just fill the bung with a short bolt.

These things haven't shown up much in bike tuning but they're making big inroads in performance cars. Innovate is kind of a cheaper alternative to AEM, the market leaders in these critters.

This book taught me a lot: https://www.amazon.com/Motorcycle-Basics-Techbook-Editors-Manuals/dp/0857339982/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1527544626&sr=8-2&keywords=motorcycles+haynes

I'm in the same boat. I didn't grow up around this stuff so I had no idea. What I like about this book is it covers things that a lot of people who grew up in the culture seem to forget to explain because it's almost second nature for them. I remember things a lot better when I learn the "whys" and this book does just that. Also, the hard part about going straight into youtube or something is there's almost too much information. I find it great for specifics because it narrows your options, but for something like "general motorcycle maintenance" it's hard to distill the information you need down and separate the good from the bad.

You'll still need a service manual for your bike but this book will teach you what each part does and how it works, then you can take the knowledge you learn from it and apply it to the service manual.

You could always pick up a hand impact driver like this.

Also you could try trying to turn both directions. Sometimes all you need to do is get it moving.

Also you could use a propane torch to heat the bolt, and give it a few heat cycles.

You really need a service manual (unless you have an awful lot of experience ..you don't seem to )
Here's a link to a google docs download although if you're going to keep it I really recommend buying a physical copy ( just easier to use )

Google docs
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FTEOJGj-IVBX3vjZCenO6su2x6sZberepe0CtUMc3W0/mobilebasic

Amazon link
https://www.amazon.com/Clymer-M502-3-Repair-Manual/dp/B000GZX312

I don't think it is the same, except in general appearance. Actual Parkerizing seems much better than the stuff I used.

How did you get the handlebar treatment done?

Try using an impact driver, something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NPPATS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_qzCBDb9KRYWE8

Nice, that bike is lucky to have you. Yeah, since you are taking it apart that is the way to go. If you were lazy and a gambling man you may have got them loose with some taps and some heat and ran a quart of ATF in your oil but you are doing it right. The stem and valve seat on that one might be a little scary when you get it apart if it's that stuck.

A lot of valve spring compressors don't fit on motorcycle engines too. The kind you hit with a hammer I hear mixed reviews. I welded a socket I cut a section out of to a large c-clamp to come up with something similar to this thing https://www.amazon.com/OTC-4572-Large-Spring-Compressor/dp/B000F5ECUY. Also I think the dingle berry hone is better for a quick deglaze than the 3 stones on your bores, that is if you don't have a machine shop do it. Good luck.

Auxiliary Gas Fuel Tank
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004NV42PQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_gD3QDbCDVGF4Q


Edit,

For many years my test tank at home for carb work was just a 1qt gear oil bottle upside down, with a coat hanger punched through the sides to make a hanging loop, a hole cut in the bottom of the bottle(now the top) to fill and a clear fuel line pushed onto the gear oil spout.

I use Tri-Flow on all my cables rather than cable lubes. I'm not saying it's better or worse, but in my experience it's serviced that need well and it's one less thing to keep 'in stock' in the garage.

The fancier you make the paint on the frame the harder it is to touch up later.
Just use THIS and touch it up later if needed.

I'm sure you could do it without the adjuster tool but the tool makes it so incredibly easy. Here's a kit with everything you need for $50:

https://www.amazon.com/P1-Tools-Motorcycle-Synchronizer-Synchronization/dp/B07MJZ1RFB

Also, the vacuum test ports are on the intake runners, not the carbs.

And lastly, why aren't my comments showing up on the main thread? Weird.

This bracket is what you want. Bolt it to the front tank mounts, and relocate all your wires. Don't buy that overpriced crap.