I need some advice for getting my new bike into shape

I'm totally new to motorcycles, bike in question is in signature. Here's the backstory:

I decided I wanted to attempt to commute during the Minnesota summer with a decent sized bike. I initially didn't want to buy a bike that needed work, but now I'm way in over my head. I bought the 650 and it was running, however pretty poorly. There is rust in the tank, inline fuel filter is clean however, and now I have some other problems likely related to the carbs. Being mechanically confident I felt I could just jump in and tackle the issues at hand. I did a fair amount of research on here and was dreading having to attempt my own carb sync and valve check, more so being afraid of additional $ I'll have to put into this. The guy I bought the bike from came across an additional parts bike with some better equipment that isn't currently running (wouldn't come out of gear?). It had 4 into 1 exhaust, newer performance rear shocks, year old tires, straighter as opposed the the angled handlebars, and a few other things. He had mentioned that the carbs of the parts bike were "jetted" for the 4 into 1 exhaust. With mine being 4 into 2, holes in the muffler, and running poorly I attempted to swap them. I made the swap and everything seemed to be alright until I tried to get the bike running. I only managed to get the bike going with starter fluid and now it wont hold idle and just dies when the gas is left off. I tried to adjust the idle screw to no avail. The throttle is very slow and not consistently responsive. It will suddenly rev up to 4-5k from 1.8k. I had a mishap with a stuck front brake as soon as I got the bike to go again with starter fluid and now I cant get it to move even though I've taken off the front brake completely. Even when the bike would ride (before the swap) it sounded bad, and would pop and misfire(?). I fear I am now with two bikes, one of which doesn't even have a key, and another potential runner that could possibly be far out of the range of proper running condition. I would greatly appreciate some insight, suggestions, and possibly contacts in the Minneapolis/St Paul region who could assist me in getting my bike going.

My thoughts are:

I may have damaged the bike trying to get it to go with a stuck front brake and now need to replace the clutch. This merely a guess though.

After learning about the valve clearances, that I have not verified, I think there may be an issue of incompatibility between the two bikes and I should really check the clearances. The gasket looks old however and I'm pretty sure it should be replaced. Will this be something I have to order?

The carbs are now going to be out of sync and I'll have to use a method I'm completely unfamiliar with: gauges and hose to tune the carbs properly. I dont think they are of the style with the plug already attached, where could I find the plugs? Also will need to spend another $50 to get a colortune sparkplug, of which I have no experience with and no idea how to read.


*Another note I must add is that I attempted to bench sync my first set of carbs that ran, although poorly, and when I tried to put them back on after the failure with the second set, they just run a lot worse, so I believe they are in need of a resync, then tuned, then colortune. Am I correct? For clarification these are the set from the 4 in to 2 exhaust and are currently not on the bike.

Overall my plan is to check the valve tolerances. Clean the carbs thoroughly, bench sync them, use the gauge/hose sync method providing I can get the bike running, and colortune them. Am I missing anything? What are your thoughts on the fact the bike wont take off now? Is anyone in the Minneapolis/St Paul area interested in scoring some parts for their bike in return for helping me get mine running properly?


Thanks guys, I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Hey there squidjob-I live in Milaca, a little north of you on 169. I just moved here & got a nice big garage & am looking for something to do while recouping from knee surgery. I cant ride yet (i tried & popped a couple stitches) but if you could drag your couple of bikes over here maybe we could work something out. P.M. me if you want. Good luck, Warren