74 cb550: wont start

[panzerhell]

i bought my first bike, a 74 cb550(title says it's a 73???) cleaned the points, put a new battery and plugs and it fired up and revved smoothly after sitting for over a year but wouldn't idle. the carbs where drained when it was parked, so i assumed there wasn't alot of build up. i pulled them off and they where clean but the floats where stuck in position. i freed them up and threw the carbs back on now it won't start at all. i can smell gas and still have spark... what happened?

all i removed where the float bowls. didn't touch anything else.

what is the best repair manual for this model cb?

 

[diesel450]

Yup, what PJ said.

And as far as your '73 being a '74, some places would title a bike to the year it was sold. So a '73 model built in '73 but sold in '74 would be titled as a '74. Not sure this is the case for you but I have heard of that.

 

[panzerhell]

thanks guys.

caleaning them this weekend