Let me begin by thanking everyone here who contributed their knowledge and experience when I so desperately needed it throughtout my HT-1 restoration. My last post related to the stuck clutch plates, which I have not yet replaced. That is forthcoming.

However, before proceeding with that, I've got the bike fully assembled and decided to try and kick it over to see if it even starts.  I know, that should have been first, but I figure worst case, I can pull the motor and rebuild it if necessary.

Here is the problem.  The bike is assembled and ready to fire up. I confirmed the spark plug has a strong spark.  I put 40:1
gas mixture in the tank, turned on the key, choked the carb and kicked away.  Nothing... nada!  I have spark and fuel going thru the filter, but it doesn't appear the motor is getting gas.  The carb was rebuilt by a professional and the needle is set to factory specs. All jets are clean and original.  

Is there anything special I should be doing to start this bike after 10 years? Any process to follow or one-time procedure to get the motor to suck gas?  Any ideas on why it won't fire and what to check?  I sorta expected it would be simple to get it to fire over to run for 3-5 minutes, but alas I have had no luck.

One thing too, I don't have the new battery in it, thinking I didn't need it just to run for a few minutes. Am I mistaken?

ANY help and direction is appreciated.  Thanks!

Hi, bit difficult to know where to start. Is the flywheel key locating it ok--magneto flywheel. That sets the timing sort of. Are the crank seals in place as it won't suck without them. Is the carb full of fuel--floats up the right way etc & can verify by pulling the side main jet bung in the bowl. Is it sucking if you put your hand over the carb mouth with throttle open. Should easily fire up. Check that crank key first or do a check as near as yo can to see if its sparking at close to 1.8mm btdc or 72 thou. Personally i'd just rock it over tdc back & forth then go back to the notch in the flywheel window aligning with the pointer & you will know if its in the ball park as isn't far before top at 1.8 piston movement for points 'just' breaking. Damn it i over complicate things sorry. ps, also choke only sucks on a closed throttle so don't have the idle speed wound high either until you know whats going on. Goodluck. Miss my HT1.

So ,get some fuel in a spray bottle and fire a couple of squirts in the carb mouth,choke on and kick.
If it's been stood and you haven't touched the engine at all,the rings could be stuck back in their lands.
My HT is extra sensative to compression . Doing that method was the only way i could get it to run before i started sorting it out.
By run,i mean constantly squirting fuel in when on and off choke untill it got hot 
It should start if you have a good spark,or at least fire/spit back and the timing is close to spot on.

Be careful with the kick start shaft as the splines are small and they tend to loosen up, keep the kick starter lever bolted on tight or you will strip it very easily. Starting fluid will save a stripped kick start shaft. The shaft splines are tiny compared to the other enduros and is expensive to source if you strip it. Had that issue on a LT3 which is the same shaft. Push starting it is better until you get it dialed it.
Love my HT-1B!

I'm finding myself reluctant to reply to many of these new questions... mostly because the information given confuses me and it just seems too hard to try to wade through.  For example the title here says "won't start after resto"...  but then there's talk about "rebuilding in the future" and an implication that it hasn't run in 10 years.

Not trying to pick on Jimbo56...  it's probably just me. 

So what I think we might have here is simply an engine that hasn't really been touched in a decade or more?  An engine that certainly hasn't been "restored"?

Bottom end is probably just loaded up with autolube oil siphoning past the check valve which is very common.  Or could have a bad air leak.  Maybe it was parked because of low compression?  Crank key sheared like RT325 said?

"Professional" carb rebuild could be good or bad.  There are plenty of pros that don't understand these old bikes or use incorrect parts or do shoddy work.

An engine needs air, fuel, spark, and compression to run.  If plug is bone dry, then not likely loaded up with oil.  If compression is decent, then it sounds like you're missing fuel.  Tap on carb.  Float might be stuck. 

And you don't need a battery to start it.  Just make sure not to have the lights on or any + wires touching ground.

Aye your bang on there Mark.
I read the quote about the carb and thought, MMMM, anything like the proffessionals near me the proffessionalism will be talking only.

Mechanical before Cosmetic makes life more enjoyable.
Many people I speak with - started the other way.

if I had to take my best educated guess you have less than 60 lbs. of compression - small bike - high revving - worn out - 0.004 feeler gauge to the top ring - not tight..,

a

Lot of excellent answers given! my LT2 100 fought me early when i first got it. I had spark at the plug and it was even blue looking but wasnt strong enough. I ended up eye balling the points and getting it spot on so just because there is spark doesnt mean its strong enough. The way i determine if its spark or carb is by letting the bike sit for a day, then pop the plug out and shoot just a little gas in the cylinder, by doing this you are bypassing the carb.
If it pops then you got a fuel issue if no pop then either the spark is too weak or compression. These bikes are pretty simple but it does take a little time to track it down, fortunently this is the best place to be for help on these!
I should note that 40:1 might be too lean? im no expert on the injection system so i premix all of mine 32:1 from 100cc all the way up to 400cc they all smoke just a little bit which is what i like to see.

Thank you all. Got a lot of great answers and great advice.

MarkT, to your point, yes my post was confusing after I re-read it. In my case, when I bought my HT1, it had sat a while, but it was in great shape and the motor had good compression and had run before it was put away. So, my "restoration" has primarily been cosmetic. I had the carb cleaned, but yes... it might not have been done right. And I figured I could always rebuild the motor after the cosmetic work.

So, I squirted starter fluid into the carb and it fired up and ran for about 10 seconds then died. Gas is flowing from the tank, but it will only fire for a second or 2 now, and only when I squirt starter fluid into the carb. And when it does fire, it smokes quite a bit, although it did not do so when it first ran for 10 seconds. I pulled the plug, but not seeing any oil on it. Maybe the float is stuck, so I'll pull the carb to check it out. I'm thinking, needed or not, I'm going to have the motor rebuilt. Can anyone here suggest someone who can rebuild these little beauties?

Oh! And I found another "strange thing".  When checking the spark with the plug pulled, I find the plug sparks when the key is in the off position. Has anyone ever experienced that? Any idea what causes this?

Thanks again for any advice shared. I'm slowly learning!

My thoughts "after getting my HT1 running" is get it running right before spending moon beams having it rebuilt. Because if the carb is still blocked then nothing will change except you wallet will be lighter. It 'is' slightly possible though that its blown a crank seal out using start fluid. Should start & run on choke if the choke fixed jet is clean. Choke only works on a closed throttle for starting but does assist further up when running if it's a clean choke jet. If you feel the crank seals are still in place then start it & hand choke it across the carb mouth to find a point where it'll run, & if it does keep running then go look in the carb for a partial blockage & if nothing then go to the crank seals for a look. Behind the mag crank seal is easy to get at with a flywheel puller. But if it smokes 'out of control' then could be the right side crank seal but unlikely to run if that blew out--same with left side really.