Basketcases, who's bought one?

Looking to pick up an 80 kz550 next weekend for a price I can't pass up. Problem is, I get a rolling chassis and milk crates full of parts (motor is out and also disassembled). Who's bought a bike in milk crates before and what's a good plan of attack?

Come to think of it, my kz1000 was pretty much an assembled basketcase :silly:

Buy the appropriate genuine Kawasaki shop manual with many of the exploded diagrams. Also print off the parts diagrams/lists from www.Kawasaki.com for your motorcycle. :)

Start with what you know first, say, tires, brakes, check fuses etc...simple stuff. Work up to the things that you dont know how to work on, say Carbs, jetting, etc or whatever, and will need help from a manual or a knowledgeable friend/website as your comfort level grows. Depending on the amount that has been 'basketed', is motor/tranny still assembled, or in parts. (I still dont want to get into tearing down or rebuilding a motor )
and my favorite....Get it running before any cosmetic work at all.
And remember there are no dumb questions! Everyone needed help to get started, no one is born with the knowledge of how to rebuild or breakdown a bike.
I started with a basket case bike, and no knowledge, Christmas of '04 and have kept buying them since, putting together one at a time, i have 2 left to complete of 9 so far... I sometimes think i spend all my time putting them together an never enough time to ride
That's my 2 cents
kzc