Bypass the breather - is this ok?

The previous owner of this bike cut out the breather box. There was an open hose that I used an elbow to bypass. Will the bike run ok like this? I haven't had a chance to ride it yet.

You say you've used an elbow to 'bypass' - where is it bypassing to?

The stock breather would breath into the airbox, so any crankcase fumes would be recirculated back into the engine for emissions reasons. Without an airbox there's nowhere to run the breather to, it needs to vent to the atmosphere. The standard way of doing this is to use a breather filter to prevent dirt from getting in, but still letting the crankcase pressure out. You can pick them up for a few dollars.

Ok so bypass is probably not the correct word. I will look for a filter. Thank you

Thanks. I see the breather filter on the bottom. What did you do with the lines on the top? Is there another filter there?

You don't even need the filter. Some folks just run a hose straight up under the fuel tank and along the frame rail toward the back of the bike. As long as it is running generally up hill, any oil mist will run back into the crankcase. Prior to 1967, all automotive engines vented to atmosphere in a similar fashion.
If you are asking about the fairly large hoses coming out of the cam cover, you can connect them together, or block them off, or install threaded plugs in the passageway into the exhaust ports.

Or you could swop the cam cover for a non emissions version.

Ok, so I think that answers my original question "will it run".
The only reason I am asking is because I took the bike a ride around my neighborhood and when I would accelerate the carbs would pop. I thought maybe they were too lean because of the open hose.

That popping may be the result of a very lean condition crated by removing the stock air filter box, and not properly rejetting the carbs. Does it also have open or very low restriction exhaust?

The exhaust is stock.
I have also noticed it will not cold start/run with full choke.

Could be clogged jets or shot carb holders. Do you know how it ran when the stock air filter box was in place?

sharkmonkey wrote: Ok, so I think that answers my original question "will it run".
The only reason I am asking is because I took the bike a ride around my neighborhood and when I would accelerate the carbs would pop. I thought maybe they were too lean because of the open hose.

Probably. It is hard to tell from the pic, but is the hose from the crankcase breather attached to the clean air system on top of the engine? If so, that is not the problem, though it will pump oil mist into the exhaust. That may or may not be a problem depending on how heavy the mist is.