Problems With Ignition Advance?

[piecutter]

Oh, yeah. Pull off the whole right side cover including the little piece that mates up with the chain guard, and disconnect the drive chain. That motor's not tilt'n anywhere till ya do that!<br /> Hey, I already warned you I might forget something, so only follow my instructions if you're feelin' particularly capable and clever!<br /> I have a tendancy to learn things the hard way. <br />Such is the nature of true and meaningful experience.

[piecutter]

Yup. Fergot tha Tach cable, didn't I!<br />(You see, here's the problem. look at the time stamp on this post. These bikes are seriously affecting my sleep habits! But if you check the events section under the post for the VJMC meet in PA, you'll see the fruits of my labor!)

[Tom W.]

Well, I took the bike out for a test ride. A co-worker thought I just needed to rev it a bit and the advance will start working. But, no-go. The engine refused to rev above 6K RPM. At over 1/2 throttle again the engine bogged and it backfired. What I meant by backfired is that it made popping noise in the exhaust, not in the carbs.<br /><br />Ed Moore suggested that I try to turn the rotor. I grabbed it (gently) with pliers and it would only rotate about 5-10 Deg. It felt like slack in the timing chain. The rotor did not spring back as some have suggested. Here's a photo with the cover off.<br /><br />Thanks,<br />Tom

[piecutter]

It should only turn a couple of degrees, so that seems ok. When you turn it the only resistance you should feel is the tension of 2 small springs, so it should be relatively easy to turn, even with your hand, thats why I recomend taking off the points plate so you can get your fingers around it. If it's easy to turn and it doesn't spring back, your springs are gone. If it's hard to turn, then it's just seriously gunked up, and who knows about the springs. Either way, you need that top cover off!

[LOUD MOUSE]

&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;Either way, you need that top cover off!&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;<br /><br />I don't think it is time to do that yet.<br />Just a tight seal at the points cam can cause a sticking problem and I know that there will be plenty oil at the advance weights.<br />So I am still waiting for a closeup pic of the rotor that doesn't have a &quot;F&quot; mark on it. ............LM<br />

[Tom W.]

This is about as close as my camera can get.<br /><br />Tom

[LOUD MOUSE]

Another great pic. Just as I suspected you have confused the Rotor that has the timing marks with the Points Cam end. You will find the Rotor with the timing marks on the right side and under a polished aluminum cover. It is held in place with three screws. Now you will find the &quot;F&quot; mark and can get an idea as to the timing of the points. I recommend you check the timing of both plugs to see how close they are to being correct. Let me know what ys see. ............LM