Looked at the points from the other engine and they were in even worse shape.
When I cleaned the points, installed them on the engine, and set the gap, the points were never closing! Finally figure out that the cam (that operates the points) was badly worn and didn't give the points enough movement. Reduced the gap enough that the points close and now have spark on both plugs. (That will make the dwell angle too large but it will do for now.) The cam on the spare engine is as bad or worse than on the 'main bike'. The proper repair would be to replace the cam shaft but the chance of finding a cam shaft that isn't worn is small and the price would be very high so the logical "work-around' is to replace the points with an electronic ignition (which doesn't use the cam).
I also installed the replacement part in the fuel petcock and gave the tank a coat of dark blue paint. I decided to go with a "celestial theme" for my hippie bike with stars and planets, etc. on a dark background.
Took the carburetor off and brought it in the house to rebuild. Not bad for 1/2 a day's work.
Dianne's C77Today's Work:
Fixed horn circuit - the wires were disconnected and too short. Also fixed the turn signals - turned out to be bad bulbs. Checked out electric start - starter clutch not engaging - that's a job for the winter, "engine overhaul time". Electrical complete! I installed the newly lined and painted fuel tank and connected all the fuel tubing (to carb, filter, and crossover). Changed oil - no idea how old the oil was that was in it. Everything seems to be in order and all that is left is to add fuel, turn on the switch, and jump on the kick-start! (And PRAY!) It fired on the 3rd kick! But when it fired, the kick starter disengaged and wouldn't catch again. Tried the electric starter and it caught this time until the engine kicked again and then it wouldn't catch again either.
Going to have to pull the right side cover off the engine and clean and lube both mechanisms so they both work properly. At least it tried to start! After god-knows how many decades of not running, that's promising!
VERY promising!! And exciting!!
Hopefully the sprague clutch on the starter still has the pawls and springs. If not, you can find them on eBay readily. It's pretty easy to fix. I'm hoping the kick start ratchet didn't fail on you! Getting to that thing is a bit more involved. 1965 CB77 305 Super Hawk
1989 NT650 Hawk GT 1981 Yamaha XJ550 Seca I see that the kick start mechanism is inside the crank case - oh joy! LOL! Every time I use it, it seems to be getting more reliable so hopefully it will loosen up. Pulled the right side cover off and trying to get the armature off the shaft to get at the clutch for the electric start but so far it wont budge - I will keep trying. The electric start works sometime but doesn't catch at other times so I am hoping it just needs clean & lube. The starter motor runs every time but doesn't always crank the engine - it is also getting better with use. The starter chain is terribly loose as well and I will see if I can take a link out 'cause I don't have any small Metric chain in stock.
All starter chains are LOOSE. .........lm
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