I must be brain dead.

I have tried and tried to set the timing on my bike. Now I wish I would have just left it alone, because it is running like crap and I cant get it set back. Do any of you guys have an idea of what it would cost me to have a shop do the work on the thing? I have replaced the points and condensers. I set the points, and the one side will not stay set where I put it. It moves to about .016 to .017. The other side stays at the same place I put it at .014. I cant even get the bike to idle right to use the timing light on it. It will idle real high, then idle so low it cuts off. I do not have leaking carb boots, and the carb clamps are tight as well as the carbs being extremely clean. The pet cock is not dirty, I just rebuilt it and I had the tank relined. The spark plugs are brand new. I have done the coil rewire. Both the coils are working just fine. There are no loose wires anywhere. One thought I had was the spark advance behind the points plate. Would this cause my problem? I can see it moving. Another thing I have noticed is that my bike is possibly not charging the battery, not to sure at this point but it looks that way.

Instead of paying a shop, would purchase a Dyna-S electronic ignition from Z1E.

Good Luck!

Would also check compression and valve clearances.

jdsmithinc wrote:

I have tried and tried to set the timing on my bike. Now I wish I would have just left it alone, because it is running like crap and I cant get it set back. Do any of you guys have an idea of what it would cost me to have a shop do the work on the thing? I have replaced the points and condensers. I set the points, and the one side will not stay set where I put it. It moves to about .016 to .017. The other side stays at the same place I put it at .014.

Is the clamp screw stripped out? BTW, .016" gap is in spec.

how was it running before you started to work on in,, may have had something elese going on also

A Dyna Electronic Ignition is good advice.
But you should be able to get the old points/condenser system to work:
1. Gap the points by turning the crank until the points are at their widest. Gap should be .012 to .016 inches. If you have to adjust, set the gap to .014.
2. Repeat for the other set of points.
3. Turn the crank until the F mark for 1 & 4 is lined up with the timing mark above the advancer.
4. Loosen the mounting screws and pry the timing adjusting plate until the points are just at the point of opening. You can use a thin piece of paper, held in the points. Cigarette paper works well. When the paper falls out, you're there.
5. Repeat by putting the F mark for 2 & 3 on the timing mark and adjust the other set of points.
6. If you can't get the points to open at the right spot, you'll need to turn the timing plate to give you more room for adjustment. There are 3 phillips screws on the outer circumference of the plate. Then start over at Step 4.
That should get the timing close enough to idle, and to check it with a timing light.
Good luck!

Ok, I got the bike to run and have the timing set dead on. Now it is either sucking air into or blowing back out through the carbs. When it does this it wants to cut off. It sounds more like a sucking sound. For the record, I have pod filters, and a 4 into 1 header (without the baffle). Will the jetting cause this? I am pretty sure that the jetting is stock (by the way the carbs are from a 78 KZ1000). The bike came like this, and I am trying to round up some factory carbs, stock air box, and put a muzzy muffler onto my header. Is there any chance that my bike is running like crap due to these circumstances? On one last note I have not synchronized the carbs either (partly because I am to lazy to go to the hardware store to buy the neccessary components. Sorry, I know this is the electrical forum. Thanks, Joe.