thinking of this timing light today???????

Hey folks...

I had a thread a while back about timing lights and in the end decided i had wasted 20 bucks at harbor freight trying to buy a no frills cheapo light...too weak of a light and bouncy...just felt like it was not working right...someone chimed in and said the same H.Freight light set the timing wrong when checked with a good gun....

So i've been waiting for a weekend to time the DYNA III on the MKII and I am ready to buy a "better" timing light...i still wanna get only one good enough to do bikes and don't need a pro lifetime unit.....

Does anyone see why i can't get away with this first linked one??? ...

or should i break down and get the second linked one...???

Any better deals ...these will ship by friday if i order in a few hrs....sun mon are my MKII days so would be cool...should i just go to sears and buy one here?

Link # 1.) www.amazon.com/Actron-CP7528-Advance-Tim...id=1284652081&sr=1-4


Link # 2.) www.amazon.com/Actron-CP7529-Digital-Tim...id=1284652711&sr=1-5

Get a self contained light that doesn't need external battery hookup. Much nicer to use.

I've had my Suzuki OEM light since 1982 and it still works great

www.summitracing.com/search/Part-Type/Ti...autoview=ProductName

okay thanks..looks like the actron is even cheaper there...can you link the part number on the gun you had in mind with that link..the page i pop up for summit shows many and i'm a zombie right now...thanks Larry

if it was a sawzall or drill i could just go to sears,depot,ect and i would know if it was good enough to use or a waste of $..i have 0 experience with timing lights though...

I have one with a dial advance on the back, I think Craftsman, does the job. I also have a real old one from my Pops that plugs into the sparkplug boot. Besides the other day messing with my advancer, I haven't touched a timing light in .....14 years.

looks like the same folks who make the second link i put up make the digital lights for craftsman...maybe i just hit sears sat.....

is larry pulling my leg...can a dbl d battery timing light do the trick???

Which ever light you buy, get 1 with the advance function, it doesn't have to be digital but they do also have a Tach in those which is nice.
I bought a Snap-on light 30 years ago with the Advance dial, still excellent to this day.
Even "China Tools", ie Harbor Freight, sells one with the advance function, and they do have a 30 day return to store guarantee.
Don't know which 1 you bought that was so Lame, and dim. As with most things, more expensive doesn't always mean better, just more likely to be.

Oh yeah, I forgot that those digital jobs have a built in tach. That is a nice feature. I had a Snap-on way back when I was into Mopars that had the tach. Probobly a good option rather than relying on a 30 year old analog tachometer. lmao

The best thing about having the Advance feature is then you can do an actual TDC indication with a dial indicator, then use the light to find not only total advance but what amount of advance there is at any given RPM. Then you can graph it, roughly, and then would be possible to record changes if you like to change advance curves? Me yes! And the Tach function can help with this Mucho!

ok thanks folks...i think i get a clear picture now...i spent like 15 at harbor...i knew when i did it i was smoking dope to think it would work......i need a decent one and the local sears may have one www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00914066000P there..if not a few months back i found an old school auto parts place...no kids listening to 2 pac and going duuuugh....maybe they will have one...i need a reason to go in there....they actually had inline fuel filters (see through) on the counter in a box like the old days....

anyways thanks...i need it this weekend so i am gonna pass on ordering.....the summit racing one i was spying was 20 bucks more than e-bay and e-bay had free shipping....go figure


thanks all..Craig

Kidkawie wrote:

Oh yeah, I forgot that those digital jobs have a built in tach. That is a nice feature. I had a Snap-on way back when I was into Mopars that had the tach. Probobly a good option rather than relying on a 30 year old analog tachometer. lmao

I've had the Actron 7519 for close to 15 years. It works great, but put a piece of tape on the advance knob. If you bump it, or forget you twisted it, the timing will be off when you line up the marks. Happened more than once to me.

Also, the ones with the advance knob expect the cylinder to fire once per 2 revolutions, but the plug fires every revolution on the KZ, so you have to divide the knob reading by 2 to get the advance in crankshaft angle. I'm not sure if there is a setup on the digital ones, but if not, keep in mind the tach and advance will be off by a factor of 2.

Should add... if you are running no resistors on the spark wires or plugs, then you may want to avoid the digital ones. Digital meters can go crazy with no resistors, the timing light may also.

adavance...crankshafts.....factor of 2.....graphing curves...

wtf...must sleep....must...sleeeeeppp