Pardon my posting this before I have enough information. I'm partially posting it because I'm wrenching in a vacuum and need a sanity check. I'm also posting this because the progress I'm seeing on this (ancient frustrating decade-long) build is measurable, but the failure point seems to be fairly stoic.
At this point, I've already fucked up everything on the bike. It's not worth wondering if I've been in there to mess it up. I have. I haven't cracked the cases. That's the final frontier.
Last weekend I came to the destructive realization that my regulator/rectifier wasn't cutting the mustard. A shiny new electronic ignition from pamco Pete (thanks, Pete). bit the dust and the bike stopped running promptly somewhere down the street within a reasonable distance to push the paperweight home. Having overstayed what I believed to be a reasonable amount of user caused electronic ignition failures and warranty claims, I moved on to something that I was hoping would be easier to poke at and see if it was working.
I order a Charlie's Place ignition and regulator/rectifier to install on my bike: comes in, I wire it in (using vintage connectors latching connectors and 16 ga wiring and the bad-ass crimper tool, and fancy sleeving and all that jazz.)
The bike fires right up. I tepidly ride it around the neighborhood and with growing confidence ride it further and further from the house in concentrically large loops of blocks. The bike pulls all the way to redline (for the first time in years.) and the exhaust note is that of a singer sewing machine (in textiles we trust.) I bring it back to the house and park it on the street, proud to display my triumph.
Next morning, I hop on to head to the post office (5 miles round trip, which is nothing in Phoenix, but maybe too far for my second trip?) The thing rides just as well as the day before. Nice acceleration. Smooth sounding engine. No hesitation or stumbling. Get to the post office and it dies while waiting to take a left turn across traffic. I push it into the lot, drop off my packages, and poke around.
I forgot my tools so I head home. I'm hoping I flooded the engine or something and that when I head back it will run.
<embarrasing bus ride home with helmet>
I head back around 3pm (it was 10am when the bike died) and I've brought my tools. I poke around. There is power to the ignition system and the coils (CHECK) there is fuel in the carburetors (CHECK) and there is some sort of 9V signal going to where the points connect to the coils (I didn't bring my test light, so I had trouble seeing if they light up and dim appropriately through the kickstart cycle). 12.8 V from the battery (should be plenty to get her going. 12.6 starter her this morning).
No idea what is going on. My first plan is to see if I fried the electronic ignition (when I get back with a test light.)
Here is the list of things that I have personally done in the past 25 miles of this thing moving down the road (and in the last 6 months of real time. I also get that "personally" is probably the problem here.)
Carburetor boot replacement & carburetor sonic cleaning (purple green and distilled water.)
new wiring harness (custom, but gets the power to the place that matters)
New rectifier Regulator.
Valves Set
Timing Set (very well, if the running of the thing can be used as a metric)
Cam Chain Tensioner Replaced
New Coils
New Spark Plugs (Pulled them and they are the right color.)
New Ignition Switch (can't be the problem. Coils are getting power)
Carburetor Synch
Any thoughts? I know this is a game of "what is the easiest to check vs the most likely to be wrong" but I'm at my wits end. Carburetor blockage? It died so anemically and won't fire on either side. That feels like an ignition issue.
If I've fried another electronic ignition with the new regulator/rectifier (matched by the manufacturing company) how in the bloody hell did I do it and how do I keep from doing it again in the future?
Any help is appreciated.
Photo as a thanks for reading the tome:
At this point, I've already fucked up everything on the bike. It's not worth wondering if I've been in there to mess it up. I have. I haven't cracked the cases. That's the final frontier.
Last weekend I came to the destructive realization that my regulator/rectifier wasn't cutting the mustard. A shiny new electronic ignition from pamco Pete (thanks, Pete). bit the dust and the bike stopped running promptly somewhere down the street within a reasonable distance to push the paperweight home. Having overstayed what I believed to be a reasonable amount of user caused electronic ignition failures and warranty claims, I moved on to something that I was hoping would be easier to poke at and see if it was working.
I order a Charlie's Place ignition and regulator/rectifier to install on my bike: comes in, I wire it in (using vintage connectors latching connectors and 16 ga wiring and the bad-ass crimper tool, and fancy sleeving and all that jazz.)
The bike fires right up. I tepidly ride it around the neighborhood and with growing confidence ride it further and further from the house in concentrically large loops of blocks. The bike pulls all the way to redline (for the first time in years.) and the exhaust note is that of a singer sewing machine (in textiles we trust.) I bring it back to the house and park it on the street, proud to display my triumph.
Next morning, I hop on to head to the post office (5 miles round trip, which is nothing in Phoenix, but maybe too far for my second trip?) The thing rides just as well as the day before. Nice acceleration. Smooth sounding engine. No hesitation or stumbling. Get to the post office and it dies while waiting to take a left turn across traffic. I push it into the lot, drop off my packages, and poke around.
I forgot my tools so I head home. I'm hoping I flooded the engine or something and that when I head back it will run.
<embarrasing bus ride home with helmet>
I head back around 3pm (it was 10am when the bike died) and I've brought my tools. I poke around. There is power to the ignition system and the coils (CHECK) there is fuel in the carburetors (CHECK) and there is some sort of 9V signal going to where the points connect to the coils (I didn't bring my test light, so I had trouble seeing if they light up and dim appropriately through the kickstart cycle). 12.8 V from the battery (should be plenty to get her going. 12.6 starter her this morning).
No idea what is going on. My first plan is to see if I fried the electronic ignition (when I get back with a test light.)
Here is the list of things that I have personally done in the past 25 miles of this thing moving down the road (and in the last 6 months of real time. I also get that "personally" is probably the problem here.)
Carburetor boot replacement & carburetor sonic cleaning (purple green and distilled water.)
new wiring harness (custom, but gets the power to the place that matters)
New rectifier Regulator.
Valves Set
Timing Set (very well, if the running of the thing can be used as a metric)
Cam Chain Tensioner Replaced
New Coils
New Spark Plugs (Pulled them and they are the right color.)
New Ignition Switch (can't be the problem. Coils are getting power)
Carburetor Synch
Any thoughts? I know this is a game of "what is the easiest to check vs the most likely to be wrong" but I'm at my wits end. Carburetor blockage? It died so anemically and won't fire on either side. That feels like an ignition issue.
If I've fried another electronic ignition with the new regulator/rectifier (matched by the manufacturing company) how in the bloody hell did I do it and how do I keep from doing it again in the future?
Any help is appreciated.
Photo as a thanks for reading the tome: