Starterless idling with an electronic ignition . . .

[hhooper85]

Working on my first build, '72 Honda CL350, and I'm planning on going starterless but also planning on keeping head, tail and signals. Digging around I've seen that most often the rough idle can be helped with an upgraded rectifier and a small battery. I'm also thinking about upgrading from points to electronic ignition, will this help?

Thanks for any thoughts, experience or advice.

 

[Sonreir]

Rough idle can be an electrical issue, but it's more often just the carbs.

Assuming your battery is good, check the ignition timing with a strobe light on each cylinder to ensure you're getting spark at the correct time. It's also worth pulling the plugs and checking the spark strength by touching the plugs to the side of the engine while it's running. Spark should be white or blue in color and fatter is better.

Compression will also be important. 155 PSI on a warm engine is the minimum. 165 PSI is optimal.

After you rule out those things it's time to look at fueling.