[Ally]

You're playing with fire not strobing the ignition timing.

You're comment about having found the "sweet spot" is a bit of nonsense in context.

A well tuned engine will not be on the sweet spot at all. A touch of extra advance timing and lean mixture will take you to this place.

On these engines, they are often found running "on the sweet spot" just before they seize up.

Take the good advice from Dave M and strobe the thing. I'd aim at 37 degrees just to compensate for unleaded fuel. RR

Just "double-check" to be 100%
It makes sense ,
It'll take 15 minutes and you'll not have that little worry that will always creep in at the time you're enjoying it most . . .

Al.

 

[DAVE M]

i swapped my RITA for a Pazon due to failure and the bike started fine, but when I strobed it it needed quite a bit of adjustment.

you don't want to blow a hole in a piston for lack of correct timing. Starting is just....the start point

 

[75jazz]

"A well tuned engine will not be on the sweet spot at all. A touch of extra advance timing and lean mixture will take you to this place."
That's exactly what I did. It's a Pazon ignition and I set it with the timing plug, then advanced it. I've done about 800 miles since then and it's a two kick bike at most.
I'm definitely not saying don't strobe it, I had a strobe light with me as well. I'm saying with the timing plug, the first time I locked down the Pazon plate it was in a good spot. I didn't have to do a lot of small incremental adjustments to get it right. Using a screw driver to find the notch in the cam for timing was not nearly as efficient. Now that I have that timing plug I would consider it a necessity for me to time correctly.

 

[Caulky]

"A well tuned engine will not be on the sweet spot at all. A touch of extra advance timing and lean mixture will take you to this place."
That's exactly what I did. It's a Pazon ignition and I set it with the timing plug, then advanced it. I've done about 800 miles since then and it's a two kick bike at most.
I'm definitely not saying don't strobe it, I had a strobe light with me as well. I'm saying with the timing plug, the first time I locked down the Pazon plate it was in a good spot. I didn't have to do a lot of small incremental adjustments to get it right. Using a screw driver to find the notch in the cam for timing was not nearly as efficient. Now that I have that timing plug I would consider it a necessity for me to time correctly.

Using the flywheel notch and sighting the rotor mark through the stator hole is only approximate for static timing.
Its intended just to get the motor running.
It needs to be dynamically timed at the recommended rpm by strobe.
You cant guess it!
Well you can, but it could be a very expensive omission.
For the sake of removing 3 screws and 5 minutes time, is it worth the chance?

 

[Copey]

First sight of daylight

The sun shone for a while and the old girl saw the natural daylight for the first time since she was pulled apart for rebuild in Aug 2011 - just need to ride her now

 

[cwood]

Copey, Nice looking ride!

 

[coloradobob]

plates

I re-registered my 72 TR6 til '13 for $48.17. Bob

 

[cwood]

I went to county court and the Judge ordered the State to issue me a title for my '72 Bonnie, yippee! Now I can get a license tag and start improving it and get it rideable.

 

[henryanthony]

Hi everybody! Long time no post. Got my cycle bits back from QC Coatings in Southeast Michigan. Great powder coaters and a good bunch of guys as well. Bill, the owner, noticed a crack in my seat pan where the front hinge fits. Took it home and tig welded it for no added charge. I was way chuffed!!! My only complaint is that when I unpacked my bits, I found two centerstands. LOL!!!,

 

[DaveDone]

Hey Henryanthony, good to see your posting again. I'll bet they were looking for that center stand.
After 76 days ( tough wait ) I picked up my tins from the painter today. I am not all that wowed by the work but I am glad to get to reassembly. That 50 degree day last week was killing me

 

[RetroRod]

Hi everybody! Long time no post.

Hi Henry, I share Dave's sentiments.

I have often thought about you, and a few others who seem to have disappeared.

Good to have you back Henry. You've been a good contributor to this forum and you've been missed. RR

 

[henryanthony]

Hey Henryanthony, good to see your posting again. I'll bet they were looking for that center stand.
After 76 days ( tough wait ) I picked up my tins from the painter today. I am not all that wowed by the work but I am glad to get to reassembly. That 50 degree day last week was killing me

Hi Henry, I share Dave's sentiments.

I have often thought about you, and a few others who seem to have disappeared.

Good to have you back Henry. You've been a good contributor to this forum and you've been missed. RR

Hi Dave and Rod,

Your kind words made me feel good. I too often think of those who have slipped away from the forum. Plewsy, Shrugger and Kadutz are names that come to mind. Glad you and Dave are still here! I have a feeling Plewsy may be lurking. Here's hoping he gives us a sign that he's still out there.

Hey John, just shake the bushes a bit! Let us know you are still here and OK.

I have been reading but haven't posted in a long while. Still learning a lot from the forum though. I'll pop my head up every now and then.

My Triumph project got side tracked due to believing the marketing hype of the POR 15 company. After all the work of stripping every black painted part on my bike and following all the instructions from the POR company, the first coat came out as if sprayed which made me confident of the final outcome. With the final coat, the brush strokes would not level out. I tried everything and believe me, I know how to brush paint. I threw my hand up in disgust and just stepped away for a while.

Then, our good old German Shepherd had to be put down in October. Our vet came to our house so she could pass comfortably in her own bed. She was truly a family member and it was very difficult for me and my family to lose her. That put me down in the dumps. My motorcycle project seemed trivial. But now, we have a new pup. Her name is Tikka. She is driving us nuts and filling the space in our hearts left by good old Brownie.

I finally decided to get started on the bike and took the frame and all the cycle parts to be powdercoated. Now, my frame and other parts look absolutely fantastic!!! So, live and learn. It never ends, til it ends that is.

If any one in Southeast Michigan is looking for a good powdercoater, QC Coatings is worth a look. They did a good job for me for a fair price. $380 U.S. including welding a crack in my seat pan. Price did not include the front end other than the headlight ears. Triple trees and fork legs on my bike are in really nice shape. A little polish and they'll look fine.

Pressures at work will be delaying much further progress. I have everything packed safely away for when I get some free time to work on it again.

Best Regards,
Henry

 

[DaveDone]

Paint

Finished assembly yesterday and had a short ride. It seems like all is good so far. I'll know for sure after a nice long ride.
I gotta say I am not happy with the new paint there is not enough metalflake, it's more like a British racing green than the jasmine I had and requested. Oh well, I'm going to be stoic about the runs, , fades and wrong paint numbers and be happy all my metal has been made "good as new". live and learn.

 

[cwood]

Hi Dave, maybe the serendipity is that it is a really pretty color and does not look like everybody else! Riding is better than worrying! Best wishes, Chris

 

[Snakeoil]

Bike came out nice, Dave. Are those top front fender braces something you come up with? That fender looks like a Sporster item as well. Both work well with the bike. Interesting how a simple item like a fender brace can give a bike a completely different look.

regards,
Rob

 

[DaveDone]

Thanks for the positive comments . It may help me out of this funk.
It is quite a bit different than what I requested but yours are the first opinion I've heard. I was ready to run some new tank badges:

Rob, Your right about the Sportster fender and its a Sporty brace cut in half.

 

[henryanthony]

Finished assembly yesterday and had a short ride. It seems like all is good so far. I'll know for sure after a nice long ride.
I gotta say I am not happy with the new paint there is not enough metalflake, it's more like a British racing green than the jasmine I had and requested. Oh well, I'm going to be stoic about the runs, , fades and wrong paint numbers and be happy all my metal has been made "good as new". live and learn.

Dave,

Looks good in the pic. I like the green head candle, oil tank and chain guard. Too bad about the flaws in the paint. I suggest you drown your sorrows with a relaxing beverage of your choice.

 

[75jazz]

Thanks for the positive comments . It may help me out of this funk.
It is quite a bit different than what I requested but yours are the first opinion I've heard. I was ready to run some new tank badges:

 

[RetroRod]

Thanks for the positive comments . It may help me out of this funk.
It is quite a bit different than what I requested but yours are the first opinion I've heard. I was ready to run some new tank badges:

Oh dear!!!!! RR

 

[wernstriumph]

Today I finally replaced a leaky fork seal, and while I had the wheel off I changed the front springs. What a difference between the new springs and the original 40 year old springs! The old ones were about an inch and a quarter shorter and I could compress them with ease!