Today in part 8 of this series we're going to be delving into the dark and mysterious
art of ignition timing. Our Everyday Bike has previously been converted from a points ignition
to an electronic one for reliability, but we'll be discussing both types of ignition systems today.
We have supplementary videos available on our second channel for those of you who'd like to
go into more detail. We'll put the links in the video description. Let's get started. Right today
we're going to just finish off what we should have finished off last week really. We put the casing on,
and remember we put the select fork back in place. Well that comes through the casing.
We just need to now put on the return spring. So when you put downward pressure
on the lever it springs it back to neutral position. It's just a crossover spring. So we're
just going to install that. With just a little bit of lube on the shaft which I've already done.
And if you look up inside it's got like a cut away so it's now set against the shaft assembly.
Now to make sure this doesn't move out there's a little tiny allen screw. Now
it pays to put a little bit of Lock and Seal. It's only a medium grade so it won't hold it
fully tight. It just... any chance that does start to loosen off it won't unscrew itself. So just
need a little bit of that. Just do it up tight. If it's got a little bit of Loctite on there it's
not going to come loose. So that's done. We now need to set the ignition system. Now what we've
got in this one, we haven't got any points. The previous owner obviously got electronic ignition.
And this is the box he's obviously put the parts back into. In here we have the main module.
Now this bolts up where the points go and this can move either advance or retard. And it's set
according to the manufacturer's settings for this engine. This one is set at 34 degrees for TDC
which means that before top dead centre, 34 degrees, this has to line up with this mark A.
So there'd be a pointer on here. This is a rotor. There's a line here. So the first thing you need
to do really is position this engine in the right position to install this. So what we do,
we remove our smart plug and we put in, I showed you before I think, this. All this is, is just,
it's almost like a spark plug with no centre. It just will hold this
rod which has got measurements. But we're not using this for degrees today.
This would just go down the bore and when we move the engine that will go up or down. So
we're just going to find... it's already set but I'm just going to show you again. We'll find TDC.
That means the piston's up the top of its stroke before it goes over the top and back down.
So we're just going to find the top. So we just go backwards and forwards and it should be just
a little bit more. There we go. That's now TDC and our timing disc is now set on zero. This disc is
just literally where I had a little bit more thread on the crankshaft. I've just put a disc on.
I found an old nut, the same thread, and wound it on so it holds it tight. And you
can do it anywhere you like, as long as you have a reference point. Now what we need to set now,
this engine is before TDC at 34 degrees, so we're going to have to turn the engine
backwards. Now you say you could put a spanner on this nut but it will probably move the disc.
So I need to move it on the clutch. So I just need to turn this round, back 34 degrees. That's 20.
30. Now if you look at that, we're on 34 degrees. These are in twos, so we have 34. Now that engine
now is set. Just going to show you, on this engine, there's a plate on the front here.
The facility is here that you can check the crank position. When you come to time it at 34 degrees,
there is a little slot on the crankshaft. There is a tool a dealership would probably use.
The service tool would be similar to this in shape but you'll have a peg in the centre.
Alright, it'll probably extend half an inch or so. Now I haven't got that today, we're
not actually using it, we don't need to. But if I take my allen key and insert it through the case,
I will find where that slot is. Now there it is. Dead centre. So you could check it without the
surface tool. So you could actually make a tool to lock the crankshaft off. But be very careful that
you don't turn the crank over while it's still in place. You're going to do damage. We now need to
put the rotor in roughly the right position for when the actual main assembly goes in.
I'm going to show you on here. This is a module assembly. Now it locates with these. There's two
cutaways. Now when the screws are slackened off you can move it that much. The rotor sits behind.
Here's the rotor. And it has a line here. Now this is our timing mark. For this particular
engine with this degree setting, this has to line up with the letter A. So we just put that
on into the taper, all it does. And we know we're about seven, eight o'clock position ish, in the centre.
There's an allen screw. But just nip that. If we do it too tight you'll pull down on the taper and
then we won't be able to move it. Now I can just about... it's quite good because I can move that
with my fingers. Now this has been preset we know we can still move this by thumb and finger. Now
they supply a tool which you should be able to screw into those screws. But it's a different
thread, so it's not going to help us. So I'm going to have to just be very careful, I'll hold this
while I just do up this centre allen screw. I don't like doing this but we'll just carefully,
just nipping this rotor, just hold it in place while we just pull this taper up slightly.
Now I'm not going to do it too tight at the moment in case it has moved a little bit.
Right that's done that. Now what we need to make sure now, is that the engine hasn't moved at
all. So we're going to look at our disc and make sure we're still set at 34 degrees. Hasn't moved,
the rotor's nipped up onto the taper. And we're still on 34 degrees, so that's fine.
I'm just going to explain again about ignition timing. And because we've got a module on here,
why we've got this, and we haven't got points. Now the previous owner, or someone in its ownership,
has decided to do away with the points and condenser. The reason they've done that is
because on this model, any twin cylinder engine usually has two sets of points.
So it's obviously setting up both sets of points correctly. It's not easy. In points
where they wear on the heel, on the pivot, and on the pickup, they wear as well and they flame out.
They get pitted, the points. You get problems with condenser. Now when you fit a module,
you fit it once. It's one module. It's all built into here, and there's a control box
up on the frame. I'm trying to explain to you now, we've set this at 34 degrees. Now
that would be the same for points. That's at the point where the points would open. So if
you imagine your pistons coming up the stroke, it's 34 degrees before the top dead centre.
These points in this case, this rotor, has the A, and this line on here. And when they're in line,
that obviously activates a spark. Now this has built in advance and retard. What you would
have was two sets of points, behind the points there would be like a bob weight assembly. Now
that would be slightly sprung loaded. And when the engine speeds up, that would move forwards,
and that would advance the timing. And when the revs drop right down it comes down below,
I don't know 1200rpm something like that, you'll see it come right back to its retarded position.
In the old bikes, the old days, or any vehicle, you used to have a lever, advance and retard,
and that low rpm you retard the engine right back. You get a different sound to the engine,
it dropped the rpm down. And when you pulled away you'd advance it up. If you run an engine retarded
at high rpm you'll get lack of power and very hot. But it makes it runs nice and smooth at low rpm.
It's when the engine increases in rpm, you want that timing to advance and it will run better.
If we found we're going through this and we're setting up our timing,
and for some reason we were locking off the rotor on the other side and the crankshaft moved okay,
then we've done our final nip and the thing was maybe let's say 50 degrees before TDC, something
like that, far too early. Now what would happen on that, is that's over advanced. Now when we come to
start the bike, indication would be, thing will kick back violently. Another thing, if it's over
advanced it will probably ping. Pinging is where you get that like metallic sound when the engines
running under load. If you open the throttle up hard and you think 'what's that noise?' It
sounds almost like a small lead. It's like a ping ping ping in the top, it's over advanced.
This needs the timing bringing back. So really it's so critical this rotor is set correctly
because this is what is doing your main setting, your main timing. This assembly must line up.
On this engine, 34 degrees, it's on the A. So that is almost like where you point to open.
And the rest of it is electronically done. It's got two sensors on here, and I believe you get
a spark on every rotation because we can set up, doesn't matter where the position is of the crank,
whether it's on the valves on the rock on one side or the other, it doesn't matter.
You get an idle spark if one cylinder has got no compression with the valves open. So
that, trying to make it sound as easy as possible, that is what we're doing. We're
eliminating points and condenser, putting the module in. Thing about this is you set it up
it's done for life. You haven't got make any other adjustment to it. With points as everyone knows,
the points have to be adjusted correctly and they burn points and it's so critical getting, not just
one set of points on here but two sets of points. Two sets of points for each coil. So you could get
the timing right on one cylinder but you might get the timing a little bit out on the other one. With
this you just set it up in one, job done. So, so far we've just nipped this taper. So it's pulled
up. I'm just going to put this back on now and then make sure that when that's in place we have
still got the correct timing. Now I need to look at the line. So I'm a little bit too high. It's
actually more 8 o'clock, it should be 7 o'clock position. We'll turn that back round a little bit.
And we'll put this back in place. I'm going to let the camera pan in now and
it should pick up a little mark underneath the A. And you've got the line on the rotor.
Now the variation you will have from there is quite a bit. You can go that much one way,
or that much that way. So you can advance retard it quite a bit. But we should be spot on because
we've set with a dial gauge exactly where it should be. Sometimes with engines there is
obviously a backlash in the gears. Because our timing is not on the crankshaft, this is
an intermediate gear. This is running off a gear which is between the crankshaft and the camshaft.
So you will get a bit of backlash. So that's why you have a facility to actually alter
that. Now what we must make sure is we totally locked up that rotor now. So I'm going to give
it another pull with the allen key and lock it up. Just give it just a little bit more.
Don't need to overdo it. Just check again. Just make sure that crank hasn't turned.
Just make sure it's still in your timing mark 34 degrees. Which it is.
So now we can just put on the module assembly, and we can tighten the allen screws up. Then
we can undo them if we need to, to retime this. Because it's plastic don't over
tighten it. They are only small screws but you can get with an allen key quite a lot of
pressure on there. Don't want to crack it. So just nip them up. Now we've done all our timing,
and we showed you that you can take the plate off the crankcase and put allen key in there to pick
up the slot in the crank. If you put a tool in there just make sure you've got that off, because
you don't want to go and kick your engine over and that's still in there up on the crank, because it
would shear the pin off, it would probably crack the case. So there is a gasket on here already. We
haven't got one in the new set, so I'm just going to put a little bit of Wellseal, yet again, on
that old gasket and put the screws back in. What's important, I'll explain, is with most of the
fasteners on this engine, we've got cheese headed screws. Now with a screwdriver, you're not going
to over tighten them by hand on the screwdriver. Just hold on to the engine, give it a good turn.
But it's important to have the right screwdriver. And you just want to nip those up really tight.
Okay we can put the outer case back on. It's only held on with three screws. There is no gasket.
When it goes on, when the engine's finished, once we've got everything done, then it can go on with
a little bit of silicone which is not a bad idea. The reason we're today going to put this back on,
is because we've got a kick start with a tension spring. Now that's pre-tensioned,
and it's held up on this washer with a cut away and it has two slots on the shaft. Now that's
all tensioned up. We don't want to lift this back into the frame and suddenly that ping out.
The reason we've got to really take this back off is because on our module we've got a wire. And the
loom on the bike itself has got the other end, the cable, the two fittings for these two wires,
and a grommet that comes through the back of here. There's a hole in the back of the case
and the cable comes through. So we're going to need to take this off. But this will keep this
spring up on that shaft, it won't come off. I'm not going to tighten this up.
I'm just going to make a reference, now allen screws, they're a great invention,
they always look nice on an engine. But it's so easy to over tighten allen screws.
Especially when they go into aluminium cases. It's not necessary to do any more than
this really. Thumb and finger, put a glove on and do it, and get it tight.
Now we've taken the timer disc off. Just to show you that we have the rotor,
which is inside the armature. It's most important to check to make sure you've got the air gap.
Now on this engine it says between 8 and 10 thou. So we just run our feeler gauge in.
And we go right round. And if that goes right round, you know you've got the air gap. Now
had it have gone tight at any point going round there, slacken all three nuts off.
Because obviously the magnet draws in on the rotor you have to be very careful here. You
need to lever this over. So if it's tight on this spot here you need to lever on that side over. So
you could semi tighten a nut up. But just tap it a little bit here. You've just got to centralise
the armature because that's on the crank. The rotor's on the crank and if it's true
on the taper which it should be, that's what's important, is to make sure it's true on the key.
The key is good order. And then check your air gap again. I've got an old rotor here and an
alternator ring here. Now we're going to take the rotor out. It's drawing on the magnets.
Now you've got your armature assembly and you've got all your pick up points here.
You've got your fill coils around here. Now each pickup here runs very close. This is where we're
getting our air gap between this pickup point here, and obviously the rotor itself
here have all the magnets. Now when that's rotating on the crankshaft, if that taper is good
and that's on that crank properly and the keyway is good, that should be centralised. That's so
important to get that right. If for any reason something's wrong, we have contact of metal.
So that rotor is going to be turning around and potentially shaving metal off itself on a high
spot, or taking it off of one of the pickups. The other side to this, what could happen,
the whole lot could jam up. If that jams up that engine is going to lock up all of a sudden.
You know, that engine is... it's not good because you'll be riding the bike or you're going to hear
'clunk clunk clunk.' Something's going to go. Something's going to go. It could well be that
it starts to, obviously this locking up, it could damage the keyway. But it's obviously going to
take chunks of metal out of that. Or possibly, the three studs it's held on, the whole lot's
going to get damaged. So it's so important to get an air gap. If you're struggling trying to
get clearance the whole way round between the rotor and the alternator ring, what I would do,
I would undo your studs again. Take your nuts off. And draw the alternator off. Take it off.
Then take your plugs out. If you've got this in the frame obviously, spin the engine over.
Kick it over and just make sure that the rotor itself is running true. Now what you could do,
you could, if you can't really see it, you could run a pointer. You could take some measurement.
Do something similar to this I've got here for our timing, and have that running close to the rotor.
And then you would see a high and low spot as you turned it over. You'll see where it
come high and low. If there is a high spot or low spot, there's two things here it could either be
that the taper is not going on properly for some reason and it's a bit, it's been pulled up uneven.
Or the worst scenario is that the crank's a little bit bent. But that's something... that's most
unusual to be anything like that. But it's just really the case of making sure when you put this
back on the taper is nice and clean, the key is good, it goes on nicely, it pulls up square.