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Notes on R27 ignition timing

ccolwell

Member
I suppose most of you know the following, but here is what wasn't in any of the manuals I used to time the R27 yesterday:

1. You may have to rotate the engine to get the points cover off, as the advance mechanism can foul the cover (well, the combination of the mechanism and the frame down tube).

2. The advance mechanism is removed from the cam by removing the two small springs.

3. It is the advance mechanism, and not the cam, that is keyed to the engine. This means, I think, that you could reassemble the two pieces 180 degrees out of phase. As such, mark the parts to make assembly easier.

4. If you are buying new points, make sure you get ones that have the notch that allows adjustment by screwdriver. The ones in my bike don't and that made the job much harder.

5. A 6" long, 1/4" flat head screwdriver will make things a lot easier.

6. That continuity tester with the buzzer that you bought 35 yrs ago to time Spanish two stroke trials bikes works great here if you can find it and it still works. I could and all it needed was a new battery.

7. It would almost be easier to remove the engine to do this job.
 
I don't recall any of those issues when I owned mine. I found the point cover easy to remove and the timing operation similar to my /5's. Hmmmm....?
 
Battery/coil/points ignition bikes easy to check static timing

Remove spark plug or plugs so not fighting compression when
you rotate engine slowly by hand

Tie or clamp plug/plugs with wires attached to engine ground
so spark will occur AWAY from vicinity of plug hole

Rotate engine till you hear the quite audible Tick/click of spark
and then look at flywheel when this happens - spark will
happen when static timing mark is in window if correct

You can make this check easily on the roadside or in the garage
with only tools in the bike's toolkit
 
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