Gold flash bad oil leak

[Captain Mike]

Well the gold flash does not leak badly any more, thanks to a new SRM oil pump fitted, the old oil pump was not in a good state and the engine wet sumped very badly, leading me to buy a new pump

This bike has been restored by an "engineer" however I have had no end of problems getting it reliable with the Dynamo not charging, the ignition timing way out,the Magneto breaking down when the bike got hot, the gearbox not selecting gears etc, and along the way I replaced the primary drive chain because there was no more adjustment left, who would rebuild a bike and not replace a worn out primary chain ?, and then the oil pump, when I took it out it was leaking very badly and had a washer behind one of the bolt holes to try and get it to bolt down flat to the face of the casting, I checked the oil pump face for flatness and was shocked at how warped it was hence the washer

in summary I have spent more time repairing it than riding it, 150 miles in six months  and I am still trying to get the timing spot on with the new Thorspark electronic ignition, I set it up statically with the plug hole measurement timing device at 9mm before TDC  fully advance and then use a meter on continuity whilst turning the the trigger unit until I hear the meter buzz and then finely adjust the trigger unit until the meter is just about to buzz, how ever when starting the bike it seems very retarded and I can not seem to get it just right by adjusting the trigger unit again, very frustrating, has anybody got any tricks with this set up ?

Thorspark say to use a strobe with a mark on the primary drive somewhere but I find this is difficult to do and if you are going to stop the engine and adjust the trigger unit every time to get the strobe to line up with the mark surely that is the same as doing it statically until you can feel and hear the engine is timed correctly ?
my next move is to try setting the ignition statically one degree advanced at a time until I feel it is correct, IE 10 mm on the timing tool and then 11 etc 

Hopefully I will get the bike usable before summer ends
Mike
   

[idie]

The standard BSA pump does have a thin fibre washer behind the pump where the first bolt goes through. Leaving this out would distort the pump. I believe the SRM pump doesn't need this.

[EDDIE SIMPSON]

around 9mm btdc on the timing tool is about right. if your timing is not correct something must be moving as you tighten the atd in the fully advanced position. the atd will not advance until between 2,000 to 3,000 rpm anyway so how does it run through the gears up to 50mph? a manual mag pinion is an option for you to make timing easier and a quicker tick over.

[Captain Mike]

Thanks Eddy
I have been thinking about the timing, I am setting it up with it fully advanced and then trying to adjust the trigger unit after wards, without wedging the advance open again ie primary cover back on,  do you think I need to leave the primary cover off and keep wedging the advance Everytime I adjust thee trigger unit,?
by the way setting up the ignition timing when the mag was being used I did not have an issue

[EDDIE SIMPSON]

hi captain mike, do you mean the timing side cover, not primary? yes find a wedge , wood or bolt and leave in the atd until all tight. with a mag i mark the points unit against the mag body in pen to check the points havnt slipped when fully tight. i guess you can do the same with electronic rotor to body.

[DAVE BRADY]

Hi Mike,

Assuming that the Thorspark EI is fully advanced as the default setting as with Boyer and Pazon try static timing first.  Using a rod with the relevant marks on set the piston to the correct BTDC position and set the rotor and stator as per the Thorspark instructions.  It is best if the screw in the slot is about mid point to give plenty of scope to tweek the timing. 
You may find that strobe timing is not necessary but...  If you have strong magnet you could hold a timing disc on to the end of the crank and use a wire pointer held by a casing screw.  Again using the rod in the plug hole determine TDC and zero the pointer, then mark the BTDC degrees and away you go.  However, the magnet might fly off when the engine is running so perhaps make the TDC and BTDC marks on the crank nut.  They will only remain reliable until the nut is ever removed and refitted.  With the engine running you should be able to check how accurate your static timing is and carefully adjust the stator to get it exact.  It may be a good idea to get someone to hold the throttle or lock it at high revs whilst adjusting the timing.  Be careful not to get your sleeve caught in the primary chain or you may end up with spot on timing and a mangled hand.

Dave.

[Captain Mike]

Hi Dave

Thanks for that, it seems to me that when I timed it with the mag working it was spot on, now with the EI I cannot seem to get to where I could with the Mag timing method, I am using the same method apart from not being able to see when the trigger unit is about to fire rather than the points just about to open

I am using a continuity meter on the leads from the trigger unit to the coil, I think I will rig up a light instead to see when it is just about send 12 volts to the coil or maybe something is moving, usually I am pretty good with ignition timing but is seems the Thorspark trigger system is more difficult to set up than a manual system using points
I will having another go later in the week so will update then
Mike 

[DAVE BRADY]

Hi Mike,

I found some info re Thorspark setup.  The image appears to show the point at which to set full advance.  Does this help?

Dave.

[EDDIE SIMPSON]

i have just had another thought regarding electronic ignition. i dont know the thoroughspark system but a boyer would retard the spark electronically not manually so a manual mag pinion would be necessary.

[DAVE BRADY]

Hi,

I have just had a read re Thorspark and it does rely on the standard AAU to advance the spark so the standard method of timing is used.  So it looks like the marks on the rotor and stator must line up when the AAU is held at fully advanced.  Once set up statically a strobe can be used with marks on the end of the crank nut and a wire pointer.  If the stator has been set up with the screw in the middle of the adjusting slot then the stator can be moved to advance or retard the timing using the strobe for accuracy if thought necessary.

Dave. 

[Captain Mike]

Hi sorry about the delay getting back to you all and thanks for all the help

I did set up dynamic testing  with a strobe light and found I was retarding  the ignition  rather than advancing it during the manual (Move the trigger unit a bit at a time scenario) so once the marks were set up on the timing disc and the pointer  I strobed it and got it close, however the mark on the timing disc did bounce around a lot (I was using a RSM timing disc bolted to the primary drive sprocket) but I thought this is as close as I am going to get

it starts first time and revs up ok I will go for a ride, however not pulling very good, came to a hill had to change down to get up it. dam ignition is still out, back to the lock up! it seems that a fine adjustment on the trigger unit makes a big difference to the timing

I am going in the right direction though,going to the Notts car show Sun /Mon so will be back  to advance the ignition a little more when I get back and try again

Mike