The Hodaka Club Forum

I see all kinds of ways to time/set points. Here's my accurate method. Purchase a battery powered continuity light. (The one I used in the shop 40+ years ago is shown). Hook one wire to ground (crank case) and the other to one of the two wires coming from the points. (Black in my case.) The light should be on -- continuity. Find 2 marks (as shown) on crank case. They may be difficult to see. Left hand mark is TDC. The right hand mark is where the points should break. Set the points with a slight opening and test. The light will be bright when points are closed -- dim when they open. Keep trying until the light dims on the right hand mark. You're set!
I've done hundreds of timings on customers and our race bikes with this simple set up.
Hope you find this useful.
Maxie

Be an idea to highlight the marks with a little bit of color. Paint or nail polish work well.

NICE breakdown Maxie!
Thanks for taking the time to share
-Laurie

Maxie:

Great presentation of the important points (no pun intended). Very good photography!

Ed
PS: Have you considered submitting articles for the Hodaka Club Newsletter, "The Resonator Revisited"?

Max-
As Ed suggested, we'd love to have you contribute to the Resonator Revisited! Send me a direct email at [email protected] so we can discuss it.

Bob

That is all we used in the 60's it never failed us. Clarence

I forgot to tell you that this method will also work perfectly on your old VW Beetle--seriously

Maxie

I prefer to use a buzz box as opposed to the light, just gotta listen for the change in tone. But either will work.

I have an old turn signal beeper from a Honda four that I attached a couple of alligator clips to. Works just like a buzz box but was free.
Mike Hawkins

OK gang--I'll bite--what the heck is a buzz box?

Maxie

Used the same as a light but gives off an audible rather than visual indication when the contacts break. Usually a cheap speaker (buzzer) circuit with a 9v battery and 2 alligator clips. They sometimes also include an LED to give both audible and visual.
Dale

C'mon, Max - send me the digital pix directly, and any additional/alternative wording you might want to use, so I can include in the next Resonator Revisited. I could lift the pix from here (Paul's website) but pix emailed to me would be better quality.

Bob

Just got home--in the mail tomorrow--really

Maxie

Got it; thx, Maxie! More good stuff for the R2.
Bob

I used to time my VW Beetle with an AM radio. Set the dial to an unused frequency, disconnect the coil high tension lead, turn on the ignition, and turn over with a hand wrench. When the points break you will here the static snap on the radio. Works on bikes which use a battery to energize the ignition but not magneto systems.

How is the ignition timing on a Super combat with cdi set. The one I bought was not all together, so the stator and rotor are not installed. I have both pieces and need to put them on the bike. I have a TDC indicator that I made from a spark plug base and a dial indicator. Thanks

I set the cdi with a dial indicator through the spark plug hole, same basic setup you made. Owners manual says 0.156" BTDC, but info I got from Paul was to set at 0.114" BTDC.

Thanks for the info.

A quick update for those in need--

Maxie

Thanks for bringing it back to the top... I wonder if Paul could pin posts like this to the top?

rlkarren wrote:Thanks for bringing it back to the top... I wonder if Paul could pin posts like this to the top?

I use the Advanced Search feature at the upper right of the Forum page. It works great to find old posts!

Maxie

Yes, posts, threads, discussions, whatever can be made to stay at the top of the index, or can be set aside as secondary topic lines. We are using here only the most basic functions of a phpBB system. Threads can be locked and unlocked by their originator or by admin, and be made into stickies that always appear above whatever else is going on. Commonly asked questions can be dealt with this way, so that we don't have to keep repeating instructions, such as how to find the age of my bike, how to find timing specs, and so on.

Topic areas can be set up as subheaders so engine tech goes in one area, videos another, general questions another and so on, but this requires moderators to do the admin work. Paul could designate certain folks to do this if he wishes, if there is a need.

Hey Taz, I brought it to the top for you.

Thank you Maxie. This came in very handy for me recently. For a guy like me pictures make all the difference.
Dale

Hey thanks Dale. I'm glad it worked for you. Not only is this method accurate, It's easy. Feeler gauges are kind of subjective and after doing it both ways I found that the only accurate method is with a light (or other continuity detector). This way you really are setting the correct timing.

Max