couple of questions?

is it the swingarm bushings when i corner hard and feel the rearshimmy or wiggle back and forth ? only happens when either im on the gas and cornering or stopping hard, i can feel it back there somewhere, oh yeah stock 1981 bushings in there.

next is on my other 81 cdi ignition, bs38 carbs, when i start it i have to move the right hand plug wire off the plug a bit to get it to fire that cylinder? i can hear it kick in ? i haven't driven this one yet, close to it. and i mean pull the wire off and hold it 1/4 - 1/2 inch away? this bike is spare parts i had laying around, could it be plugs? they are old ones, but it does the same when plugs are switched around, great compression, valves are set, timing chain was checked, i switched plug wires and still the same , and switched over to a known good coil.
thanks for any answers or questions .

1 - Could be swingarm bushings. Usual check is to 'twist' the rear wheel, while on centerstand. Like checking for worn ball-joints on your truck. Also check for unevenly worn shocks.

2 - The old 1/4"-1/2" plug cap hold-off is an old school trick to fire thru a fouled plug, forces higher voltage before arcing, hopefully bypassing mild grounding, like carbon loaded plugs, and carbon-tracked cracks in insulators. Could look for micro-crack on coil body, crack(s) in plug wires. Could also try reverse polarity on coil primary leads...

Just thinking with me fingers here and the manual is out in the pole barn.......
Does the swing arm bolt have a torque spec? Thinking it should and thinking how many bushing have been replaced without first checking the spec. Just wondering.

nj1639 said:

Just thinking with me fingers here and the manual is out in the pole barn.......
Does the swing arm bolt have a torque spec? Thinking it should and thinking how many bushing have been replaced without first checking the spec. Just wondering.

Click to expand...

Arrrrrr, checking with me Clymer's here. Pivot shaft: 47 ft-lbs, Rear axle nut: 108 ft-lbs

shit, rear axle nut i know is not toeuqed to that spec, reverse polarity on coil leads? i just threw them on there, so i will check that out thanks for things to check you all!

Swap plugs from side to side. If it transfers, it's the plug. If not, I would start with better coils. This is considering OK carbs.

If you have wire wheels, check the spokes. I have seen loose spokes cause the same problem.

nope have mags on her, had to remove the rear tire as my brake was locking up and i had to roll backwards to free it up , saltwater is a bitch. so whe i was trying to take my axle off it was stuck in there, i wound up getting it out and out came the bearings and a spacer was stuck on the shaft and wouldnt come loose, so i had to put it back together and beat it back down in there, to get it in there. i know this is not normal, what can i do ? get a new shaft? take what i have to a press and try to press these off? or just leave it alone and keep running it? thanks all

You've probably ruined the bearings with all that pounding out and in, but with the handling problems you noted, they may have been bad to begin with. Yes, that wheel needs to be rebuilt. From all the problems you're mentioning, sounds like the whole bike needs a good going through.

Axles should be lightly greased before being installed. Sounds like yours was not.

Grease or anti-seize.
Leo

shit , thats what i was afraid of, well now its time for a rebuild then, and switch to the spoke rim. thanks you guys sure know your stuff about these.