Timing

[Capt_Zoom]

Anybody know if you can hook up a spare battery to run a timing light + the spark lead of course? I can't get my borrowed timing light to work.

 

[Paulrxs650]

Yep, battery is just the power source

 

[pamcopete]

Anybody know if you can hook up a spare battery to run a timing light + the spark lead of course? I can't get my borrowed timing light to work.

What ignition system are you running?

 

[gggGary]

Sure try a battery with bigger terminals so you can get better contact. Old cheap timing lights are notoriously fussy. I had one for years I had to slap silly to get it to light. IIRC try flipping the plug clamp over it, seems the way the voltage passes through the clamp can make a difference. (that last one might be snake oil)

 

[Capt_Zoom]

Using a Pamco Ignition. Motor seems to be running well and timed well...just judging by ear. But I wanted to check it to make sure.

 

[jd750ace]

Sure try a battery with bigger terminals so you can get better contact. Old cheap timing lights are notoriously fussy. I had one for years I had to slap silly to get it to light. IIRC try flipping the plug clamp over it, seems the way the voltage passes through the clamp can make a difference. (that last one might be snake oil)

That's not necessarily snake oil. many induction coils of this type are direction specific. My E-Z tach is the same way, and I believe the induction pickup that Fluke makes for the high end meters to be used as a tach are directional as well.

 

[deadchef]

Sure try a battery with bigger terminals so you can get better contact. Old cheap timing lights are notoriously fussy. I had one for years I had to slap silly to get it to light. IIRC try flipping the plug clamp over it, seems the way the voltage passes through the clamp can make a difference. (that last one might be snake oil)

mine is a cheap HF light and it has to be clamped on the plug wire a specific way or it won't light.

 

[pamcopete]

Capt Zoom,

As the others have said, the probe is probably polarity sensitive. With a dual output coil, one of the wires is positive and the other is negative. The timing light works best on the negative wire, but there is no easy way to tell which one that is, so either switch wires or flip the clamp on the timing light.

Also, if the plugs are fouled, then you need to have some resistance in either the plug cap or use resistor plugs

 

[Capt_Zoom]

I picked up a new timing light with tach from Oreily. Nice since I don't have a tach on the bike anymore. It works and I got it times...I want it just above the |F| correct. Wasn't too difficult but even with this gun I had to fiddle with the clamp a lot holding it at an angle to read the spark plug wire. I think that most of these clamps are just too big ...made for car wires. I put it on my Jeep and it works perfect. on the bike its definitely more of a challenge...but doable.

That said I think I created a monster. Lol. I've got about the loudest pipes on my 113ci Yamaha Raider and this little 650 with slash cut drag pipes puts it to shame. So much that we're going to probably have to look into putting some baffles in Later.

 

[5twins]

You also want to check it at full advance. That is actually the more important setting because that's where you run mostly. You do not want the timing to go past the full advance mark at all. If your image jumps around a bit or bounces (kinda normal), don't even let the "bounces" go past that full advance mark. Yamaha actually speced the timing a couple of degrees more retarded for the 1st couple of years of production. They advanced it slightly to smooth out the idle and low speed running. Your 650 will actually perform a bit better at high speeds and RPMs with the timing a degree or 2 retarded at full advance. That may put the idle timing over near the right slash mark of the "F" range, but that's fine, as long as it's still in that "F" area somewhere.

 

[Capt_Zoom]

Cool. I'll check that. What's redline on an xs650 anyway?

 

[GreasyC]

redline is 7500rpm