Now not all of us have been born with the Mr. Goodwrench gene, and quite frankly some people should probably not be allowed to own tools. But my intention here is to make replacing your points as straight forward as possible. So here we go.
First things first.
After removing the seat and rear plastics, which makes getting to the chain shroud etc easier.
It's time to remove the Chain guard shroud ( FIG 1)
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and magneto cover. There are only 3 screws that you need to remove to
take off the magneto cover. as outlined by the red arrows. ( FIG 2 )
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A very handy tool for removing hard to remove philips screws as well as other pesky fasteners is a Hand Impact Driver.
You should now be looking at something like this ( FIG 3 ) :
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And after a bit of cleaning something like this ( FIG 4):
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To get to the points we must remove the starter pulley ( FIG 5 )
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Here is one way to keep the engine from turning while loosening the pulley bolts. ( FIG 6 )
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A better way to remove them is with an Electric Impact Gun , but not everybody has an electric or air impact gun so.....
Now you should be looking at something like this ( FIG 7 ) :
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And if you look thru the slot in the magneto you would see the points. ( FIG 8 )
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The next step is to remove the magneto.
In order to do this we need to remove the center nut that holds it on.
Here again the Electric or air impact is the easiest way, but here is another way I have been able to get the center nut off
NOTE: It is probably easier to loosen this nut while you still have the starter pully on. care should be taken not to damage the magneto while gripping it in this manner. ( FIG 9 )
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Honda also makes a spanner wrench for holding the magneto. but if your like me I just want to get the damn thing off Now!
The next step is to get the magneto off, Now here is a place where the previous impatience will get you in trouble. You need a magneto puller. ( FIG 10 )
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Most Motorcycle supply stores will carry them or you can order them here:
Flywheel Puller
Do not try to pry the magneto off with a couple of screw drivers!
You will only cause yourself misery. The puller tool is a must have and fits all kinds of other bikes as well.
Ok, know that you have aquired the puller tool its time to put it to use.
The threads in the magneto are backwards threads so in this case, lefty is tighty and righty is loosey
so screw the puller into the threads that are in the magneto like so: ( FIG 11 ) Click to view attachment
Make sure you thread the puller in all the way, don't just thread the thing in a couple of turns and call it good because you may strip those threads out when pull time comes. It may be necessary to back the center bolt of the puller off to be able to fully thread the puller in.
Next, using 2 adjustable wrench's ( or do it the right way with 2, wrench's of the proper size) hold the puller like so. ( FIG 12 ) ( FIG 13 )
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The idea being to tighten the center bolt while holding the stationary part of the puller in place which will force the magneto off of the crankshaft. ( FIG 14 )
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Once the mag is off you will be looking at this ( FIG 15 ) :
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Taking off the points is fairly straight forward, remove the 1 screw and wiggle the points back and forth untill they come off.
Here is an example of new vs old points, the blue arrow is obviously the new points. ( FIG 16 )
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Notice how worn down the part is that rides on the crankshaft ( red arrow)
This is exactly why you can't just set your points at .012-.016 at Top Dead Center ( TDC) and expect to get peak performance from the engine.
When points are set in this manner, it throws the timing of the engine off.
Spark is supposed to occur just slighty before top dead center which gives the combustion stroke full power. by adjusting the points in the above manner the spark occurs right at TDC which is really most likey occuring on the downstroke of the combustion stroke. robbing you of precious horepower
So now we are ready to install the new points, I have found that very few Honda dealers will have the points and condensors , most of them will have to order them for you which is fine or you can order them
Points and Condensor
I will add the honda parts number here when I get them.
Some points come with a small bag of grease , i I put a little on the pivot shaft as shown, but the real purpose of the grease is to lubricate that fluff stuff that comes into contact with the raceway that the points ride on .
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this will extend the life of your points. also, if this raceway has rust on it. clean that rust and or pitting the best you can. I use steel wool. rust in this area will wear the points much faster.( FIG 17 )
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I find it easier to attach the wires before installing the points ( FIG 18 )
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Now we're ready to install the condensor.
You can check to see if the condensor is bad before you replace it , if you wish.
Here is how:
http://www.glamisdunes.com/invision/index....t&p=2641329
Or you can simply just replace them as they are fairly inexpensive, and eliminates them as a problem.
First, seeing as we will need to solder the wires onto the condensor , lets have a little soldering 101
This weller soldering iron is my favorite because it has plenty of power and gets hot fast. The first thing you should do when getting ready to solder is to "tin" the iron. this is done by melting a small amount of flux core solder on the tip and then wiping it off with a wet sponge or paper towel, yeah its hot
so be carefull! Click to view attachment( FIG 19 )
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If the tinning is done right , the dull looking tip will be nice and shiny and give the best soldering results ( FIG 22 )
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Next we will unsolder the existing wires ( FIG 23 )
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remove the one screw holding the condensor , remove it and swap the fuzzy stuff over to the new condensor. I don't know why new fuzzy stuff is not included with the new condensor but usually the old fuzzy stuff isn't in too bad of shape and yes "fuzzy stuff" is the technical term for this item.
continuing on....
Install the new condensor like so ( FIG 24 )
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Notce how the small tabs are bent out.
now its time to solder the wires back on. I use the lower tab to hold the wires in place while I solder them. be careful pushing in on the tabs as you can cave in the top of the condensor.
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Now a small amount of solder, take care not to use too much heat here or you will melt the condensor, that is why I like the weller soldering iron, it gets hot enough to get the job done quickly without having to leave the tip of the iron on the project too long. ( FIG 27 )
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bend the top tab over to help secure the wires and we're on to the next step.
remount the magneto paying close attention to the position of the woodruff key.
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slide the mag onto the crankshaft making sure to align the slot on the mag with the woodruff key on the crankshaft
install the center washer and nut, tighten the nut pretty tight.
ha ha bet you thought I wasn't gonna include the proper torque spec here :P
which is 24-27 ft lbs.
Now its on to setting the timing, also known as setting the points.
Let me stop here and add an alternative to the following procedure:
If you are installing BRAND NEW POINTS. You really do not need to go thru the timing light endevor. By simply adjusting the points with a feeler guage to .012-.016 while holding the magneto with the "T" aligned with the notch on the case (see Fig 38 ) you will have effectively timed the engine. being as the part of the points that ride on the crankshaft have not worn down at all ( they're new ) it can be reasonably assumed that your timing is correct. I still prefer to dial the points in with the light and I do think its easier.
Setting the points to me is alot easier with the timing light set up.
This is one that I threw together out of parts I had sitting around the garage. ( FIG 30)
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The idea is simple you are merely contructing a completed circuit with a light bulb in it.
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Nice picture huh? You will need to match the voltage of the bulb with a like voltage battery or power source.
ok, now that you have your timing light its time to use it.
I like to get the points at least close to their proper position to make dialing them in with the light a little easier. By looking thru the portal you can see the points. Set the points approx .012 apart while holding the magneto so that the T is aligned with the slot on the case. ( I set the gap by eye about the width of a paper clip ) (FIG 31)
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If you look close you will see a slot in the points that align with a similar slot on the stator backing plate.
Loosen the screw that holds the points in, just slightly so that it is still snug but will move , use a standard screw driver inserted into the above mentioned slots to manipulate the points into the desired position ( approx .012)
Now we are ready to hook up our light.
Find the primary coil stator wire shown here: ( FIG 32 ) ( FIG 33 )
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It is the black wire going to rubber connector.
Incidentally: If you are curious what the other wires are for, The Green wire comes off of the secondary or "lighting" coil and is used to power a headlight and taillight should you so choose, the light green wire with the red stripe is a neutral indicator used as a safety feature to prevent the bike from being started in gear. I have never seen one operational, but that is its function.
Disconnect the coil wire from the primary coil stator wire at the rubber boot.
and connect one of the ends of your test light here. ( FIG 34 )
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I made my test light with a bullet type connector on one side and a clip on the other to make this easier.
If you look closely at this next picture you will see that the bulb is lit, which is as it should be.
The light will stay lit the entire time, a little more on this in a minute. ( FIG 35 )
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now that you have your light hooked up.
rotate the magneto counter clockwise one full revolution.
As the F on the magneto nears the slot in the case you should see the light dim.
It is sometimes a very subtle dimming so you have to look close. (FIG 36 )
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The light should dim right at the point where the F on the magneto aligns with the slot on the case.
generally, a little bit of tinkering is necessary to get it just right.
NOTE: If the battery on your test light is not fully charged, the dimming you are looking for will be harder to see.
Use a fully charged battery.
Once you have the points adjusted right , make sure you retighten the screw holding the points in, I tighten this screw about as tight as I possibly can as I have seen the points move in use and then your back to tearing it down and resetting the little buggers again.
Here's a few misc tips .......
If you are adjusting older points, get the light to dim at the correct point and then check the point gap to make sure you have .012 ( FIG 37 )
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If you don't, your points should be replaced.
The timing will be off and you will not get the optimum performance out of your engine.
If you are replacing your points with new ones you can also simply set them at .012 while holding the magneto on the T and be reasonably assured that your timing will be correct as they are new and have not worn down at all. ( FIG 38 )
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Still I prefer to dial them in with the light, as I know they are correct and I have seen many times the difference in performance of an engine properly adjusted compared to an engine whose points have not been adjusted or set incorrectly. This is probably the biggest and most often culprit for an engine not having spark ( no spark ) .
