I omitted one aspect of the happenings with this stuck clutch. I knew it could stick after sitting for a while (it has in the past), but usually I could unstick it by giving it a little throttle as I shifted into first (with the clutch lever pulled in). I did that in this instance and was glad/lucky that the horse didn't throw me, because it was definitely bucking!
I've been glad the boobus cam wasn't on a few times too.
I have a Pamco Ignition. Made by a grumpy old man (Pete) in South Carolina. He retired from doing these in 2019. I helped him develop the product (Testing, installation- I wrote up install instructions and did a schematic) for the CB360. So it is no longer available, but was a decent product. The Pamco unit has pre-programmed advance, so no mechanical advance. Full advance is at 3500 RPM.
Great info about the points cam bounce. I have a Pamco on a 350 with the advancer still under it (Outobie's bike). I haven't run it yet but may need your expertise then.
Very plausible theory. How's your snap ring? If it's the same as the 350's, I can grind down another one because my fingertips have grown back now.I checked the oil spinner while the side cover is off. I've probably got less than 1000 miles on this oil and it looks pretty clean in there to me.
I have a new theory about why most of us find those spinners loaded with gunk when we take ownership of old bikes: the previous owner didn't find much in there the first few times they changed the oil, so they gave up on checking it thereafter.
Thanks — the snap ring seemed fine. However, the o-ring was pretty stretched, so I replaced that.
That's not the bounce he's referring to. He means the loose advancer springs and general wear/slop causing an excess and erratic movement of the points cam (or the reluctor for the simple EI). I know what you're referring to, which is the long (roughly 270°) duration of the points cam lobe holding the points open far longer than really necessary, which acts as a rev limiter of sorts when there's not enough dwell at high rpm. Which is why I ground about 1/3 or so of that lobe length off from the backside of the lobe when the points close for my 450 advancer and it will turn 11,500 without a miss (and probably higher as well but it won't make any more power).
A bulb is a bulb, but if you didn't take it out of the socket to inspect the contacts, you should. They're known to both corrode and also wear down as they're basically lead, and if worn quite a bit from the single cylinder vibes it could easily lose contact later while riding and you might have no brake light.
Thanks for the suggestion — I found at least one thread with a detailed explanation and pictures here. The jist of it was to use a 3-2-3-2 hole pattern next to the webbing as shown in this photo posted on DTT by trek97.
It looks great from here and will look even better once it's in my garage and on the bike. Thanks for getting it done so quickly!Anyway, pics of starter block off, I carved on it with Dremel, Looked better in garage
When you posted that, my initial thought was that I had checked it, but then I doubted myself. So, in the spirit of pictures or it didn't happen, I checked it this morning.
Does this rotor have stronger magnets ?Also received the high output rotor from Rick's Electrics today.
Since it has no electrical output itself, it must have in order to generate more current flow.
I don't know exactly how it's designed, i.e., whether it has the same quantity of stronger magnets or perhaps a greater number of poles than stock, but Rick's claims big power increases that you can read about here. I suppose I can have a look with the oscilloscope after everything is back together. I'm using one in my CB450 and have no complaints.
Thank you, so much. This really helps me to try to fill in holes in my electrical fundamentals ignorance.
Thank you Jensen. It was you, who pointed out the differences in the two rotors I had for my Dream. One was marked with an 'L', assumably for lower output. By some simple observation, I was able to see the other, unmarked, one had a stronger magnetic force. It too, required good regulation to avoid overcharging the battery.
Agreed. I'm really glad that Rick's does offer viable replacement parts for our vintage bikes and I like to support any company that does so. With my 450k7, the original rotor was weak and I first replaced it with a pig in a poke. It worked, but would not charge at low rpm, whereas the high output rotor manages to do so with the stock stator.
Lol
The 'quick and dirty' way we tested at shop, stick it under a steel bench. If it doesn't fall off it's OK.
Thanks guys. My comprehension lags behind my appreciation of these responses, I will glean what I can.
Did you see that @Mydlyfkryzis provided a rough explanation as well as a schematic for the combo rec/reg units earlier in the thread?
Yes, thanks, that's what got me thinking about it, and I'm just trying to understand how they work and what the limitations are. I have not thought about it much up to this point, my CM400 with original equipment seems to work just fine, but I have not studied it other than check the battery voltage while idling. I can see now that the older bikes are more fickle, where they can't charge at low idle speeds.
One thing I think he got wrong was this statement:
Are you sure the Pamco unit had advance? I thought they were just transistorized points relying on mechanical advance. Did it use a microprocessor? Just curious. Some of the CDI systems would do the advance using analog delays, capacitors, but the points system has this long dwell time that is tougher to do.
www.vintagehondatwins.com
www.xs650.com
No apology needed. No harm is questioning and verifying.So @Mydlyfkryzis, I apologize for my last post. I googled Pamco ignition with advance and did come across some postings indicating he did come out with a later version with this. Interesting it is our AD that gives a reference back to VHT here about someone talking about it:
TexasAggie’s first bike build
I’m going to start rebuilding my “old” thread with summaries/pictures, but slowly. Past few days I’ve been taking a break from working on the bike anyways so the switch was actually timed well. I’m going to be almost exclusively a mobile user though, so bear with me. Also I’m changing the...
I get a kick out of googling about motorcycle questions and finding links to the old site or other sites and seeing some of the same wonderful crew we have here.
But the post above only mentions that he made one with advance, but then focuses on fixing an older one with out it. So I'd be curious if he used a micro on that one with advance as I can't imagine how you would do it without one. I suppose I should try googling that for further references.
Yes — I believe the "groove" in the pedal arm is cut by the seam on the muffler, when the pedal return height is not adjusted properly. I was probably guilty of that with the original to some extent and will keep an eye on it going forward.
I have a Pamco unit on the 350 from Outobie (John Knox) that I know little about, other than I can see the original advancer base under it. The bike needs other work before I get it running but hope you can answer any questions that come up. I'd like to keep it and take good care of it so, if you've any suggestions, let me know.
I'm sure John would have already put a modern rec/reg unit on your 350, AFAIK that's the most important thing to do to prolong the life of one by preventing voltage spikes from ruining it.
Yes he did. He also put a rely for lighting to draw from the battery, which may also help the reg/rec control voltage.
