Well done, Pop.
This is exactly what I was concerned about in the beginning when I posted that picture of the fiber washer assembly order, glad he found it. This is the kind of thing we can't always see in pictures.
The primary reason to use a strobe timing light is to check full advance (reached at about 3400 rpm), as the advancer weights open the points cam starts to open the points earlier, which advances the timing for proper performance at high rpm. Above 3400 rpm the strobe light should show the two unmarked lines align with the index on the alternator. If it exceeds the maximum of the two marks then the static timing would have to be retarded slightly until the index falls between the two unmarked lines (or right at the last mark)
While I am no expert, 2 things I have to remind myself of when I'm using one is:
One reason these engines are more difficult to start when the battery is low is because the starter steals current flow from the coils so the spark is weaker. I hope your wording is different than what you're actually doing when you mentioned running it on full choke to maintain engine speed. The 360 doesn't have a fast idle built into the choke as far as I know, so the excess fuel your generating by running it full choke combined with a lower voltage level can lead to fouled spark plugs very easily. Once it's warmed up enough to run without choke you should hold the throttle with your hand until it warms enough to idle.
It's quite weird but when it first ran, it wouldn't want to rev nor idle unless it was on full choke, so I left the engine to run on full choke for around 30s. After that period, the bike would happily idle and rev with no choke.
Thankfully, there's a gas station right around the corner where I live so if everything goes well, it should be smooth sailingWhy risk riding it to a gas station, when a plastic gas can will allow you to fill the tank to a decent level? You must have one for your lawnmower or snowblowers gas needs.
Kidding on the snowblower in So Cal
As a fellow CB360 lover, I can attest that AncientDad knows what he's talking about! I recently flooded mine by leaving it to idle with the choke fully on and it just kinda slowly drowned itself, so I would recommend being super careful you don't do the same thing and make sure you use the choke as little as possible.It's quite weird but when it first ran, it wouldn't want to rev nor idle unless it was on full choke, so I left the engine to run on full choke for around 30s. After that period, the bike would happily idle and rev with no choke.
I'll keep the voltage situation in mind as I've just checked the battery and it jumped down to 12.4V. Might use the kickstart just so I don't have to pull the battery out again
Yup, that was the case when we first got the bike running as it semi-flooded the right cylinder which was having intermittent spark at that moment. As of right now, the bike would refuse to run with no choke as it would crank continuously and with the choke on, it would fire right up to life only to cut out. My gut feeling is telling me it's a carb issue since it sounded like it's not getting enough gas, and I lean towards that possibility since the bike would run slightly longer if left untouched for a couple of days. Definitely an unexpecting twist of event but at least I'm glad I can help you with the new updates every now and then
Possible? Yes. Easier? No. Bowl gaskets can be a pain. One screw to remove cable bracket from carb body, keeps your previous adjustment. Safer and quicker than fiddling around upside down.
I don't have a bit or driver with a neck to reach this without stripping it (ask me how I found out). I had been trying to work the throttle cables while the carbs were still on the bike. Recently discovered if I pull the carbs out from the left side I can remove these cables far more easily. This is probably something most everyone already does but it only just occurred to me recently instead of fussing with it on the bike.
Cables shouldn't be bent unnecessarily, they'll last longer too and sync better.
Easier to test petcock by detaching fuel lines from carbs and put ends in a cup then check petcock functions, without removing carbs.
I can report that the gasket is sitting perfectly flush in the recess, no issues whatsoever. When I took the bowl off, it didn't hold the floats up. I've also verified that float needle is moving freely so gas should be able to flow into the bowl. I'll see about taking the fuel line off to see if fuel is coming down.
If the carb inlets were clogged, I wonder about the internals of the carbs too. Can't recall in this long and winding road, but have you cleaned the carbs already? (jets, passages, etc)
What material was clogging the carbs inlets, as they are a decent sized bore into the carb body until you get to the fuel valve seat where that is a much smaller opening? I believe you stated you cleaned your tank, yet it seems like some crud got into the carb inlets or the carb seats to stop the gas flow. I am not a fan of fuel filters and there should be a screen in the petcock above the removable bottom bowl. Some newer petcocks also have a screen over the inlet pipe that extends into the gas tank. Yours probably doesn't use that internal tank screen system though being a 70's model.
My pop took the carb apart a while back and have all the jets cleaned/freed. We didn't think much about the passage but we're most likely going to have to take the carb apart again because the bike ran but didn't ran as good as before and after making a few timing adjustment with no change, the carb is most likely the culprit. I'll get a video on imgur to demonstrate it's running status at the moment.
On the topic of points, with around 9000-ish miles, would the point be considered too worn? I noticed I have a really hard time trying to nail it down perfectly.
Yup, mine has the filter on the petcock (plastic instead of metal one). I noticed it trapped huge particle of gunk but in the carb bowl while there's a little bit of sediment (small/fine). As for the material blocking the carb, it was a bit gunk/solid alike.
I think you need to look at your tank cleanliness better if you had a huge amount of gunk on the screen side of the petcock. You can’t tell the cleanliness just by looking in the top filler hole, as there can be lots of stuff in the rear part or top side of your tank. When bikes sit for a long time the tank usually suffers in some way that isn’t always obvious
What would be one good way to ensure the whole gas tank is cleaned? Currently running into some space limitation, so anything that doesn't take too much space will help!
You can hear one cylinder firing occasionally, but that means its current idle speed in the video is achieved with the strength of one cylinder - which is why it acts less than normally after a rev. One carb either still has a clogged jet or passage, or the synchronization is still off quite a bit.
On the centerstand, it's very possible no oil would come out of the cover. Try to imagine the position of the oil level in the crankcase based on the depth of the marks on the dipstick. If the oil level is down 4 or 5 ounces, that's usually enough to be slightly below the opening of the stator cover. The oil pump doesn't pump oil into that area, only to specific places in the engine that have bearings or bushings under load. The alternator doesn't NEED lubrication, it's just simpler to build the engine with the alternator in a wet cover rather than creating a sealed area for it that would eventually get oil in it when that seal starts leaking (like some other Honda engines that have dry alternators).
The timing and points gaps go hand in hand, and you can't change one without the other changing. But, you also can't know just how much change in the timing will occur when the points gaps are slightly altered without actually checking the timing again. Yes, it would run and probably okay as well, but there is a reason we don't just bolt the parts on and take a guess by simply setting the gap. If you want the engine to run as it is capable, the points and timing have to be done with the correct procedure.
Yes, it's just I notice that when the proper timing is obtained, the plate looks to be going further than the provided advance - retard range, hence why I'm uncertain if that is alright. If I set the gap to be 0.013 in, it will go in the range but the right point gap will be too little at the correct timing.
Terminology is important so we both know exactly what we're talking about, since we can't see what you're doing. I do not know what you mean by the statement in bold above.
I'm referring to the area circled in red, it seems to go out of the adjustment range.
Just to clarify, if I turn the points plate to the left, that's retarding the timing and if I turn the plate to the right, that's advancing the timing? When I set the points gaps to 0.014 in, the points open too early so I need to advance the timing.
When you turn the points plate opposite of the direction of rotation, you Advance the timing (spark happens earlier). If the points gap is wider, they will open sooner. If the points open too soon (with the gap in spec range), you would Retard the points plate to correct it by turning the points plate in the same direction as rotation. BUT, you should stay aware that the points plate might not have a perfectly tight fit in the base and could alter the points gap adjustment. If the plate fits the base a bit sloppy as some of them do, then if the plate does not rotate in a perfect circle (and goes slightly side to side or up and down in the base) then the points gap will not remain constant. With enough practice attempts, these things will be more apparent to you.
I see where the confusion has occurred, I've been mixing up advance as late and retard as early when it should've been the other way around.
I'll have a look at it tomorrow, that looks promising and putting together what happened, I think you're right that the tab might've been pushed back by the pedal, thus playing around with the adjustment bolt did nothing. Just gotta hope my pa will be a bit accepting of the circumstances
For the 350/360? Yep, just checked CMSNL and they have them too. I guess either they found more somewhere on this earth, or they're selling aftermarket versions without saying so (at least CMSNL)
