1970 T500 Titan- newbie

[Cubby]

Hello guys,

I have a 1970 T-500 that I just cant get to run properly. First of all, it is a custom bobber with K&N air cleaner pods on the carbs and a hand made expansion chambers. It ran pretty good for a while but now it wont idle unless I plug up the idle jets and starve the engine of fuel. I had a leaky petcock and needle and seat that filled up the motor with fuel that I had to drain out of the bottom end when it hydraulic locked on me with fuel. I also replaced the points but I am unsure how to set them and the timing.

First question: how to set the points and timing? I see a "L" and a "R" mark on the fly wheel but when those marks are lined up the points do not seem to be fully open. How should I set the points, at the highest spot on the cam?

Second Question: How does this bike run when it has a blown lowers seal? Does it run at all?

What sucks is this thing was running great and then it all of a sudden started loading up and not idling. And it idles when I plug up the idle jets. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.............Cubby

[oldjapanesebikes]

You don't mention whether you have a shop manual for this ? If not, an online version can be found at this link:

http://www.oldjapanesebikes.com/mraxl_G ... index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The section on timing has most of what you need to know to get that part sorted.

For the carburettors I suspect you will have to pull, strip and clean them. I would only bother buying gaskets - if it ran well before, then most probably it just needs cleaning and new gaskets. It will run poorly or not at all if the seals are gone, and depending on which seal one obvious sign is lots of smoke, as well as perhaps oil pumping out the engine breather.

[Cubby]

Thanks for the response, To set the points i would put the follower of the points on the highest point on the cam and set them to 14 thousandths, right?
The only reason I questioned the points or timing is because I replaced them a while ago and it ran ok when I did. I thought that not enough spark would be why I have to stop fuel from going into the pilot jet to make it idle. This thing is crazy, it will only idle when I PLUG up the pilot jet (with a toothpick). then it will idle, not well but it will idle...........Cubby

[titan performance]

This is not the recognised method of setting the timing, but I have done this on these bikes, and others for near 40 years, and it works fine, and is easy to do without any special equipment.
First off, take yourself into your garage where it's nice and quiet.
Set your points gap as you have said above...when the follower is on the highest point of the cam.
Remove both plugs and put them back into the caps, and earth them on the heads. It would be good if you can actually see them from where you are on the left side of the bike.
Get your self the spanner that fits the bolt on the end of the crank, (12mm I think),
Turn the motor with the spanner nice and slow, listening carefully, and you will hear the plugs spark as the points start to open.
Using the L and R marks, the object is to get the relevant plug to spark as the marks align. This is achieved by loosening the points mounting plates and rotating them backward or forward as required around the cam.
This system works.....and if you get it firing on these marks, the engine will run perfectly once the carbs are sorted too.

[Coyote]

Yes. Timing is a 2 step procedure. Gaps first (on all), then timing. Gaps are set with the center screw only and that screw should not be disturbed again. Then the object is to get the spark (just opening) as the L & R marks align with the mark. That is done by rotating the points assembly with the outer 2 screws. Always double check as things have a tendency to move when tightened.

[lrutt]

This is not the recognised method of setting the timing, but I have done this on these bikes, and others for near 40 years, and it works fine, and is easy to do without any special equipment.
First off, take yourself into your garage where it's nice and quiet.
Set your points gap as you have said above...when the follower is on the highest point of the cam.
Remove both plugs and put them back into the caps, and earth them on the heads. It would be good if you can actually see them from where you are on the left side of the bike.
Get your self the spanner that fits the bolt on the end of the crank, (12mm I think),
Turn the motor with the spanner nice and slow, listening carefully, and you will hear the plugs spark as the points start to open.
Using the L and R marks, the object is to get the relevant plug to spark as the marks align. This is achieved by loosening the points mounting plates and rotating them backward or forward as required around the cam.
This system works.....and if you get it firing on these marks, the engine will run perfectly once the carbs are sorted too.

I do roughly the same thing but hook up my analog ohm meter. When the needle just starts to move on the marks, that's where I set it.

I've benched time every bike I own that way (that have points) and it does work flawlessly.

[celt_rock]

Has anyone made an instructional video on this? I learned how to change the struts on my car via YouTube, seems there's a lot of stuff specific to these bikes that folks could make a quick video of and post on line. Sure would help a lot of people!