Starts, but loss of power above idle

[Davereif212]

I need help, 1959 with S&S E Carb. Manual advance single point circuit breaker. I just replaced the breaker gear and shaft. was damaged cause previous owner didn't think it was important to use the screws for shafts. put cover back on adjusted pushrods, but no power. Thanks.

[Robert Luland]

I don't think you have it time properly. Lets see what the other pros have to say. Bob L

[Bosheff]

More info would be helpful....bosheff

[Davereif212]

About a month ago the girl quit. found the circuit breaker hard to turn. took the gearcase cover off to find the idler gear and c breaker gear shafts were dancing up and down on the case side. they both came away from their seat and wore about a 1/4" slot in the case. I had the cir. breaker shaft fixed, new breaker gear due to it dropping down in the case and breaking some teeth along with grinding the inside of the case. replaced both shafts and idler gear bushing. got the 2 screws from J&P that were missing and put it all together. After timing it up I got it started. No power when i twist the throttle though. The battery is not holding a charge now, 2 years old. Plugs appear to be carbon fouled. when it does start both are firing. compression seems ok. could the battery be the problem? also I messed with the carb, didn't make any difference. Appreciate any imput.
Dave R

[Davereif212]

Also anyone have a battery they like that will fit in horseshoe tank, 12 volt, kicker? thanks

[steinauge]

RD 350 Yamaha battery (12n5.5A) will work.If you look around you can find an AGM version of that battery that will live a LOT longer.You will have to space the battery up in the oil tank as it is a lot shorter than the 6 volt battery. When you set the timing remember to set your point gap first, then rotate the engine ,watch the front intake pushrod go up and start down,then locate the advance fire line in the hole and set your timing.HTH

[steve_wood]

So, if I understand this correctly, you did a whole bunch of work on the circuit breaker, did static timing, and fired it up. No work on the carb at this point correct? And it won't run above idle. Then you tried adjusting the carb, but it had no impact. Correct?

What about when the girl actually quit. What happened? Did it die while running? Did it refuse to start? What did diagnostics tell you at that point? Was the generator operating correctly?

It kinda sounds like an electrical problem, but there's a lot of unknowns here....

You mentioned issues with the battery. It could be that the battery is sucking all your power or, even worse, the dead battery has damaged your generator. Either way, first thing to try is a new battery. I would also check your generator to make sure it's operating correctly.

[Dave_R]

Are you sure that both cyl's are in time? I would "double-check" to make sure that the front plug fires on its compression stroke, and the rear fires on its compression stroke. (Timer could be "180" out)

I timed the front cyl to the rear cam position on the timer once (180 deg out, or backwards). It would idle fine, but any increase in throttle - would "kill" it.

-Dave

[Davereif212]

The bike started up fine and quit after 2 blocks. I found the circuit breaker to be hard to turn when I tried to re-time it. Robbie suggested looking deeper for the problem which is how I found the damaged Gear. What appeared to have happened was the circuit breaker gear moved around in the case and put pressure on the circuit breaker shaft causing it to bind. A friend who has a machine shop cleaned up the circuit breaker and got it spinning freely again, I replaced the gear and inserted the idler screw and circuit breaker drive gear screw (which were missing) and put cover on. The battery had died during the down time, so I charged it back up. The carb was adjusted ok before problems arose. Also when it was running I turned the headlight on and it would kill motor. This morning the battery was completley drained. Along with replacing the battery I am going to look at the ignition switch and my wiring. The generator was just rebuilt last November along with a new voltage regulator. Thanks for reading

[Davereif212]

Dave, I'll check the timing again. The thing is, It ran fine until I had the problem inside the case. I also have to look at my pushrods again. On a personal note, My wife says to me, You could have had a new motorcycle for what you've spent on that. That may be true, but it just wouldn't be the same. I love my Pan. How do you explain that?

[Davereif212]

steinauge, thanks I will check into that battery

[Bosheff]

If ya gotta explain it, they usually won't understand it....bosheff

[RUBONE]

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On a personal note, My wife says to me, You could have had a new motorcycle for what you've spent on that. That may be true, but it just wouldn't be the same. I love my Pan. How do you explain that?

Just remind her how much you have spent on her over the years and still keep her around, Could have just bought a new model, right!
Robbie

[Davereif212]

Thanks fellows, Anyone with the credit/cash can go out and buy a new anything. I don't think theres any other forum out there to "keep the old iron on the road" like this. I'm going to try the new battery and re-time. I was really down about my bike not running right. I really appreciate the replys. Dave R. Tallmadge, Ohio

[Davereif212]

Update, tonight I charged battery, and it fired right up. I had the air filter off so I could see inside the intake. when twisting the throttle it looked like a lot of fuel was flowing, not a mist but a broken stream. next I am going to clean the carb up. Any more suggestions? Thanks.