timing??????

hello all new here.just bought a 71 750 norton.having trouble with starting at times.some times it fires up by the 2nd or 3rd kick,hot or cold.sometimes it only fires up on the left cyl,pull the plug wire off hold it .25 inch off of plug she starts to pick up on the right,or pull plug out put in new same results.when she is running it run great,except for oil leaks.new plugs point less than 500 miles,was wondering if anyone has any trouble shoot tips,or can steer me in some direction thanks

600zx,

Welcome to Nortondom and the list. I would start with the carbs and pull and clean them and replace the needles and seats while I was in there. That should help a lot. If the slides are heavily scored and rattle in the bodies, send them off to be sleeved or buy new. Make sure all electrical connections from keyswitch, killswitch, coils, and points leads are clean and tight.

At the risk of getting flamed, I would suggest an electronic ignition, either Boyer or RITA (if you can find one) as the single most effective modification for easy, reliable starts. (I have had both of them for at least 15 years now, with no complaints from either).

thanks for the tip,but when it does start on thesecond kick or after pulling the plug wire away the thing runs great idles away and pulls good i am thinking that maybe dwell on the points or timing. how do you check timing on one of these beasts.i have check all connections switched coils condensers any help on checking timing and dwell would b great.i might put the electronic system on later but for now the points are the way i would like to go.

From along time ago on this board. I wrote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Start by removing the gas tank and rocker covers. Put in fourth gear your going to use the rear wheel to slowly turn over the motor. Watch the intake valves when one is going into the head and then returning to it's rest point (where you set valve clearance)that cylinder is on firing stroke. With points both sides must be set on firing stroke so it doesn't matter witch one you start with. You now know were the engine is at now it's time to see how your wiring is done. The color codes for each point set are black and white for one and black and yellow for the other don't assume that this is right out of the book check that the coil wires have not been switched between the coil locations They could be wired any way and will work but you need to know for timming. This is a good time to redo the wiring if it's not right to make it like the book to avoid later confustion. Ok now that your intake valve is back to the clearance point your close to the timming mark on the rotor, pull the timming inspection cover on the primary cover look inside there should be a black and silver gadge to get the mark on the rotor lined up to 28 degrees for points. You use different mark for Boyer ing. they are set at 31 degrees at 5000 rpm with a light. It is a real good idea to check the acuracy of your rotor mark at least once but this needs the use of a degree wheel and a dead stop TDC tool that you don't have if your asking about ing. timming. You can check that the rotor is not loose on it's core the older ones brake loose and cause all kinds of timming changing problems. Hope you have a Hanes manual for the rest of the intructions on setting the points with an old tail light with pig tails and alligator clips. If you don't have any manual don't even start this timming process. Once you have it on the mark it's a good to set the gaps real good on the points before pulling the plate. Time to remove the point plate and the bob wt. distributor to clean check and lube it. Most people like to than spend some time on the points cleaning and resetting the gaps and recentralizing the timming adjusters. Ok now it's time to relock the distributer into the cam using your light on your reajusted points to get it right. Norton cams turn CC while running so don't get confused. Now to set the timming you need to hold the distrubutor against the spring action to final set the timming of the first set of points. Most use the the movment of the whole plate to set this first set of points than the adjusters on the points for the second set. You will be setting the distributor to lock it down into the cam with the first set of points gaped and centeralized in thier adjustment this can be tricky with out the timming service tool (a washer) that holds the distributor full advanced for you. If you don't get the keeper bolt too tight you can slide the unit around with a pair of neddle nose pliars to get the light to flicker and than lock down the distributor. So now turn over the engine with the rear wheel and set the other set of points. Not done yet you should now recheck your gap to see that it hasn't changed and if it has reset it and than recheck the timming. Now your points are staticliy timmed, time to fine tune with a strobe, reset on each plug and recheck every thing again. After you taken it for a long ride good to check every thing again points tend to close with time running and heat. See why most people run Boyers? But it's real good fun to set points up and get them right if you think that this is too much try a tripple cylinder. norbsa
_________________