Topic: Can’t get timing right

[Dos]

Owner of a Cb350f.

I have heat fatigued springs behind my timing plate
Therefor, I can only set timing correctly at full throtte.

I can set 1.4 to line in between the two l l but the. 2.3 is way off.

I’m unable to get 2.3 in between the two l l
The 2.3 plate is all the way down and it still isn’t lining up.

What do I do?

Thank you.

[HondaMan]

What are the gaps in the points? they should be between 0.012"-0.016". Usually the 350F sets up on 0.014" quite well.
Are the points made by TEC or Hitachi, or are they Daiichi brand? If they are Daiichi, then you must bend the ground arm inward a little bit on them in order to get the timing to match up, because they are made slightly wrong.

[Don R]

 Can you cut a loop off of the springs and bend a new one to tighten them a bit? I use two needle nose pliers.

[Dos]

I’m going to leave the springs as they are.
I don’t trust myself enough to not mess it up. If they made new ones for a 350f I’d buy for sure..

My 2.3 plate has TEC on it but when I see other Cb350f’s 2.3 plates they are blank. Perhaps this is causing the problem?
My points are original nos points I was using a 0.016 feeler gauge and just making it a really tight fit but I think I need to readjust..

[HondaMan]

I’m going to leave the springs as they are.
I don’t trust myself enough to not mess it up. If they made new ones for a 350f I’d buy for sure..

My 2.3 plate has TEC on it but when I see other Cb350f’s 2.3 plates they are blank. Perhaps this is causing the problem?
My points are original nos points I was using a 0.016 feeler gauge and just making it a really tight fit but I think I need to readjust..

That's an interesting point: does the main plate also have the "TEC" on it? I know, for instance, that the plates from Daiichi are "off" in their geometry a bit, so I wonder what would happen if a TEC subplate were mounted to the errant Daiichi plate?

But, I digress, back to the issue... 

Try this for an example: reduce the gap on the 1-4 points to 0.012" gap, then see where the 2-3 side comes up when the whole backing plate is rotated to make the 1-4 timing marks align properly. This should retard the 2-3 side accordingly.

Most of the time, using 0.014" on both points makes for good timing on the 350F: it seemed it was pretty accurately made when compared to some of these other bikes' engines. I've never had trouble with setting the 350F/400F points, they always seem to fall right to the marks with the 0.014" gaps.

[Deltarider]

In general all timing of the ignition is done by just (re)adjusting the breakerpoints gap. All manuals demonstrate the full procedure however, which includes adjusting the plates. Realise that the full procedure is only needed when you had the whole assemby removed.
The CB350F 2+3 plate is by ND and officially it's the only available for the CB350F. Owners of other models like the CB400F and CB500/550 have the choice between the Hitachi and the TEC version. The latter, PN: 30215-300-154 is superior as it offers extra guiding slots.
CMSNL shows both plates in pictures.
https://www.cmsnl.com/honda-cb400f2-european-direct-sales_model14648/plate-breaker_30215333004/
https://www.cmsnl.com/honda-cb400f2-european-direct-sales_model14648/plate-shift-brk_30215300154/

[dave500]

just try and get the pair of points best you can,are you using a timing/strobe light?check by raising rpm on say 1/4 first watching the advance max out,then do the same with 2/3,if they max out the same all good,forget where it all ends up at idle F marks itll do your head in,once your riding the bike itll always be at full advance anyway if your riding it properly not lugging the motor,dont sweat the curve n #$%* just ride the bike,its more important for the full advance point to be the same between both pairs than any of the low rpm or idling rpms.

[Dos]

Ok next week I will go back and take another dive and report back!

[Dos]

This is what my timing plate looks like everything is ND it looks like I’m able to get 1.4 to go in between the two marks at full throttle however 2.3 is still too retarded. The plate is maxed out and I set the gaps of both points to .3

[scottly]

You have the 2-3 plate maxed out in the retarded direction. To advance the timing, the plate needs to be rotated counter-clockwise.

[RAFster122s]

That big nut has some serious marring from some point…how true is the shaft running?

[Dos]

I figured it out. Thanks so much! Had to really make my points gap tight. It’s strange on 1.4 sometimes it will jump around

[Deltarider]

[...] It’s strange on 1.4 sometimes it will jump around

You may need to fasten the little nut (and bolt) which fastens the wires at the breakerpoints a tad more.
Tip: On adjusting whatever there and knowing in what direction, I usally insert little pieces cut out of an old creditcard (which is minimal 0,4mm thick) between the points (see pic), so there will be no interference by having to fight the spring's force. Tighten, remove the pieces and... clean the points! Even a credit card may leave some residue that will hinder good contacting.

[Oddjob]

Remove the blue wire going to 1-4 points and reverse the way it's fitted. It's almost if not already touching the metal tang of the points, which will short out the condenser and cause problems if and when it does. Even if it's not touching now it's so close it may start to arc across at some point.

Points look like TEC with the checkerboard design but they are cheap copies, next time try and source some genuine TEC points. They time up much easier.

I always recommend NOT fitting socket bolts in the points plate, the thread in the plate is extremely short and it's far too easy to strip them out with socket bolts, use the screws that came as standard, far safer.

[newday777]

It’s strange on 1.4 sometimes it will jump around

Explain what you mean a bit more....

[Dos]

It’s strange on 1.4 sometimes it will jump around

Explain what you mean a bit more....

When checking the timing the strobe light will show it bounce around alittle but most of the time the light shines it’s lined in between the two | |

[Ozzybud]

You have the 2-3 plate maxed out in the retarded direction. To advance the timing, the plate needs to be rotated counter-clockwise.

+++1 to Scottlys post. you said in your original post that 2/3 were too retarded. you have the plate in the full retarded position!