Howdy,
New to these forums and new to motorcycles. I just picked up a 77 550k. I have always admired the older style bikes and the cafe bikes. Finally thought I would jump in and get my feet wet. I guess I decided to go head first with a blindfold on though
The previous owner I purchased the bike from said it was running and a daily driver when the motor lost power and then wouldn't start. I started out checking that the carbs were getting gas, pulled a couple of the plugs, they looked ok. Tested and they were getting spark. Checked the point gap and dwell. So, it seems like fuel and spark are there.
I didn't have a compression tester, so I tried just putting my thumb over the spark plug hole and it didn't seem like there was much pressure. I borrowed a compression tester and made an adapter from an old spark plug. Upon testing, the guage wasn't showing any movement at all ( zero compression). When doing the compression test, is it important to remove all of the spark plugs? Also, when I have read about testing, it says to open the throttle all of the way up. Does that mean twist the handle to max gax, or am I misunderstanding.
Sorry if that seems like a stupid question. Just trying to get familiar with all of the terms and tools.
I haven't tried dropping any oil through the plug hole to re-test the compression.
My goal was to get the bike running enough to ride a little bit before I tore it apart and rebuilt the engine and cleaned the rest of the bike up. So, I just want to make sure that a rebuild is necessary before I start taking it apart. I guess if the compression really is zero, then I'll have to take apart and determine if it is the valves, rings, pistons etc ect. So, if anybody has any suggestions or experience they could share with me that would be great.
Anyway, thanks to all the people who share on this board. There is a ton of great info here. I look forward to geting to know some of you and hopefully sharing a bit as well.
Thanks, and Merry Christmas,
Chris
