Topic: CB200 won't run

[Scott S]

 Someone on the Honda twins site has me second guessing my work, but I'm reasonably confident I did it right. However....I will gladly admit a mistake if you see something.
 He says:

"WHOA....hold up, the timings set when the the points open not close.
The Light needs to go out on the F, not come on.

Also where was the crank set when you adjusted the valves, ( 3 loose, 1 tight) sounds like one is open, three closed youll need to redo the one that was tight rotating the crank till its closed

You cant check for spark at the points, if the points spark either the condenser's shot or the points are worn or both"

 To which I replied:

 I followed the directions from the factory manual, which say:

"With test lamp
1. Connect one lead of the test lamp to the contact breaker spring and the other to the engine (ground)
2. Turn on both the main and ignition switches
3. Slowly turn the generator rotor in a counterclockwise direction until the lamp is about to light. Timing is correct if the mar "F" is lined up with the index mark.
4. When adjustment is necessary, loosen the locking screws and rotate the base plate as necessary"

Then, I followed that up with the Clymer, which says:

"2. Place a wrench on the alternator bolt and turn the engine over until the F mark on the alternator rotor aligns with the index pointer.
3. Connect a timing tester to the breaker point terminal and a good ground.
4 Loosen both base plate screws just enough so that the base plate can be moved slightly. Turn the base plate so that the points just begin to open.The test lamp will light exactly at the moment that the F mark on the alternator rotor aligns with the index pointer, if the ignition timing is correct.
5. Tighten base plate screws
6. Recheck adjustment by turning the rotor clockwise slightly, then counterclockwise slowly. The F mark and index should align just as the points open (and the test lamp lights up). Readjust in necessary,
7. To check the remaining cylinder, turn the rotor one full revolution (360 degrees)and perform the preceding steps again.


Re: The valves. I rotated the crank until the intake valve went down then started back up. The I lined up the T mark. Then I checked and made sure both valves were closed (loose at the tappet). Adjusted those two, rotated the engine, did the other two.

You're telling me that you can't see a spark when you watch the points. I've always been able to see spark at the points.

[Scott S]

 I won't go over everything in detail, but I double-triple-quadruple checked the valves, timing, coil tests, etc., this morning and found...NOTHING.
 Started back tracking and decided to put the old condenser back in. The first night it broke down on her, it would run-die-run-die, etc., and that can be a symptom of a failing condenser. As part of the tune up, we replaced it.
 Since that was one variable, I put the old one back in...and it fired up instantly! Test ride is good so far, runs and sounds great.
 It kicked my ass for a bit, but I think it's fixed!

[tbpmusic]

Yeah, condensors have a shelf life - they can go bad sitting on the shelf for years.......

[Kevin D]

I had a condenser fail about this time last year. The darn thing is it tested ok, and it was on a recent $100 TEK points plate. The giveaway was a big fat blue spark at the associated point.

[Scott S]

 Yeah, this was a brand new condenser and i was getting spark. I guess it was just too weak to work under cylinder pressure.

 I told her to come get the darn thing before it stops running again! LOL

[CycleRanger]

Oh good grief, really?
Yeah, you wouldn't suspect a new component.
Well, at least the bike got a good tune-up in the process!