Hi All,
Been a while, but the bike is now semi-rideable. 3years, and 3x the original cost of the bike, and I can get it to 40mph. That in of itself is a HUGE improvement.
Anyway, my question is this: I seem to have every single cleaner in my repertoire, except for electrical contact point cleaner. Is there anything I "could" use in its place? I was thinking some B-12 Berryman's carb cleaner, as this seems to have little residue. I'm afraid to use brake cleaner, b/c of the plastic bushings, and I don't want to use WD-40/penetrating oil, as this leaves a film.
Essentially what I think is happening is that my 2-3 cylinder point is not sparking well. I have filed it a bit, but I don't want to get too overzealous with the metal. There does appear to be a black film on the contacts, and 1-4 cylinder point is firing like a champ after a little touch-up. Timing is great, maybe a bit off advance, but to pull the plate off would require a LOT more work, and the screws look like some one used a meat cleaver to tighten them.
The update: The synopsis was that the bike ran, but never under load. It got progressively worse. Replaced a lot of "low hanging fruit" problems. Now I know why everyone here screams "CARBS, DUMMY" when anything is wrong with these bikes. It was, amongst other things, the fuel system. Lines, filters, tank, jets, floats, all messed up. DO NOT EVER leave Seafoam in for long periods of time, either. DO NOT EVER use Kreme (Por-15 is far and away a better product). DO NOT EVER believe a seller when they say "a little tune up and she'll be fine". She wont. She will require new tools, new vocabulary, new bank accounts, and new band-aids every week.
Thanks guys, for all your help. I've chatted, bought parts from, and read hundreds of posts from y'all, and honestly, the bike (and myself) wouldn't have 1/10th the progress without this forum.
