Add a signature line for your year and letter designated of your bike...what is that fancy compensator?

 

Ya like that huh?

That's a harmonic balancer, and combined with a Darkhorse Crankworks balanced crank that bike is mirror smooth on the highway. If you search under my username I created a post on the HD forum about it.

 

F#@KIN' VOES not grounding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, I made the assumption that the vacuum at idle was deep enough to trip the VOES. Well, removed it, put my vacuum pump on it and it would pull a little then hit zero in about a quarter second.

I grounded the VOES and BAM, repeated 15 degree marks flashing like clockwork. Idle went to the damn moon too because I had it cranked so high to compensate for the retarded timing.

1994, by the way. I'll update. Thanks y'all.

 

Good catch I assume you will take the RPM's up enough to "full advance" and check total timing too ?

 

Not exactly. My tach isn't hooked up yet so I'm not sure if I was in the high idle area for full advance. I did fiddle with the idle adjustment a bit, and the bike wasn't fully warm, so this is something I'll probably fine tune better once the bike is more broken in.

I grounded the VOES by using a small alligator clip across the two male leads in the deutsch connector. The idle shot up and the timing went dead nuts on 15 degrees. I adjusted the plate to just under 30, right where I want it for my angled dome pistons and 10.5:1 CR. Ordered a 6" VOES online for $45 since NOBODY in San Diego has one. There's on in LA, but I ain't driving all the way up there for something twice the price of buying it online for.

 

agreed 30-32 is probably about right especially with dual plugged heads( which you don't mention you have )...
you may even find 32-33 will still be fine at 10.5:1 compression ..
"2000+ rpms area" for full advance to come in.
high idle wont be high enough to find out what your total full advance will be.

 

Thanks Pan

Yea, I was looking at ignition curves from Nightrider and 2000 seems to be where full advance hits. I thought it was higher but whatever...

I'm ok for now, until I get the tach installed. I have no idea where my RPM was actually so I may be a bit advanced since right now I'm in the high 20's but probably below 2000.

 

UPDATE

So I got my primary all buttoned up (Energy One clutch pack with extra disc and heavy spring) and checked timing with VOES grounded one last time making sure I was at full advance. I fired the bike up and cranked the idle up to what I can only assume was around 2K. Spark was right at 28ish. Just to check advance, I upped the revs a bit more and checked again with no change. From this I assume that's full advance.

Also, credit where due, the Harbor Freight dial back timing light works great! I set the dial at 0 degrees and the flash was at 28 degrees. I slowly turned the dial up and when the flash was at TDC the dial said 28 degrees. I like how that works. I can now use the inspection port in the crankcase and use the dial to see where ignition is by looking for the TDC mark and then checking the dial. I just have to remember the induction clamp has an arrow on it that points towards the spark plug. My new Bosch timing light doesn't care which direction it's clamped.

 

Just buy the Plexiglas timing hole tool which wipes the flywheel clean when you strobe it.

Also, 6 speed TC's only have Loctite on the inner primary bolts, never seen one come loose.

 

I already have the timing hole thingy and got frustrated because I would never see the timing mark. I thought it was a shitty timing light, so I bought a new one and bought that EZ-Tyme thing for timing checks and it turned out to be the VOES f#@king everything up.

Going forward, now I can use my timing hole plug and the dial back timing light to do all timing. I just hook up the light and turn the dial until I see the TDC mark on the crank, then look at the dial to see my timing.

That S&S crank has a really faint mark for advance, and it's at 35 degrees. Since I'm at 28 that won't work.