My brother recently purchased a 1987 sporty 883 that had the chain jam around the front sprocket. Previous owner said check the trans to make sure gears were ok and other than that the bike has no issues. In his infinite wisdom little brother removed the cam cover and before you know it he calls me to put new pushrods in and put it all back together. I put adjustable rods in and reinstalled everything to the letter by the service manual. It will not start. Plugs fire, it's getting gas, and rods are not jamming up and everything else seems normal. Timing marks at the same position. Could I have put the cam gears in on the wrong stroke? I lined all the marks up and read that the coil fires both cylinders every stroke so I didn't think about it being compression stroke or exhaust stroke I just put it TDC and figured that would work. Thanks for the help and feel free to belittle my intelligence. I've been married 17 y ears im used to it.

 

Why do people work on their bikes without having a factory service manual and no experience ? They are just looking for disaster

 

I have a service manual. I've repaired my own vehicles since I got my first bicycle . I've worked on Honda's, Kawasaki's, Yamahas, and every vehicle I've ever owned no mater how many wheels it had. See, I didn't have a lot of money growing up or a father that gave two ***** about teaching me things. I did however have a grandpa that taught me the value of hard work and determination. He always bought whatever part I may need and told me if I wanted bad enough I would learn to fix it myself. I took my first car to a mechanic when I was 16 because I was lazy and was working full time and thought I could afford it. Well he told me it would be around $75-100 bucks and I said fine fix it. When I came back to pick it up he said the cost was $750(new timing chain, cam shaft, etc). Well my grandpa said you took it there you manup and deal with it so I paid him $100 I had and asked if I could pay the rest in weekly payments starting tomorrow since it was payday and he said ok. Got my car back and the next day I had my buddy take me there and I said I'd like the parts he took off my car, and he said he didn't have them. He had put them in the trash. What he didn't know was that I was so mad at myself for paying him I went home and looked in every magazine and book I could find to see what these parts looked like(no internet in 1984)and then went back down there that night and searched the dumpster. Well I said when I see the old parts I'll pay the remainder. For the next 4 years he sent me hand written bills and every time I'd send him a letter saying I'm not paying for work I didn't authorize and frankly I don't believe he actually did any of the work and I'd be glad to argue it in court. When my grandpa caught wind that I hadnt paid he asked me why not and I said he didn't have the parts and unless he worked all night he couldn't have done it in the time he had the car anyway. Turns out the guy was doing this to lots of people who didn't know any better and he was soon run out of town. Ever since I've never taken a vehicle to someone else. If I couldn't figure it out I'd ask someone but never lett them turn a wrench. I'm not a mechanic but lots of my friends ask me to fix their vehicles because more than likely I've experienced the same problem. Have I made mistakes? Plenty of them. Have I learned from them? Volumes of knowledge. My uncle was a Hells Angel Vietnam vet and he always told me if a man would let someone else touch his bike or his gun, he might as well let them touch his wife too because he doesn't respect or deserve all three. I got my first Harley in March and it was in pretty rough shape but I got it running without having to open it up. And I'm proud of what I've done to it. I bought a second one and gave it to my brother so we can ride in memory of my uncle. Now I've bought a third one and it's in the worse shape yet but it does have an S&S motor that ain't locked up so I will get it running too. With or without help from the internet because In the end I'll be in the wind. #WWG1WGA '87 883- '86-883, 1979FLX '80S&S

 

The correct position of the motor to install the cams is with the crankshaft pinion gear in the correct position to line up with the number 2 cam timing mark.
There is a timing mark on one tooth of the pinion gear.

 

My remark was not meant for you. It was meant for your brother that pulled things apart without knowing what he was doing.

 

Compression check!

 

It is possible to get the ignition timing 180 degrees off. All the marks line up but the front cylinder is on the exhaust stroke instead of the compression stroke, and it will make a big difference. I learned from experience. The cam timing is pretty straightforward thanks to the marks as shown ^^^.