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Here's the timing plug I'm trying to use on a 1997 Buell Cyclone (Sportster 1200 engine). The service manual warns that I should be careful not to contact the flywheel with the plug, but I would need to be able to screw it in all the way to the knurls just to contact the flywheel. This leaves @ 3/16 space between the plug face ans the flywheel and all I see when it's running is an oily flywheel. Can't make out any marks at all even if I slowly rotate the cam sensor either direction. Do I have the wrong plug?
Pointing a timing light at a Harley, particularly a dual-fire Harley like your M2, is pretty much a disaster in my opinion. If you're going to do it, skip the plug and put up with a little oil in your face, it'll be much easier to see. But the extraneous flashes caused by the dual fire ignition will still cause confusion.
A far better way, again in my opinion, is to use an ignition that has a timing LED and do it statically. The Dyna 2000 8-pin is a good choice for your bike.
Get the timing mark in the window and spray brake cleaner on it, then paint that point with white paint , let it dry. Use the plug and if an Inductive light, place the pick up clamp on the rear cylinder wire.
I'll do that tonight, might help, can;t hurt. I also have the added challenge presented by the Buell stainless race header that passes less than an inch away from the cam sensor cone AND just about completely blocks the view into the timing hole. If I do get a single fire ignition it will have to be a remote mount similar to the Buell race module under the seat now. This all started with a melted cam position sensor.
Just for fun I made a viewer with 2 mirrors facing each other. At least I can see a straight on view. Pipes were wrapped upon discovery of melted sensor.
Thanks John, desperate men do desperate things. Those pipes look and sound awesome and supposedly dyno well, but they do present serviceability challenges.
Ahhhh the Lexan Viewing plug. Yep, the old clean it and paint the mark works BUT it will still be hard to see the damn mark. With my 77 XLH 1000 all I do is Static Time it. It's maybe 99% on the money and runs GREAT. After Static Timing it, Test Ride it. Then advance it a few degrees and test Ride again to see it any improvement. Repeat as needed, advance & retard.
I soldered extension leads on the ignition module harness to use for static timing as described in the service manual by moving the sensor plate until the voltage transitioned from 5v to 0v with the TDC straight bar in the port. The mirrors allowed for a straight on view, and the sensor plate is just about exactly where the scribe marks were for the original. Even after painting the advance dots on the fly wheel I never saw them with the timing light. After wrapping the pipes with aluminum foil to protect them from the oil "mist" described in a couple youtube videos I tried the no-plug method. Mine didn't look like the videos, mine looked like a fire hose/power washer. Hit the back of the header, sprayed the seat ant tail section, shot 12' across the shop floor, out the door & into the driveway. I was standing off the side and my clothes are not recoverable. Learn something new every day....
You probably had oil leak down in to your sump from the bike sitting. All that oil had to go somewhere. I'm picturing in my mind what happened, hope you get everything cleaned up. I bought one of those Lexan plugs but static timed my bike and have not done any dynamic timing. My bike runs great so I decided to leave well enough alone. Your experience reaffirms my decision.
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1st Time Timing Not Going Well
