Replaced points today . . .

Yup, finally happened. . I had just gotten gas while riding home and about 5 miles down the road the motor started sputtering and losing power. I pulled over onto a grassy, but not shady, spot in front of a convenience store - how convenient is that?

I thought at first it was water in the gas, drained the bowl, but no water came out. Started it up, same problem. Checked plugs, same problem. Next I checked for loose wires and found none. Finally, I removed the cone cover and inspected the points. They didn't look too swift, although they were firing, so I took out my spare pair, installed and gapped and . . . walla! Bike roared to life, full power restored.

Worse thing was, my arms and shoulders got sunburned pretty good - it got to low 90s. Put in over 100 miles today. Life's good, boys. Would I upgrade to EI? Probably not.

Glad you got it going JoshBob, I put on about 150 today. the weather started out really nice but then it turned quickly. I hate that when that happens. EI is pretty reliable as well my friend, don't knock it until you try it..

Heh...as long as you don't run out of spares

I won't knock EI. It's great. Modern tech has come a long way, especially with electronics. It's amazing what can be done with a bit of electricity.

Yup, I must go out and get another spare set of points today for the tool bag LOL. I changed over to Autolite plugs today also, on Tattoo's advice. He thinks ANYthing is better than Champions. Incidently, Tattoo, me, and a couple of other guys are going for a ride today. We all have old bikes and one guy has a panhead bobber. I'll post the results of our travels on the Ride is the Adventure thread.

Heck yeah! Well, I went into town and called Tattoo and he changed his mind about riding today, saying he'd rather be in his pool and sucking down a few cold ones. Can't blame him - it's pretty hot out right now. So, I got some sun screen, covered up my poor, sunburned arms, and went on a solo ride. Not much happening around here on a Sunday, but the ride was nice. Ate some lunch and tooled around a bit more and headed home. Altogether a fine way to spend a Sunday.

Bike runs good with new points and plugs. Shake, rattle & roll!

Back in the 70's Champion Rep came over here trying to push their plugs to the racing circuit. Old boy from the back of the room spoke up and said " I wouldn't run Champions if you gave them to me" When the Rep asked why not...the response was "Because I would wear out the treads in the spark plug hole changing them"

I too will never run Champions...I did a whole top end on a shovelhead once because of bad Champions (brand new ones) They were fine for about 2 weeks and once they started acting up they still fired fine when grounded against the cylinder head, but misfired under compression.

I've heard some people like their platinum plugs.....but I refuse to run any plugs with the Champion brand on them. Yes I know Champion makes Harley plugs, I don't care.....if it says ChampPeeOn on it I ain"t runnin it

Aloha...Mike

Cham pee on ha-ha! Well, maybe a plug thread anyway LOL. The bad rap on Champions is that they are hecho en Mexico and the quality control ain't too swift down there, or so I've heard.

So, I'll try the Autolites for awhile and see if they're any better. But I change plugs and points & condensor at the beginning of every riding season anyway, (cheap maintenance) so it probably won't make much difference no matter what I use.

Do the Harley plugs have the Champion name on them? Honestly I don't recall. Way I hear it the Harley plugs are made for Harley by Champion according to Harley specs. They are better quality plugs than the car plugs.
There is nothing wrong with the Harley plugs that I know of. I just don't like them because they are made by ChamPeeOn!!! Yes I admit it I am prejudiced against Champion plugs!!!! I can recall personally at least 3 separate occasions where Champion plugs failed to fire properly (Once on a Panhead and twice on a Shovelhead). These were not old worn out plugs either, they were newer plugs that had no other reason to fail other than being defective. Most of the guys I know around here that ran the old bikes (Pans and Shovel mostly) will not run Champion plugs in either their old or new bikes.

Aloha....Mike

Not a bad outcome, all things considered!

What, ME worry? I just hate to have to shell out the 300 bucks. Maybe more if I have to get another coil. Think of all the beers that buys! And I know of more than one shovel rider to switch back to points after having EI. Now, I wonder why . . ..

'Lectrickly challenged LOL. Tattoo even tells me to change to EI, though he is still running points in his '67 slabside. Can't figure that one out.

Cowboy, which EI did you use? Did it have kickstart mode?

I'm sure I'm not the only one that had a dud condenser right outta the box,really sux when it's your spare:angry:
I wasn't disappointed when EI came into the picture...

I saved my old one from last year - only had a bit over 4000 miles on it - and put it in my bike tool bag for a spare. I KNOW it works .

I suppose there's a way to test a new condensor, short of putting it in the bike, but I don't know how.

Maybe this will help:

1
Remove the condenser from the engine. Place the condenser on an insulated wooden surface such as a workbench. A metal surface may cause the test to fail. You will note that there is a small metal connector located at the top of the condenser. This connector is the "hot" or power connection. The metal case of the condenser is the ground point.

2
Switch the volt ohmmeter to the ohms position. Place the red lead into the "ohm" connector on the meter. Insert the black lead into the "com" or common connector on the meter.


3
Touch the red lead to the hot connector on the condenser. Place the black lead to the metal case or ground point on the condenser. The meter's deflection needle should have jumped slightly to the right. The needle may also slowly rise in the right hand direction. Hold the leads in place for 15 seconds to 20 seconds. This action places charge to the condenser.

4
Remove the leads and reverse the placement to the condenser. In other words, move the red lead from the hot connector to the metal case, and move the black lead from the metal case to the hot connector. At the moment where both leads are touching the correct points, the meter should jump towards the right. This action discharges the condenser.

5
Movement from the meter's needle indicates the condenser is good. If no movement was indicated on the meter in either circumstance in Step 3 or Step 4, the condenser is bad and must be replaced. Retest the condenser several times for a consistent reading.



Read more: How to Test a Condenser in a Small Engine | eHow http://www.ehow.com/how_5526059_test-condenser-small-engine.html#ixzz2VREAmoqC

Good Luck....Mike

PS Most people have digital meters now, but somehow I wouldn't be surprised if your meter is analog. Which in this case may actually be better. :roflmao: