1999 January 21 (Thursday)
The magneto and timing gear cover plate are the next things to come off the engine block. I first drained the oil. It was darker than I expected it to be, given that I had changed it 500-1000 miles before starting this work on the bike. On the good side, there were no obvious metal bits stuck to the drain plug.
Magneto
Ready to pull magneto
Advance mechanism removed
I removed the centrifugal advance mechanism and the magneto. The little spring on the advance unit is still there, but the unit seems very loose. I will have to compare with others to see if it is normal or not.
Magneto rotor
Magneto body removed
Magneto rotor removed
I removed the magneto rotor. It came off quite easily (unlike the generator rotor); no bent puller bolts this time. The spark plug wires were next removed. I can see that the insulation around the wire to the left cylinder is worn completely through where the wire goes through the case. The wires will have to be replaced.
Tachometer drive cover
Tachometer take-off cover
I removed the cover where the optional tachometer drive can be connected. I removed this cover because I wanted to, not because it had to be removed. There is about 2-3 mm of sludge in the bottom of the cover. It’s ugly.
Timing gear cover
pulling timing gear cover
timing gear cover removed
I removed the 12 socket head screws that holds the timing gears cover plate and attached the timing gears cover puller. Some turns on the puller and some wraps to the top of the cover with a plastic hammer gets the cover loose. You can see the crankcase breather valve held to the top of the cover by a fine layer of oil.
Timing gear train
Timing gear train
The inside of the cover and the timing gears were covered with a fine layer of sludge. That’s all for today.