1961 XLCH Ironhead R&R

20141031211211 1
1961 XLCH Ironhead R&R #183 Motor Rebuild Overhaul Harley Sportster
complete teardown inspection rebuild reassembly install and get running.
this sportster bobber only had 175 miles on its rebuilt motor before it needed to be fix correctly.
I built the bike earlier in the year so it was up to me to fix it now.
see it as I go and don't miss the fun.

[@jayslong]

Why this happens I don't know. I had the same situation. Either in too far towards engine or too far out towards the air breather. I would raise the mag and index the gear one tooth and depending on which way I moved the gear it continued to be too far in or too far out. What was needed was 1/2 a tooth difference.The solution was to remove the drive gear from the bottom of the mag shaft and index it 90 degrees and redrill the cross hole in the shaft. The gear has 11 teeth and by indexing the gear 90 deg. the mag would reengage only 1/2 a tooth when mag was reinserted. The mag will now sit straight when timed correctly and the cam follower on the points does not have to doctored, which is not a good idea at all. I myself did not figure this out but was told by a very good mechanic that this was the way to fix this anomaly. J.

[@TatroMachine]

you can also remove the pressed on drive gear on the cam and move it some. these gears also move sometimes causing other issues.
tatro