83 CR500, here begineth the lesson

Well I dragged it out from its lair again making sure I have a bag of frozen peas handy this time. I've checked it all through bar ignition timing and it all should be good. No luck though. Backfires on the first kick then nothing until its stopped sulking in about 20 mins then the same. Carb is all standard settings as should the timing be, all the electrics check out according to figures. I'm a bit stumped, I think it must be spark related though so back to the timing again I guess. I just had this on the KTM with an over large pulsar coil gap, got there in the end, just a case of persevering.
Looks pretty in its nearly finished state though, would rather have an ugly bike that ran at the moment.

Bike looks fantastic! What about rolling down a hill and try a 2nd gear push start? Or move the timing a C hair more past TDC

Thought about a push start down hill then thought about pushing it back up again. I'll have a look at the timing.
I remember this with my rebuilt 370 stormer, it just would not start after hundreds of kicks, then it suddenly started and did so ever after !!!
I'm beginning to suspect demonic possesion.

the backfire is a clue but unfortunately, my name isnt Holmes..nothing inthe exhauzt? i spent 2 hours trying to start the wipper snipper only to discover some wasp had called the port home! float is good and plug is wet? no jokes...reeds sealed ok. tried another plug? iknow all this is obvios but helps to get the mind ticking...i had the same with the 400 and it just fired up without any real changes. keep at it as the bike looks fantastic.

This post is about SEM stators.
I have found that if the stator internal wiring is getting a little sad of if you send your stator to some Knob in Spain who rewires it wrong then you will have a very weak spark at low revs.
Which is NOT what you need when trying to start a big bore.
So I mucked around and found this cdi and coil that need LESS voltage to create a good spark at low revs.
The cdi should be a non advance one or you will have to set your timing to suit . Example , 2mm at full advance.
I check my timing with a battery powered strobe.
I am running these on all my Huskys [ sacrilege I know ] and never have a problem , I also carry a spare but have never had to use it.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/CDI-unit...orcycle_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4169d48843
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/IGNITION...orcycle_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1e5f34d1f7

Cheers Mike

I think she's sulking coz you've painted the exhaust white and left her undressed without her front mudguard....

Only joking.....Lovely bike.

Is this the supermoto look you are after??
Here is my 88 430XC as I bought it it has original hubs laced to Morad rims with bridgestone BT45 110/70x18 fr & 140/70X18 r, though the chain kisses the edge on the rear! I have a freindly MOT station, I have since got some original size wheels from Andy at HVA

Well it was a long time ago but I always found the trick was choke on, petrol on, lay the old girl on her side until fuel started to dribble onto the crankcase, stand her up, a couple of slow turnover kicks on the started, then get the kickstart to the point where it bit and then the usual give it a good kick. Believe it or not always worked for me.

Many thanks for all the advice, think a weak spark is the cause. Going to finish off all the mechanical details, chain guide, fork brace, etc. Some good ideas to improve spark thanks. Im of the mech school, so glad of electical advice. This week though got rebuild and porting of a pair of Rover V8 heads, fixing an Audi gearbox with a sheared selector fork, removing a Beryllium evaporator from a nuclear fusion reactor and some 'brown laning' on the KTM to be done. Going to be a busy one !

a 12guage shotgun from 6 feet away will sort the berrylium evaporator out quick smart

I like the sound of that BB load in one barrel and a solid shot in the other!!

Thanks for these, I'm a proper dunce with electrics but found similar on UK Ebay. They seem like a simple solution so will be investigating for sure.

solid shot can be a little exciting for men our age.... i prefer the 44 - 440 lever action the old man gave me. sends a basket ball of lead slowly but steadily toward whatever you point it at then all hell breaks out at impact and whatever you hit looses interest in everything very quickly! its a wonder you dont hear it at your place, only 10,000km away... its loud!

Don't think I got the beard to fire a weapon like that! I'd like to use that on the Husky when it don't start but I think it would just make it angry and snarl in my direction before savaging my ankle again !

You could always just beat the bars***d to death , sorta like on Faulty Towers.
A lot quieter than a shottie although the screaming doe's attract attention.


Interesting thought.
If you used a 4 stroke CDI [ with inbuilt advance ] and set the max advance at 2mm BTDC then would ? the bike be easier to start.
The starting timing would be 1mm BTDC or thereabouts [ you know what I mean ]
May not kick back at all and be easier to start. [ PE suzuki's are like this ,for the girl riders probably ]
I personally like the decompressor valve and my foot does too

Any updates its been a while

Thanks for the prod. Just got back into it after the non starting day a while back, when I kicked F*ck out of it and it just laughed, backfired and then fell off its stand as I was eyeballing it from the other side of the garden. I got the fever back this weekend, bent the brake lever back, got a new ignition coming with internal rotor developed with Electrex, got some +5mm lock stops and the fork brace is back on the mill.

Thanks HJ, I will take that advice, just want to get a decent ignition to give me a good fat spark. I hope to be sorted sooner rather than later so I can get some hours in before the winter then I can do the odd clear and frosty ride out with no holds barred ! I remember my air cooled 2 strokes always flying with a cold charge of air and some good cooling on a winters day.

I have never had any real success with NGK plugs and now use Bosch in everything I own.