67 Atlas

wjrich said:

Thanks all!

Any thoughts of the replacement of the mag capacitators just for preventative value?

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Getting inside the magneto is not a DIY job unless you are 1) skilled, 2) coached, 3) brave, or lacking 1) or 2) foolhardy. I would send it to a professional for a complete rebuild, but only when necessary as you are looking at dropping 4-5 Benjamins. If you are inclined to DIY, Google 'Brightspark' .... they make an external (in the points cavity rather than deep inside the body) capacitor, and have a tutorial on how to do a cap-ectomy. The $$ are much less, but you do not end up with new seals, bearings, HT pickups, points, etc. It is argumentative whether the Brightspark capacitor is equal to the original equivalent. It is certain, you do not want to replace the Lucas cap with a NOS if you could find one, as the original type go bad with age, even sitting on a shelf.

Slick

Agree. The more I research replacing capacitors, the more I want to send the job out if necessary. Going to play with the bike this weekend and hope to make progress resolving a few issues.

wjrich said:

Agree. The more I research replacing capacitors, the more I want to send the job out if necessary. Going to play with the bike this weekend and hope to make progress resolving a few issues.

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I installed the Brightspark with the help of a friend of mine in St. Louis. He has done this upgrade/modification on at least 20-30 mags over the past few years. If you are interested, he can help you out and is very reasonable price wise.

Have the Easy cap on mine and works great..Could be replaced on road if it fails and you have a spare..

Quick update on engine issues-
-took apart the carbs and cleaned thoroughly
-Soaked gas cap in Metal Rescue- tons of debris in the bowl afterwards. Also, cap internals sprung back and forth which I didn't even know they were supposed to.
-replaced fuel line and filter
-checked petcock and tank screen for debris fouling- looked good
- fresh plugs installed

Couldn't do a road check as I am in an orthopedic boot for a broken bone in my right foot. Got the bike started on the lift, though, and it started 2nd kick and settled into a nice idle after warming up a bit. Should've done a Youtube on the left leg starting technique which involved a backwards leap from a low footstool.

Am hoping I've at least cleaned up some of the issues, but will have to wait a few weeks for the road test. In the meantime, I'm focusing on getting the clutch up to speed (other thread).

Once again, thanks for all the tips and suggestions...

Rohan said:

Triton Thrasher said:

Not so sure that there's any real benefit to using the Colortune.

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Yes - the times I've seen one of those colortunes used, on a perfectly running engine it must be said, it indicated that the tuning was not correct....

A pair of vacuum gauges - on a Commando at least - is a far more useful weapon. ?

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Hmm... We are asked to believe someone who has had success with Colortune OR the detractors who have had nothing but failure and call it hocus -pocus.
See how it is so tempting to side with success rather than the bitterness of failure. Rohan, Bernhard, Acotrel, You are not making your case very well.

If we all said its wonderful, and you can trust your life with it,
will you have a warm fuzzy inner glow. ?
And a perfectly performing bike..
(And who gets the commission from the sale of these things.)

The one I tried somewhere said on the packet it was an aid for setting the idle.
Since idle clearly could be set better without it, didn't inspire any great confidence...

To Rohan; Since you still haven’t grasped the principle of why and how a Colourtune works you would be better off if you did not comment on this subject.
As I said on this website before, the Colourtune cannot work in broad daylight, (It is too difficult to see!) it would be better for anyone who has one to use it at night, and as it is only to get the correct air/fuel ratio spot on with the pilot jet/air screw, the adjustment of revs at idle is by the throttle stop screw - this has Absolutely NOTHIN to do with a Colourtune :!: Even if you only have the pilot/air screw only slightly out, you WILL notice the difference when you correct it, if you use this kit in the correct manner which it was designed for.

To sono; I use a set of vacuum gauges to set up a bank on 2 or more carburetts to set the HEIGHT of the throttle slides in combination with a Colour tune in each spark plug hole to set the AIR/FUEL mixture of each individual carb. You appear to have less knowledge than Rohan when it comes to setting up carbs-ever set up a bank of 4 or 6 carbs on a bike :?:
I can get one of these muti- cylinder bikes purring like a well-oiled sewing machine with a constant reliable tick over with no flicking rev counter needle using just these two components.

I tried it at night, it still didn't set up the best idle.

Vacuum gauges are a different matter, although can be finicky to play with.
The 1st time I used them, they weren't restricted enough, and had no obvious way of altering this.
The needles flickered too much to do anything with - different sets come with differing setups ?

Rohan said:

I tried it at night, it still didn't set up the best idle.

Vacuum gauges are a different matter, although can be finicky to play with.
The 1st time I used them, they weren't restricted enough, and had no obvious way of altering this.
The needles flickered too much to do anything with - different sets come with differing setups ?

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re; "The 1st time I used them, they weren't restricted enough, and had no obvious way of altering this."
mine come with a damper to each one.

You appear to have less knowledge than Rohan when it comes to setting up carbs-ever set up a bank of 4 or 6 carbs on a bike :?:
I can get one of these muti- cylinder bikes purring like a well-oiled sewing machine with a constant reliable tick over with no flicking rev counter needle using just these two components.[/quote]

You don't convince anyone by shitting on other people's doorsteps.

Hopefully I'll be able to get some work done on the Atlas this weekend so I can report back and bring this thread back to the subject...

sono said:

You appear to have less knowledge than Rohan when it comes to setting up carbs-ever set up a bank of 4 or 6 carbs on a bike :?:
I can get one of these muti- cylinder bikes purring like a well-oiled sewing machine with a constant reliable tick over with no flicking rev counter needle using just these two components.

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You don't convince anyone by shitting on other people's doorsteps.[/quote]

Speak for yourself-do the words POT, KETTLE, BACK mean anything to you :?:

So I did most of the recommended checks and fixes, and the problem is still there - Atlas it runs fine for about 30 minutes then flat out dies, usually as i slow for traffic light. Sometimes it starts right back up and sometimes only after sitting for 5-1o minutes. Here's what I've done so far-
Made sure gas cap was unclogged
-No obstructions in fuel line or petcock
-Pilot jets cleaned with a #78 drill bit (Amal Premiers) and a generous shot of carb cleaner before just about every ride- bike is used infrequently
Only thing I haven't done is check the auto advance, which has been suggested and I have never done.
I've never taken the timing cover off before- is it as simple as unscrewing the screws and prying it off?
Once off, what exactly am I looking for with the AA?
(same guy with same post on other Norton board)

As I suggested earlier, check that your Maggie is sparking immediately after it dies. Pull a plug, preferably both, lay a plug against the head and kick it over. you should get a visible spark and an audible click or snap if the mag is strong. If not, problem is most likely bad capacitor in magneto.

Bad caps usually rear their ugly heads when hot. You report sometimes able to restart immediately, which generally does NOT happen with bad cap, but you should do above before proceeding further.

Re: pulling timing cover. No big deal, remove screws ... nothing will fly off unless you have the AMR anti wet sump pump mod. Again, do the spark check above first! There is nothing to be gained by pulling the timing cover unless you are sure you are getting spark when hot, and the engine refuses to start.

Slick

PM me if you feel the need

+1 on the mag. Mine was so intermittent that I went through jetting changes thinking it was a carb issue.

texasSlick said:

Bad caps usually rear their ugly heads when hot. You report sometimes able to restart immediately, which generally does NOT happen with bad cap, but you should do above before proceeding further.

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Mine did this exact thing. Actually, on the day my mag died completely the bike quit at a stop-light. It did start immediately, then about a mile later coasted to a stop - 42 miles from home... When rebuilt the test sheet I was sent showed the cap was dead.

Scott

Exhausted all other easy cures- gotta assume this is it.

What skill sets are required to extract the mag? What costs am I looking at for a rebuild, and how hard is the reinstall?

Seriously, if I can't fix this, then somebody's going to get a really good deal on a great Atlas...

wjrich said:

Exhausted all other easy cures- gotta assume this is it.

What skill sets are required to extract the mag? What costs am I looking at for a rebuild, and how hard is the reinstall?

Seriously, if I can't fix this, then somebody's going to get a really good deal on a great Atlas...

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Not too difficult to remove & replace. Complete rebuild by a pro will cost 4 Benjamin's and one Grant. You will then have a like new K2F.

Did you ever check for a good spark right after it would die hot? Before pulling the mag, I would like some assurance we are chasing the right demon.

I will be happy to step you thru the process. But first, what was the result of my earlier suggestions (twice) to check for spark?

Slick

Hopefully out this weekend to diagnose...

Bernhard said:

You appear to have less knowledge than Rohan when it comes to setting up carbs-ever set up a bank of 4 or 6 carbs on a bike :?:
I can get one of these muti- cylinder bikes purring like a well-oiled sewing machine with a constant reliable tick over with no flicking rev counter needle using just these two components.

Click to expand...

sono said:

You don't convince anyone by shitting on other people's doorsteps.

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Bernhard said:

Speak for yourself-do the words POT, KETTLE, BACK mean anything to you :?:

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I didn't write that. You did. Just look at the post.

sono