After reading about Kiwidaves roadside dramas i decided to buy a spare set of points to keep in the tool bag.

I still haven't purchased a good manual yet, tried looking up points gap / setting procedure on the net, all i got was what seemed like the length of  "war and peace". Is it really that involved? Reading between the lines, for a roadside repair, setting the gap to 0.018", checking gap on both lobes, then rechecking would be close enough?

I have been told Shovel points are the same as Holden six cylinder red motors, Can anyone confirm?

Thanks in advance.

Shoveltrouble.

Hey shoveltrouble,

I use .020" or .051mm both lobes, don't know about the holden thing, I only use Acel it's cheap to get a tune up kit and throw in your bag that way you'll have a capacitor as well.

 

Take care

Hi Shoveltrouble,
Points, use Accel 111130 32oz Hi perf points, condenser Accel 111131.
I've uploaded a manual for Shovels 66-84 to: drop.io/1979fxs it's about 43mb..
Some other stuff there as well.
regards,
Cris

hey cris would there be any chance of the guru setting up a step by step guide for doing this on the side of the road?????
i had a go at the points friday night. i love bitting off more than i can chew, so mucked with the carby aswell......
took me 5 hrs to do and it seemed ok on a quick run with weasel on saturday but started pinging later on in the day. have ordered a new mixer screw as it as a huge grove in it.
is there sum secrect to putting in new points? can it be done without a timing light.......

Hi Seaeagle,
Last question first, yes, I never used a timing light. Timed it by ear.
No secret to putting new points in, just don't be afraid to do it. I'll do a step
by step tomorrow. just got home from a 14hr shift and the missus is at work
so I've got to go feed the sprogs.
Regards,
Cris.

Dont forget a tad of grease on the cam lobe when your done..

Points by the side of the road..

Before you can do this you will have to do 2 things.
1 make a mark (line or dot) on the edge of your timing
plate, left of the V notch used to move the plate.
2 Take the circumference of the timing plate (run a pencil
around it onto a piece of paper) and mark a section which
is 30 degrees wide at the edge ( 30 degrees off 360 degrees).
Using the paper as a template make or find a piece of metal
that is this exact width.

On the side of the road

1- remove points cover and also spark plugs.
2- In neutral, rotate the engine so the points are open
on the front cylinder lobe (narrow) by pushing down
on the kickstart ( or magic button if you don’t have a
kicker). Gap is 18 to 20 thou. If the points are broken go to 3.

3- If you need to find TDC on the front cylinder and cant see the flywheel mark, or cant get the plug off the hole, use a pencil or a thin stick down the front spark plug hole and rotate the engine slowly till the piston is at TDC on the compression stroke. This places the cam lobe at the right spot to gap the plugs.
4- Replace bad points if needed with a good set you have
in your toolbag (of course) and gap them to specs.
Don’t at this stage worry about the condenser, it is
extremely rare for them to go south.
And as kickinon said a little dab of grease on the cam lobe
will keep them happy.
4- Now using the mark you placed on the timing plate, and
the little tool you made, rotate the plate CLOCKWISE
from one edge of the tool to the other edge. Lock the plate down.
You have just set the points so they will go to 30 degrees
at full advance. This setting will allow you to start the bike and
it will run ok.
5- Warm the bike and increase the throttle so it reaches 2000rpm.
Slowly rotate the timing plate clockwise till the engine
starts to run rough. Back the plate (anticlockwise) about
1/8. Tighten everything up. Keep the points cover in your
pocket.
6- Take it for a run. if it hesitates when you snap the throttle on, back
the timing plate a touch more.

Put the points cover back on.
You’re done.

thats sounds easy enough....
thanks for the tips cris.

Seaeagle, Found some bits of info I'd written down years ago.
Harley Wheel bearings (also swingarm.): Timken LM11949.
Seals (wheels): O.D 1.780, I.D 1.125 .05 Thick
Points: Repco Lorimar S53V, Condenser: Bosch DC10E or Delco Remy GD11E.
To suit 68-72 Rambler.

Would they also fit a '69 FLH? I think the bearings/seals would,but the other bits?  It's  good to have as much info about what fits what for my ol girl (me bike that is). Also, I've been using a Ryco Z87, which is a Lister stationary diesel generator oil filter, in my 84 FXST since the bike was new,and heaps cheaper. It was pure arse that the microns inside the filter were sufficient. It was a case of "it spun on okay,she'll be right!"And  physicaly it's the same size and grey.

very easy souloition is to ditch the point assay and replace it with a "good brand" electronic

set an forget, like I said a good brand only

Can't see there would be a problem fitting the points/condenser to a 69 distributer. I may be wrong. As far as electronic ignitions are concerned Shifta's point (Ha ha) is correct. A good electronic ignition will shit on points and the hassle of keeping them in tune. After playing around with points, points with single fire set-up (dual point distributer) I settled on a Dyna S set up for my Shovel, it still used the advance weights though. If you want to go full electronic i found the Crane HI-4 to be the go. It has kick start capability unlike the Dyna 2000i.
In my 89 Heritage I've got the Dyna2000i in cone set up and it works a treat.

O.K., been having a bit of a play, Ignored the "If it ain't broke..." rule. points gap varies between lobes. Was running well with the first pot on about .018" and the second pot barely opening, changed it to second pot @ .018" but the first pot was then about .030" and was starting to pop and break down under load. Doesn't make sense to me how it could be but it is about .014" difference. How can this be rectified? I thought about sliding the timing base plate / assembly across a little but am figgering that it would change both gaps equaly? Can the shaft with the two lobes be loosened of and "Tweaked" across?

Thanks in advance.

Kymbo said it all.