Glad that you are now are getting somewhere with your problem. Carefully checking the basics should always be one of the first things when problem solving.
A good result here with the added bonus of being an inexpensive fix.
A good result here with the added bonus of being an inexpensive fix.
update: tonight i spent the last couple hours re-setting timing. first thing i did was check where it was at from using my rod-timing method. It was way off....it was so far off i'm embarassed to say the numbers and i'm surprised it was running at all. This did give me my ATD"s range of 36 degrees which i understand to be 2 more than it should. It took me forever to get the ATD locked on the taper without the armature rotating in the process. I ended up making a little line with a marker on the cam ring and the cam heel to see where the points were breaking using the cigarette paper method. That way i could easily see if it moved during the process I set it at 36 degrees fully advanced so that i could be at or close to 0 with no advance. Checked it again after everything was locked down. Bike started second kick and sounds much crisper right off the bat. At that point i called it a night. Still have to re-tune the carburetors in the morning but i'm confident i should be able to get it running happily. Just in time too...looking forward to the Dania Beach Vintage Motorcycle Show next Saturday. Thanks for all the ideas and i'll update again should i successfully get the carbs tuned.