Astrid: No Time For Pictures!

With so much going on, I completely forgot to take any pictures of this garage session.

1. First, I hooked up the new Radio Shack rectifier.  Was bummed to find out that the mounting hole is significantly smaller than 6mm.  The Yahoo group says it's ok to drill it out to widen it, but seems odd that you could do that without disturbing any of the internals.  But at $3 a pop, I guess it's a cheap test.
2. After hooking up the rectifier, the engine still would not turn over.  So I decided to run through all the basics.
3. First checked for a spark.  Was surprised to see that it was sparking fine.  Up to that point, I was sure the problem was electrical and that there wouldn't be a spark.
4. Did a compression test (still 120) and checked static timing (still good).
5. Then checked valve clearances and found that there was basically no gap on the intake valve.  So I set clearance to .002 and wouldn't you know it, the bike started right up.
6. But then I found she would not idle at all.  But battery voltage was down to about 5.6V, and I'm wondering if it basically can't keep a spark unless the engine is being revved.
7. Next steps
1. Reset the idle screw because like an idiot, I messed with the setting without checking where it was originally set at.
2. Since I have to take the air hose off to set the idle screw, I'll see if the new piping I bought can replace the old stiff rubber hose.
3. Check valve clearances again, and this time tighten the retaining nut a little more.
4. Hook up the new 6V battery.
5. Kick away