Questioni can't seem to find the timing marks under the side cover on my 83 honda shadow vt750c.my front cylinder carb is on the exhaust instead of intake so gas is blowing out the one carb.rear cylinder runs fine.timing marks on cam seem to be right at tdc i think i might be out 180' but can't set without marks
AnswerAnthony... there are a couple of ways to approach this situation.
1. Remove the stator cover, if there are no access plugs to inspect the timing. Note the T and F marks on the flywheel for F and R cylinders. There may be an additional cam timing mark set on the flywheel. I really don't deal with these bikes very much. Generally, the run a long time without major repairs needed. You may have to back off the tensioners until you get the cam timing in correctly. Yes, you can get the cam installed 180 out, as the only fixed issue on the cylinders is when they fire, otherwise, TDC with the cam in lobes down or up wouldn't matter, but the ignition system makes the choice between compression/firing and overlap strokes.
2. Use something thin, but not too hard to stick down the spark plug hole, so you can turn the motor over very slowly with the crankshaft nut until you get the cylinder up to TDC.
3. Approach each cylinder as a single cylinder, so as not to get too confused with it being a twin cylinder engine. You have 4 strokes... intake, compression, power, exhaust. Watch the camlobes to see when they are either UP or DOWN (overlap or compression) stroke and make sure that the camsprocket marks are parallel with the head when you are at TDC.
4. http://www.carlsalter.com/aaman/Honda_VT700c-VT750c_%2784_shop_manual.pdf BIG DOWNLOAD..184MB! IF you don't have cable, it will take a long time. This is a factory manual PDF so you can have the factory info, not an abbreviated aftermarket book with grainy photos.
http://www.hondashadow.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=78058&highlight=vt750+cam+timin... sort of addresses the info you need. Try signing up with the forum and asking a specific question of them. I did a search on their tech pages, but got buried in the results.
Bill Silver
