Motorcycle Repair: 1973 Honda cb350 wont fire, 1973 honda cb350, lint free cloth

Question
I recently purchased the '73 cb350 and it had been parked for about 10 years.  The engine turns over but i am getting no fire. I have traced it back to getting no fire to the points so far and am not quite sure where to go from there. Is there a way to check to make sure the condenser is still good or could there be something else causing the points not to fire. The headlights and everything still work. Is it possible that I have blown a fuse or something else as simple as that?

Answer
Brandon, you can check the voltage to the points by blocking them open with a little piece of paper. If you have close to battery voltage at the point wires, then you probably just have a case of corroded points. Use a fine grade of emery cloth or small smooth file to clean the faces of the contacts, then clean off the grit and debris with contact cleaner and a small clean lint-free cloth.
If you attach a 12v light to the point wire leads, you should see the light go on and off when the points open and close.
Once you get to this stage, then you should be getting spark at the plugs (clean plugs). Carefully, lubricate the point cam and then turn the motor over until each point set is at maximum gap. Check the gap and adjust until it is about .012-.014", then move the point plate around until the left points just open when the LF marks are aligned with the pointer on the stator. Then adjust the points on the right side until you get the same result with the F mark.
If you want to be really accurate, take the point plate off first, check the mechanical advance function and clean, lubricate as necessary. Be sure to mark the point cam location on the advancer unit as it can be installed 180 degrees off and you won't get spark when you need it.

You should be able to start the bike, if the carbs are cleaned out properly. With the point cover off, watch the points as they open and close.... if you see HEAVY arcing across one set, then the condenser lead for that set of points is either disconnected, loose or the condenser is bad. Condensers come ganged together, so you generally have to buy the two-pack. You could just get a single one and swap the leads to it, as long as the condenser body is grounded properly.

The other possibility is that the KILL switch contacts are corroded and you will have to either wire around the kill switch or clean the switch contacts inside.

There is only one fuse, so it is either working or not... I think you will find the problem as described above..

Bill Silver