Setting dwell and timing is a little bit of work. Start by checking that the advance mechanism’s cam when rotated snaps back quickly. The mechanism does not require lubing (because unlike the pushrod Brit versions Honda’s is made of specially-hardened steel), but if grimy and/or rusty, cleaning and one or two drops of oil between the shaft and the cam is advisable. Check the appearance of the return springs also—are they mangled, abused, rusty? I also like to check the yellow and blue wires, and make sure they are tightened adequately—I have the necessary teeny-tiny wrench, even. After dressing your points with a Flexstone (an old Snap-On tool now sold by pinball machine repair shops) and then washing them with brake cleaner and polishing them with a business card, put a dab of point cam lube on the cam’s high spot (yeah, the stuff’s still available). Be sure to Flexstone and polish even new points, as they can come with lacquer or grease on them.

Carefully set both point gaps by visually finding the points’s maximum opening, on each points set in turn, and adjusting the gap in that position. It’s much easier than it sounds, but if you are starting with a new set of points you may find you need to artificially open the gaps very wide just to detect maximum point cam action. For the gap I like to use the small end of the range, but the manual says up to 0.016” is okay. The reason Honda gives a range is so you can be comfortable with two points assemblies being a few thou different from each other, which you will find is pretty much a given at the end of the day. Position the backing plate approximately on center, snug the screws, and attach a deadlight to the left side points (and ground). Make your own deadlight from a speedo illumination bulb and socket and alligator clips—that’s the industry classic tool. Unplug the spark plug wires to prevent accidental starting of the engine, and put extra spark plugs, grounded on the engine, in each plug cap to minimize stress inside the ignition coils (activated coils that are not allowed to discharge can arc internally, and once they do they can do so more easily in the future). Key on, kill switch on, rotate the crankshaft slowly and watch for the timing light to light. When it does, stop and view the timing marks. Whether advanced or retarded, you will then rotate the backing plate in the correct direction (opposite running direction advances, equal to running direction retards) until the light goes off, tighten the backing plate screws and recheck timing. And recheck the gap because due to the sloppy fit of the backing plate and the unfortunate geometry of all the parts, the gap always changes with every timing change. If the gap has now fallen out of the factory 0.012-0.016”, correct it and afterward recheck timing again. Once the left side points are good, move your deadlight to the right side points and repeat the procedure. But on this (right) side the sub-plate is adjusted to adjust timing, not the backing plate. And of course the right side points gap needs to be checked after its timing adjustment, and then timing again, and then gap yet again to ensure it is within the 0.012-0.016”.

Of course, the singles and twins do not have a sub-plate under the right side points as larger models do. This means you have to view gap on these bikes as necessarily contributing to timing. So if you have got the left side correct and you go to the right side and find that to get timing correct you have to enlarge or reduce the gap to outside the Honda-recommended 0.12-0.16”, this means you have to start all over again with a smaller or larger gap on the left side (but still within 0.012-0.16”) so the right side will have the combination of gap and timing it requires.

While this static timing routine if done correctly is plenty accurate enough, the obligatory full-advance ignition timing check requires over 2,000 rpm of the engine. The strobe light will reveal double hash marks. Within those two marks is where the full-advance timing should fall after the idle timing is correctly on “F”. If the full-advance timing overshoots the hash marks, the advancer needs some attention. The advancer’s stop ears may be slightly spread. This can be corrected by very careful clamping in a vise. Measure with a machinist’s caliper first and shoot for only a few thousands change. “Sneak up” on it. If you bend too much the ears will shortchange total advance and then you can’t bend them back without breaking them—it’s hardened steel, remember.

A dwell meter is handy but it isn’t mandatory. Having the two points gaps within 0.004” of each other, with neither outside the factory range, is enough. Having them exactly the same will not improve engine performance, so the dwell method is not a silver bullet. It simply speeds up the job by reducing the number of back and forth adjustment steps, making the process more like a single adjustment. Every dwell meter is different. Prepare yours by carefully setting points gap, then seeing what that reads on your instrument on the running engine. Always use that number, whatever it is. Even put a piece of masking tape on the meter if that works for you. This is far easier than trying to figure out which degree number corresponds to your bike. And yes, I know, Honda did publish dwell numbers, but they are highly interpretive. If you favor doing dwell, all you have to do is find what your dwell meter calls a 0.012-0.016” gap.

Honda twins of course will throw oil all around during dynamic timing. Honda sold special alternator covers with holes bored in them for this. If you don’t have one of these you can make one. Alternately, you can also lean your bike away from the alternator side slightly while doing the tuning. Tricky, that.