Re: '78- No spark, no gas, no clue.

Posted by LukeM on Mar 22, 2012; 11:27am
URL: http://vintage-and-classic-hondas.81.s1.nabble.com/78-No-spark-no-gas-no-clue-tp3847431p3848174.html

Hmm.  There might be a dead spot on the commutator in the starter.  It's possible it got bumped onto a live spot, and started working again.  Other choices may be a flaky ground connection from your harness to the frame.  Look for a green wire bolted to the frame, possibly under the seat or along the backbone near the gas tank.

The mantra is:  suck, squeeze, bang, blow.  Compression in the engine is usually not a problem for these engines.  That's the first 2 steps.  The bang part comes when the fuel and spark mix.  

You can go to the home page of our forum, and put in a search for "spark test".  I'm sure it's been written up a bunch of times.  Get the ignition system sorted out first.  After that, you can check the fuel/carb systems.

If you haven't downloaded the Factory Service Manual, please go to the home page and do so.  Go to the Maintenance chapter and start checking stuff.  These bikes are pretty easy to work on, but all the systems need to be in good working order for the bike to run.  Take it slow, be thorough, pay attention to detail, and take lots of pictures.  You'll get it going.

Luke M