valve timing

Posted by alehman on May 19, 2012; 2:50pm
URL: http://vintage-and-classic-hondas.81.s1.nabble.com/valve-timing-tp4002328.html

Hi all,

I've been trying to get my CB750 to start for a few months now, working on the weekends when I can. I had some backfiring out of the carbs, so I wanted to check my valve and spark timing. Spark timing is okay, but when I pulled the valve cover off, the timing marks on the cam sprocket were a few millimeters off (relative to the valve cover surface) on the intake side (with the engine at 1.4T). I measured it by laying a straight edge on the valve cover surface and extending it to the timing mark. How exact should it be (do I even need to change it), and if I need to move the cam a tooth or so, can I do it without removing the brackets that hold the cam down?