Try our new info resource - "Aladdin's Cave" (Main menu)Just added a separate link to Ash's Dropbox thread (shortcut)
Thanks for that Ash. The plot just thickened a bit read below.CB450 K4 vs K5 alternator rotor swap- beware!The K5 engine I had on my CB500T framed cafe racer-ish fun bike was having transmission woes, and finally crapped the bed when 4th gear on the countershaft lost a chunk. I sourced a 71 CL450 engine that looks beautiful for it’s age, but has no history whatsoever. All I know is it came from a defunct dealership in Nebraska, and was on the original frame, albeit sporting a knobby rear tire and a bunch of mud caked into every depression.As I’m going over the engine, I discover the alternator rotor is missing altogether, but the stator is still in place. No problem, I’ll just chuck the K5 magneto in there and send it. I set the valve clearances by the timing marks on the rotor, seal it up, slap it in the frame, and start kicking (I delete the starters on these so I can use a tiny battery- plus kickstarting is straight gangster). It’s popping some and has compression and clean carbs, so why the hell is it spitting the gas back through the carbs and not running?Long story truncated, I end up taking the head off to check the valves and seats (which are fine), and find that the left cylinder at TDC puts the timing mark on the rotor about 20° PAST the index mark for timing. For some reason I cannot fathom, the magneto rotors between 71 and 72 models are keyed differently. The keyway is the exact same size on the tapered crankshaft extension, so it fits right on, it just doesn’t line up.Further research showed that they’re vastly different rotors in terms of the starter gearing on the backside as well.This information will probably be of no use to anyone ever, but if it saves one person the hassle of cutting the cam chain and removing the head, or just junking a perfectly good motor out of ignorance, it’s been worth my time to type it out. My searches post-op have revealed no hits regarding this, so it should be out there in the world.
Ash. I think my damaged original one is possibly a later version as well. Will check this all out later today. Do you by any chance have a K0 exhaust cam and a later version to compare where the keyway for the points is. That could also be changed. Cheers.UPDATE. My old K0 stator doesn't have a pointer on it, that was one of the reasons I had to change it to a later model so I can't compare that.
Ash, did you get a chance to check the cams for differences.