1. Set your engine on the correct stroke & position for installation, as follows:
a) Remove your rear spark plug only.
b) Kick until you feel front cylinder compression; rear piston will be on the way up.
c) Continue turning the motor until the rear piston gets to the top. At this point, the correct front cylinder advanced timing mark will be just appearing in the back of the inspection hole. Continue until it is centered.
2. a) Remove drive housing plate, spiral ring, spacer and gear. Determine which pair of bolts provided (1/4-20 or 1/4-24) fit your engine. Slip housing into distributor hole; with bolt holes aligned, check for clearance in front, sliding a piece of paper through. It should clear your crankcase as is, but engine case castings can vary somewhat; remove any interfering high spots from your cases. b) When bolting down drive housing, hold-down bolts must not bottom out in your cases; tighten one at a time and check. While you're at it, tighten then back off bolts a few times to seat the boltheads in the housing. c) On some late H-D stock Shovelhead cases, you may need to drill and tap the second 'hold-down' screw hole if it was not done from the factory. We can furnish tech tips on this process; angle drill may be required.
3. Clean all threads and securely tighten down the drive housing bolts, using loctite. Reinstall the gear, spacer and spiral ring.
Pour light oil into the housing, up to the middle step (bike up, off kickstand); do not overfill. Now put on the gasket, housing plate
and back bolt, just snug for now.
4. Remove magneto cap. Set magneto rotor so points are just opening on the narrow lobe; this is the proper position for advanced timing (while the drive shaft turns in the normal direction, note that the magneto itself turns backwards compared to your old ignition; in other words, narrow cam lobe should be just clockwise of the cam follower, as in picture). Drop your flange gasket and mag head on over the studs and plate. Gears should mesh so that you have some timing adjustment in either direction for your final dialing in. Static timing is all that is required. If you wish, you can check for 'points open' by using a good digital ohmmeter; reading will increase by about .3 ohms. Put the washers and locknuts on the studs to secure magneto in place (don't over-tighten). Finish tightening the back plate bolt. Re-install cap (make sure coil springs line up), and tighten so gasket does not compress more than 25%. That's it!
Stuff to know: This magneto was designed to start with a moderate kick; hard kicks may actually hamper starting.
The long-lasting OEM-type points in your magneto have been set at .015, and will require no attention for years. When replacement is
necessary, specify left-hand points, Morris p/n P5L and condensor p/n P6. Gap accurately. Use only original type cap, gasket, points and condensor. Stud on side of magneto is used to "kill" your ignition with a grounding toggle switch or lever (p/n KSL). Initial spark plug gap, .025". Due to the hot spark, you can expect the gap to burn larger somewhat faster than with a battery ignition. Use of a single-fire module, Morris p/n MSF, may help prolong plug life. We recommend Autolite 4275 spark plugs for older H-D heads (short reach), or 4265 for long reach, as used on most aftermarket heads, and all ’76 -up stock H-D heads. Use copper or stainless steel solid core (non-suppression) spark plug wires (Morris p/n MWS).
US Patents 4191157; D375509
