29 101 dlx64

[cscott]

have a schebler dlx 64 was wondering if someone would know the needle settings, i have read all kinds of different manuals etc. get a different setting from many.thanks

[Steve Slocombe]

With older flatheads I find them very forgiving about set-up. They will usually start with ignition timing and carburation all over the place and then you can dial them in. Yesterday we had a 1940 Chief on the rollers which hadn't run in about ten years, with an M344 carburetor, and it fired up with the high speed needle two turns out and the low speed three turns. After warming up it needed the idle screw turned in about one turn to get a fastish tickover, the high speed needle in half a turn and the low speed out a full turn. Most of the literature gives you that kind of rather rich starting position. Others may have different experiences.

[FLFD7]

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[cscott]

thank you for those postings

[droptopford]

Somewhat off topic but... Those Schebler instructions specify to have spark "fully advanced or nearly so". I believe I've seen that advice used in the old H-D handbooks too. Why?
It was common practice to fully retard the spark when hand cranking an old Model T etc. The engine started just fine and your arm wasn't injured. What's the advantage of starting a motorcycle engine with spark advanced? Sorry for the sidetrack

[T. Cotten]

Somewhat off topic but... Those Schebler instructions specify to have spark "fully advanced or nearly so". I believe I've seen that advice used in the old H-D handbooks too. Why?
It was common practice to fully retard the spark when hand cranking an old Model T etc. The engine started just fine and your arm wasn't injured. What's the advantage of starting a motorcycle engine with spark advanced? Sorry for the sidetrack

Naturally starting should be retarded, Droptop,..

Obviously to avoid 'kick-back', but what also makes no sense to me are instructions (I think from harley and Indian from the L&L era, too) where tuning is attempted retarded.

That is retarded in more ways than one, and a mystery to me what they were thinking.

It certainly got a lot of new chrome pipes replaced!

...Cotten

[droptopford]

Naturally starting should be retarded, Droptop,..

Well yeah Cotton... thanks. I certainly agree and I hope my question didn't make it seem like I don't understand that. What I don't understand is (as you said) what were they thinking?
I double checked my Rider's Hand Book and under STARTING THE ENGINE it says "Turn the spark control grip inward as far as it will go to fully advance the spark".
You (I) would think they had some logical reason for saying that.

I pretty much disregarded those instructions as a 'mistake' but when I saw the same advice in the Schebler manual above, it got me to wondering.

[T. Cotten]

It gets worse, DropTop!

From L&L's catalog:

Tuning L&L catalog.jpg
I think this is the Indian Rider's Handbook, maybe,..


TUNING.jpg

None of it makes sense; Good thing nobody read the instructions anyway.

....Cotten

PS: A simple swap of "advance" and "retard" essentially resolves the issue.

How could a 'typo' be missed, recreated, and passed on from '28 into the late Forties?

[Steve Slocombe]

I'm guessing with the low octane fuel in the 1920s and 1930s the bikes would not take a lot of advance on the ignition. Today we have higher octane fuel and the bikes can be set up with more advanced ignition timing. So fully advanced for starting in the 1930s might be only half advanced today. Just a thought with no actual data to back it up.