[Sharps40]

Okay now, close close very close. Made quite a few power runs up and down 42 after work tonight...some hills, some turns, some straights but plenty of room to mash the pedal flat.

I found spark knock too and reset. Dog gone its so close!

But first...on further advice of counsel, and good advice it continues to be in this here forum...I checked the new Dizzy for mechanical advance. My Tach/Dwell/RPM meter reads a 6 up to 2500 revs and I can guestimate 3000 RPMs before it pegs out. So, wired a screwdriver to the bell crank so I could steadily lever the throttle, pulled and plugged the vacuum advance and marked another reference point on my balancer. No additional notch this time, two is enough. Just a lovely, shows up perfect under the light silver sharpie mark. It let me count all the way to 36 degrees on the factory timeing tab.

A hot recheck indicate John Lee Jr is sittin right close to 18 degrees BTDC static timeing at 550 RPM. I levered it up to a steady 1500 RPM and lit up the wheel counting out and recording 24 degrees advance. Levering up to a steady 2000 RPM, it was right above 30 degrees so call it 31 degrees advanced. Finding the steady spot at 2500 RPM it read a whisker over 33 degrees. Moveing further up in the exhaust note, at my estimated 3000 RPM mark on the meter, the crank showed me a strong 35 degrees. I think the mechanical and static setting together is prolly pullin in just about the right amount of advance...If I understand it arightly.

So....yanked out the magic testers and buttoned John Lee Jr up for a ride with a new and slightly leaner setting on the mixture...what a rough idle...no power, knock, ping, hesitate, surge, flutter. Over all, just pretty darn grumpy...back to the garage.

Richened him back up, idle up and smoother, still in tolerance for the primary jet. Bumped the idle speed screw back to 600 RPM and test ride. Better, still lacked low end power, less knock but still surgeing very slightly on the top of the primary and transitioning into the secondary. Back to the garage.

A whisker richer. A bit shy of three turns from zero on the mixture...much smoother, idle now 700 RPM and steady. Pushed the idle speed screw down a touch to 1.5 turns from first contact, rememberin to keep the lower butterfly as close to closed as possible for this carb and steady at 600 RPM. Buttoned up and off for a few pulls. Wow, much improved. Good bottom end, better acceleration. Hesitation on the top of the primary is nearly gone, barely noticeable...but a bit fluttery at steady speeds. Back to the garage.

Shut my Boy down and popped the hood and scratched my butt, what the heck is goin on? Even though I now know the primary jet is just a whisker lean for the engine (cause I'm just outside of the 1.5 to 2.5 turn range for the installed 1.40 main jet) it should respond better to the slightly rich settin I've made to it. This thing runs on the circuits of the primary at all times...so, inspection time. Checked it all from carb to dizzy....guess what?

John Lee Jr runs pretty darn good on mechanical advance only. Theres my allen wrench stickin out of the Dizzy's vacuum hose. Shoot, I'm stupid, betcha thats why it flutters at steady state/midpoint....thats where vacuum advance works, right where yer drivin mosta the time. Pulled my allen wrench, hooked the hose to the Dizzy and vrooooom...off we went.

Oh wow what a difference havin everything hooked up makes! Smooth, powerful, no spark knock. This is it I think. Time to top off the tank and leave the adjustments alone for a whole tanks worth of driving, calculate mileage and only then make a minor tweek lean to the enrichment screw. Time enough to play with jetting after the brakes and drivers door are finished.

Mr. Langdon sent me a larger jet for the secondary in case I need it, and it may be I could get away with a size up on the primary jet but I think I'll hold on cracking the carb for now and keepa tweakin. Right now my best yet tune settings are comeing in at 600 Smooth RPM hot, 18 degrees of initial timeing, 3 turns rich on the mixture screw and 1.5 turns in from first contact on the idle speed/butterfly linkage. Couple days and I might try adjustin that electric choke.