Setting the valve timing

Cool... still sinking in but yes I do see where your going.
 
Advancing or retarding cam timing moves the power band. Retarding it will move the power band higher in the rev range at the cost of low end torque. The amount we are talking about on a stock cam is probably not noticeable.
Advancing or retarding cam timing moves the power band. Retarding it will move the power band higher in the rev range at the cost of low end torque. The amount we are talking about on a stock cam is probably not noticeable.
 
did my valves on my 07 classic a few years back. had the same issue. I replaced the chain and the tensioner side chain guide as well as 10 shims. The only way i found to get it in time was to take a large plastic hand clamp and place it on the chain where it wraps around the crank gear and like warp said , keep the chain tight opposite then tensioner side. I fought mine for about a day. Putting the clamp on the chain where it wraps around the crank made it possible to get it
dead on after 4 rotations.
 
Well, installed a new chain, now all three timing marks line up nicely... Cheers, Nev... the snag all along was that the old chain measured in spec, 137mm over 23 links... the workshop manual states the chain is ok up to 147mm over 23 links.
 
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Well, installed a new chain, now all three timing marks line up nicely... the snag all along was that the old chain measured in spec, 137mm over 23 links... the workshop manual states the chain is ok up to 147mm over 23 links.

Be thankful you have timing marks to work with. My crank gear was unmarked lol. That was a nice surprise after fighting with the cam ladder bolts on and off for 6 weeks.
 
Be thankful you have timing marks to work with. My crank gear was unmarked lol. That was a nice surprise after fighting with the cam ladder bolts on and off for 6 weeks.
The crank gear on my engine is also unmarked... but there is a dot on the crank itself above the upper crankcase line, bit hard to see at first if the clutch cover is not removed, it's there alright and can be lined up using a torch... once lined up you can mark the crank gear sprocket to make things easier.
 
How do you tell if your on the compression stroke when you are set to TDC?