... but for me the worrying thing with this case is how many distractions from the obvious culprit were allowed to frustrate the eventual solution...
RD,
I have to say, I don't think it is completely fair to talk about distractions here in a way that contends that the 'distractors' were out of place and should have kept quiet. I was one of them, along with others with more BSA smarts than myself, including yourself. After months and more than five pages of following the lack of progress, in spite of everything have been apparently checked, it seems natural and innocent that some straws would be grasped. This said, let me acknowledge that John was on the money back on page 2, as were you, when you agreed with the carb issue right after. Not sure why that was so easily abandoned. Well, maybe it was the multiple possibilities at play, with the mag taking the conventional (and here, undeserved) hit.
Richard L.
Agreed, RL. Logically, all the fingers were pointing at the fuel system, but a mag swap is easy and therefore eliminates the electrickery doubts in under an hour. Mags usually get the blame so, as it's so easy, just do it, if there is any doubt at all. Furthermore, whilst I have confidence in my work, as the mag is untried it cannot be discounted as the culprit. The mag was discounted after it worked fine on another bike so proved the problem was elsewhere. Furthermore BSA500 had said previously that he'd cleaned the carb in an ultrasonic bath so he was as confident as he could be that the carb was OK. BSA500 is the only person with his hands on the metal. The rest of us are functioning from various corners of cyberworld and we have to accept what we are being told. Agreed, it turned out to be a carb problem, as advised on page 2, but BSA500 thought he'd eliminated that. In the final analysis, swapping components is usually the easiest way of pinpointing problems so maybe swapping the carb is something which should have been tried sooner but, if you think you've already eliminated that, why would you? We're all doing our best to help each other.