I used a degree wheel and a stick in the plug holes, as well as a center stop I made from a bored out spark plug with a bolt thru it. round the end of the bolt to avoid marring the piston. there should be a post on here giving a really solid description of how to find TDC with a stop.
I did my timing first at slack cam, which for my bike was incorrect, so I had to start over, but this time with all the covers on.
I made a balloon to tell when my cylinder was in compression mode, rather than take off the valve covers again. I cut the tip off a rubber glove and put it over the bored out plug center stop with a small hole in the end. when that cylinder was on it's compression stroke the finger would blow up and whistle. then I used the stick in the hole to find TDC, set the wheel on something that turned, I think I actually used the timing gear with the magneto nut just tightened enough to hold it in place as the engine rotated, then wedged the wheel on the tach drive slot. I have the side mounted tach, hole in the timing cover set up. If you have the tach on the inner timing cover and no hole in the outer timing cover, that outer cover's gonna have to come off, which is good because it gives you a more permanent place to "mount" the degree wheel.
on the points I used the cigarette paper to tell when they were just letting go. put the paper in when they're closed, and when it just starts to slip out that's your spark, set it right there.
be careful of that pinion, it slips the timing gear around as you tighten the nut, so always check a couple of times after you're done to make sure that ciggy paper releases at the right moment after everything is tight.
best of luck there, hope any of this is useful to you and not just confusing drivel. :-)
