Hello everyone! I have figured out the ignition issue with my bike, the timing is not advancing in accordance with RPM like it should and the base timing is in fact retarded. The thing is I have a CDI ignition and while I have seen how to check timing with a timing light in the manual and on youtube, nobody has said anything about how to actually adjust it. Does anyone have any ideas? I would like to know for sure if I have to take off the flywheel again.

photos.app.goo.gl/Mtk2RswaYLwfEtwm7

Here's a video of the timing. Thanks for the help!

I wonder if the pulser or cdi box has gone bad?

Realy need a white mark to follow easily but I can see it advancing as it is. Do you think it's not advancing far enough. Sounds ok up to when it stops advancing anymore then hesitates. What's it do if you open the throttle plenty & hold it there. Does it get into a total misfire situation. I don't think there's any adjustment on those base plates & timing is pre-determined by the flywheel crank key. By longterm memory I seem to recal them having a two stage source coil for the ignition so if that is the case is there something wrong with the high speed winding. Don't take too much notice of me as likely wrong but I'll go look at a pic of an original stator.

Here's a Rick's stator rewound one that I think shows the two ignition related coils. I'm still guessing though. rexs-speedshop.com/product/yamaha-sr500-sr400-1979-95-stator/

Sounds like a bad ignition to me.  

Looking at parts diagram, it looks like stator is slotted and it also looks like they may have special bolts that could possibly be loosened through an access hole in flywheel?  Though the manual says to remove the flywheel.

It does have high and low speed source coil (AND pulsar coil windings) as RT325 mentioned and I agree it sounds a lot like one or both of the high speed circuit(s) might be bad.

Electrical problems. Can't see them till there's smoke. My Desouter powerfull old drill went up in smoke yesterday with a fiz bang smoke scared the he'll out of me but I know where the smoke came out haha. Somewhere in there!!. Anyway Sr500 I can see slots on Rick Stator plate but found an original on some site I can't copy called Kedo a pic shows no slots. Same screw wide casting bit but just one 6mm hole in the center. Interesting problem I hope you get to the bottom of. Me thinks it's more than just a timing adjustment. We'll possibly we all have a similar thought.

Hello again all! Sorry for the delay in posting and thank you for all of the feedback, it means a lot. I went and set up a more sophisticated video setup with good framerate, I masked off the other parts of the flywheel, cleaned the whole thing, and put some sharpie in the timing marks for contrast. Here's a good video for you all to look at.

photos.app.goo.gl/UezUYJEa72Zx587e6

Reference point is the indentation in the casting of the casing, if you can see that. It's the little part that sticks down, it's about halfway between the F and the T in the video at idle (SHOULD be at the F for the firing point, since flywheel spins CCW and the number marks indicate timing advancement the bike is actually idling in a retarded state). The timing actually looks like it is retarding further as RPM goes up (firing closer to TDC) which is the opposite of what we want, further evidenced by the jet of fire shooting out the tailpipe which was glowing red hot after this test.

It's odd because this should be a brand new rewound stator flywheel combo that I got from a guy on ebay, so I would imagine the coils should be okay. I could check them again I suppose. I am wondering if he could have sent me one for the wrong model year as he indicated to me that the 1978 system was different than the other years and assured me that he would put in the correct stator into my order for me but I am wondering if he could have messed it up. 

Hopefully the new video gives you guys some perspective and we can come up with what to do next so that I can get some riding in before summer's all the way over. Thanks again for everyone's help!

Daniel

Thanks for the video & I agree with what you're saying watching it closely. So it's a can of worms, is the trigger coil two wires that might be reversed. The stator energizing coils are two so can they be reversed. Is the box faulty. I mightve referenced TT & XT 250's we had at work stuffing the advance part of the box with much the same result & header pipe glowing red on throttle in the dark but good way to clean the pipe out lol. I mightve been putting my 2 cents Worth in on a forum I somehow ended up on with you, but I mostly live here on this forum. Be good to get it sorted this for sure.