all below are from my files. hope they can help.
we were ALL Newbies once - Mike
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
How old are your points? and what is the gap? The points may need
replacing.
Dont forget to place a drop of light oil on the felt wick that lubes
the points cam. (1 drop each month or 1000 miles...)
The Auto advance it a taper fit into its drave shaft; to remove it,
either use the correct 'puller' or simply remove the central retaining
bolt, insert a short metal bar in through the center of the AA, and
give it a short sharp rap with a hammer; that will break free the taper
of the AA unit from the shaft.
The correct 'puller' is easy to make from a bolt that will screw into
the thread in the outer end of the AA unit, and a suitale lenght of
1/4" rod that is inserted into the drive shaft and allows 'puller' bolt
to bottom out onto it; thereby extracting the AA unit.
A Handy tip: Mark the AA unit first (with a dot of paint?) and a
reference mark in the housing, so that you know where it was located.
Start by repositioning the AA unit so that it is 2-3mm (1/8") back
(counter clockwise) from where it was previously situated. That should
provide you with adequate 'retard', and see your points plate
centralised again.
Tim
N.Z
There's a much easier way to do this. The advance unit is screwed onto the end of the shaft and stays in place by a tapered fit. Simply loosen the retaining screw, and give the end of the unit a nice solid whack with a mallet, or drift.(I use a piece of wood and a hammer.)
it drops right off. From there adjust as necessary, and reassemble. With the bike in gear, and the rear brake applied,
you should be able to get it good and tight.
Much easier and quicker than going through the timing chest.
Cheers,
Pat