so its been about 6 months now since ive had the hawk runing...the rear cct went out while the bike was on a stand reving at about 4k rpm, bent the exhaust vlaves, had them replaced.. reinstalled rear cyl and hasent been right since...the bike idles fine and will redline when siting still, but when i ride it the hawk sputters at about 6500rpm...im aware that the timing might be off slightly but my real question, when i replaced the rear cyl and set the timing im not sure that i had the piston set to tdc on the COMPRESSION STROKE... so my question is, how do i know im on the compression stroke if i set the timing on a different tdc stroke...can i start with the front cyl...

 

It will make a distinctly different sound if timed differently. to retime is easy. Just follow the CCT replacement directions.

 

Yes. Use the front cylinder as a reference point. Take the front valve cover off to make absolutely sure you're on the right revolution. Then, as stated above, follow the directions in the manual.

However, I feel that if you are indeed one full revolution off that you would have much bigger problems than you mentioned. Last time I adjusted the valves I got off by one tooth on the rear exhaust and that alone caused the dreaded "paint can" sound. Somehow I managed not to bend anything. I think you could be off a tooth or two somewhere. The severity of the situation depends on which cam and in which direction.