Riverside21

My Rick's #15-605 arrived direct from them over the weekend. The case is engraved on the edge with the Rick's logo and a serial #. I notice a definite increase in power immediately and upon checking with a timing light all my marks are right on, whereas they seemed a bit retarded with the original cdi. The 91 machine still puts out more power, but this is the best the 96 has ever been so far. We swapped the larger exhaust from the 91 to the 96 for a test and really didn't notice any different. According to the parts lists both machines use the same cam, so I'm still not sure why the stock 91 puts out so much more power...

Wow! Do you know what was defective? Did it have anything to do with the timing curve?

Yes, the 91 is completely stock and appears that nobody ever even adjusted the valves until I just did them. My 96 actually has a slightly higher compression, as I put in a new piston (std), rings and valves last year. The 91 pulls hills a whole gear higher than the 96 and actually builds power as it goes to the point of having to back down the throttle. Carbs are good and set the same on both machines. Other than the cdi differences the 91 has a larger stock headpipe and different muffler...so I'm not sure why the 96 is so lame.

Yes, I got what I thought was a Rick's last year on Ebay and it was fake. I'd go stock, but I'm trying to increase some power. The 91 has way more pep than the 96 and I'm trying to figure out why.

I am currently in possession of two machines, a 1996 and a 1991. The 1991 puts out way more power than the 1996 and I'm trying to determine the cause. The 91 uses a gen 1 cdi and the 96 has the gen 2 "detuned" one. The plugs are oriented differently, but have the same wires going to the same locations with the only difference being a color change of gray to light green on the 96 unit. I can swap the 96 to the 91 with no problems, and do notice a drop in throttle response. When I swap the 91 gen 1 to the 96 I get no spark...so obviously something in the cdi isn't backward compatible even though the wiring diagrams are similar. Does anyone have any input on this? Are there any other electrical components that were detuned? I have ordered a Rick's hot shot cdi (direct from Rick's) to try on the 96. It claims 1000 more rpm, but still says uses the "stock curve" so I'm not sure I'll notice any improved throttle response for normal riding.

Well, after doing some more fooling around and checking things I'm confident that the mechanical timing is good, albeit the sprocket lines aren't totally flat with the head. I think the reason the 91 has more bark is because of the gen1 cdi, the airbox intake system and the exhaust. The 91 draws air thru the frame tube, which has a larger opening than the plastic tube my 96 uses and the exhaust diameter coming out of the head is 32mm compared to my 29mm.

I did not change the cam sprocket, it basically looked new with no detectable wear. Crank sprocket end also was in good shape from my remembrance when I worked on it. My original cdi was a Philips HM5. This bike just doesn't want to make good power like that 91 does. The 91 pulls strong up hills to the point you back off the throttle, the 96 falls flat and requires more throttle and a downshift. My carb is good/clean/rebuilt and no other obstructions in airbox thru muffler. My 96 also has more compression (about 15 psi) more than the 91. I'm stifled and am still wondering why my bike is not advancing the timing to the two dash marks.

I had my son check for tdc while I'm at work....He says it's good, piston is at tdc and the "T" mark is lining up. Now I'm confused as to why my cam sprocket lines are off and I'm not hitting the marks with the timing gun.

Thanks! I will check for tdc tonight and report back. I am actually on my 3rd cdi box. When I got the machine the stock Honda one that was on it (Shingarden I believe) had a bad starter circuit and would not fire a spark while pressing the start button. It would only fire just as the button was released, but the bike would start and run from there. I replaced it with a Rick's to fix the starting problem, which it did....then 3 months later the Rick's completely blew out and bike wouldn't run. I am now on the 2nd Rick's. Engine never made any better power with any of the other cdi's, but I never checked the timing with those ones.

I was just thinking about tdc and a possible stripped key. I will check it tonight for tdc. It is a d.i.d. chain.

A little back story: Last winter I picked up a 1996 trx300fw in what I thought was good condition. Turned out I ended up doing a major overhaul to get it going, including piston, rings, cam chain, etc.... At the time of reassembly I set the "T" and got the two dash lines on the cam sprocket close to level on the head and went with it. This machine always seemed somewhat low on power to me for a 300. Fast forward to a few weeks ago: My buddy wanted to get one of these and we found him a nice 1991 model. I was blown away at how much more power his has (all stock) and feels like a 500 compared to mine. At the time of purchase I mentioned how much more power this one had over mine and the guy selling it mentioned to check my timing (he has bought/repaired and sold many 300's he told us). I decided to first check everything with a timing light and tach as it states in the manual, and compare to my buddy's machine. at the 1450rpm idle I was slightly off of the "F" and at 4500rpm my two vertical "advance" lines were not even close, just barely starting to come into the inspection hole! As I figured...I checked all the same parameters on the 1991 and everything was spot on, lining up with the pointer. I then decided to pull my valve cover and investigate the possibility of being off a tooth, and noticed that when I'm on "T" my lines on the cam sprocket are not level on the head; one side is high and one is low. After fooling with this thing for a while and moving the sprocket a tooth each way, the lines still will not level on the head. I'm wondering if the sprocket on the crank got moved out of place?? I thought they were pressed on (I did one on an xr200 crank), but I have no idea what the previous owner of my 1996 did because the engine was jacked up when I got it. Any ideas on this one?? Thanks in advance!