Well I'm having trouble starting the bike now.  I checked the ignition circuit via Kerry's old posts - as well as the coils.  The right was fine, the left I got a good primary reading, and then I would get open circuit when I did the secondary reading.  I repeated this at least 10 times making sure that I wasn't touching any other metal.

Then I removed the coil, and the secondary reading was within spec!!!  I put it back on the bike, and again, it was within spec!  Then I tried to start it, and nothing happened  Sounds and smells like a bike getting flooded.  Could I be having an intermittent coil problem?  The reason I checked the ignition circuit is that I was getting an occasional weak backfire - which the manual said was a sign of bad timing or ignition system failure.

How much does a coil run anyways?

Thanks!
SS

Oh, I get spark with the spark test where you take out the plugs and crank it.

This is the old pic I followed from Kerry's post


Resistance values for ignition coils:
Primary windings = 3.0 to 6.0 ohms
Secondary windings = 18,000 to 30,000 ohms

Thanks,
SS

Don't mean to hijack your thread but...... are there any cheap replacement coils out there? Preferably something that's an upgrade from the stockers (besides 200 dollar dyna coils)?

No problemo - coil woes all over the world.  The stock unit sells for about $80 @ bikebandit, but I'd like to get a sense of whether I should look further into this possible failure.

SS

Can't help you out on coil prices - I haven't had to look into that yet.

I'm wondering if there are any "outer indications" that the coil might be bad, besides the "weak backfire" that you mentioned.  Occasional backfires aren't that uncommon.  Unfortunately, not being able to start the bike isn't all that uncommon, either.    But to me it would be a good-sized leap to say that the first conditioon is causing the second.

If only you could tell (by listening) whether the bike was running on only one cylinder.... Then you could swap the coils and see if the problem shifted to the other side.

I'm not denying that your coil may be failing intermittently, but if it were me I'd try my darnedest to eliminate all other possibilities before coughing up $80 for a new coil.  (You want to be 99% SURE that the new coil is going to fix the problem, right?)

And even then, "never pay retail"!     Maybe you'd have some luck finding a used coil from a motorcycle wrecking yard.  (See my 2nd and 3rd posts in the recent For Sale thread needed - centerstand).

just so you know, the bike should start and run on one cylinder.......about a month ago my coil didn't work (left side) but my bike started without a problem and rode a little slow but only because it only had about 40% of the power

Accel car coils are ~30 a piece. Any damn thing for a 12 volt electrical system will work, only thng... those car coils need serious bracket making to mount... maybe up on that cross pipe you can clamp it on. Else, most bike coils will swap in. If you suspect coil... swap coils side to side and see if the problem switches sides. If so... coil is bad, else trigger is bad. My bet... its the trigger.
Cool.
Srinath.

Will do all these checks - and no it runs full power when I can get it started, easy wheelies and such - as long as I keep it alive over 3K - which BTW facilitates wheelies - besides the point.  

I've had some luck starting the bike, with it hooked up to a car battery - as it spins the starter much faster I surmise - but it probably also sparks harder too.  This too takes quite an effort - a few minutes to get it started.  The bike battery itself will turn over the bike just fine - but it can't start it - and I end up recharging it again.

Thanks for everybodys' input.  BTW, what is a trigger?  And how do I check this?

Thanks,
SS