Testing for spark, by myself, on a kickstart.

Is it possible to test for spark by my self on a kickstart only '76 honda mt125? Just got a brand new coil.

Hold the plug kick it over Ok don't really hold the plug just the cap and look for a spark, low light helps, keep the anode that little bent metal piece toching the head or any other place it will ground

Don't hold the plug unless you enjoy a good shock. If you want to see the spark, pull the plug, reattach the spark cable then ground the plugs threads against the cylinder. Either kick it or use your hand to kick it. You can safely hold the rubber boot that goes on the spark plug as you hold against the cylinder, or just find a place it will rest on the head.

Would it stay lit if I hold down the plug?

lit ??


it sparks

Physically look at the plug gap as you kick it. If you cant do that then hold the plug.

Piston

The way to test for spark is to remove the plug cap, and position the end of the cable around 6mm away from an earth point (you can sometimes fit the cable between 2 fins on the head).

Never a good idea to have either the cap or plug involved when testing for HT spark as both parts can fail, and lead you to think there is a major problem when there isnt.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00914130000P

Find a spark tester, if you work on small engines at all it's a handy thing to have.

Totally overkill.

Nah!

You don't need any kind of special tools for doing that, pull the plug, then put it again in the cap, hold the cap with the plug on it and make the "hook" of the plug touch some iron/steel part of the bike, like the frame...

Then, move the crank with the kickstarter, and check if there is any kind of spark between the electrode and the little "hook" in the plug..

The best sparks are the blue ones..

Good luck with that!
Greetings from Argentina!

If you test for spark with cap fitted and the cap itself is faulty then you wont have a spark. Lots of home mechanics back this mistake and spend lots of time and money on parts that arent needed, when all that was required is a new cap.

kay, no spark. tested for continuity from the frame to the coil, from the coil to the beginning of the wire to the cap, and it's all good, then I tested the spark plug with one lead on the part where the cap connects, and one on the other end, not on the side electrode, on the center electrode, and nothing. bad plugs? (please) and what i meant by stay lit was does it keep sparking, or is it just for a second?

if it stays sparking like a sparkler when you're not kicking it, let us know

I think you need to check for resistance in the plug wire instead of just continuity. If resistance gets too high in the wire, you won't get spark, but still show continuity. I've never tested a spark plug before, but if you think thats the problem just get a new one and test it.

It shouldnt stay lit, just a flash.

I'm not much help I can't remember this shit properly, used to know it pretty well but its been a few years.

The plug wire is brand new, it came with the coil. I got new spark plugs, still no spark. What's next? Stator? anybody know where to get one cheap?

Did you ever check the points are set properly ?

Aha! After taking off the side cover, I found the nut to hold the rotor missing. Ordered a new one, put it on, kick, no spark. Disconnected both wires for the kill switch, still nothing. So next is the points. Anybody know the correct gap?

Points gap .012-.016

Plug gap .025

From this source http://en.allexperts.com/q/Motorcycle-Repair-837/76-Honda-Elsinore-MT.htm

Hope this helps.

Is it me or did anyone else think this was a wind up.

Ok wait. The stator is screwed onto the engine case, it holds the three primary coils and the points. The flywheel (or rotor) is held onto the crankshaft via a single nut. I'm guessing you mean the nut for the flywheel was loose. Was the flywheel loose? If so, you may have sheered the flywheel key. The flywheel needs to be "clocked" to a particular position by that key. You should need a flywheel puller to get the flywheel off to access the points. Did you change the condenser? You can use a condenser off of just about anything.