Out of ideas.... need help with cr125

[Trailplug]

Hoping someone could help point me in the right direction.

So let me start with the problem. I bought a 97 cr 125 for my wife to learn to ride on. The bike has a rebuilt motor in it, with no hours on it. The guy took the motor out of the bike to have it rebuilt and six months later, didn't remember how to put it back into the bike. I picked it up for near nothing. I've put the bike back together and now can't get it running. Before putting the bike together I cleaned everything, the bike had a LOT of carbon build up on the frame from leaking exhaust pipe. It looked as if it was running extremely rich. The spark arrestor was plugged solid, it was basically a straight pipe with no packing left. The carb had a 132 main jet with the air screw turned out about 3-4 turns (odd for a bike that was run at sea level).

The Problem: Bike will not start. It won't even give as much as a back fire when I put starting fluid into the cylinder head.

Model: 1997 CR 125

Info:
I'm at sea elevation
I just put in a 165 main jet (pulled out a 132 stock is 170)
Stock slow jet #50
Stock needle clip position 3rd groove
Float level 16.0mm
Stock jet needle R1368MS
Air screw out 2 1/4 turns (FMF Fatty Pipe on the bike) per FMF website recommendation
Choke/ Idle speed knob set at 6 turns out
Plug is wet and smells of fuel (mixed at 50:1)
Tried multiple new plugs (NGK BR9EG), gap checked and was within tolerance (.5-.6 mm)
Pulled spark plug out of head and checked for spark. (there is spark, having never owned a 125, not sure if it's good spark, but it's there)
Attempted to pull start the bike, and nothing happened, not even a back fire.
The bike has good compression for a 125...

Recap:
I'm getting fuel to the plug, the plug has spark when checked outside of the cylinder. The bike won't do anything even when I put starting fluid in the cylinder head.

More Info:
Stator Coil Testing:
Exciter coil resistance= 88.9 ohms (20-140 ohms)
Pulse coil resistance= 255.8 ohms (180-280 ohms)
Ignition Coil:
Primary resistance= .6 ohms (.4-.6 ohms)
Secondary resistance with spark plug cap = 19.28k ohms (14-23k ohms)

Have Tried:
Pull starting it... and got nothing
Disconnecting the kill switch... and got nothing
Starting fluid in the cylinder head.... and got nothing
Taken the air filter off... and got nothing
Disconnected all electrical wires and cleaned with electrical cleaner.... and got nothing.

Your turn.... the only things I haven't done thus far is a spark test for "good" spark. Is this pointing me towards a new CDI unit? What do you guys think???

Sorry for the long message post...

[the_privateer]

did you check the spark with the plug in contact with the cylinder?

the two things i can think of are timing and the cdi

Either way, you should be able to just take the ignition cover off the left side of the motor, and adjust timing from there. The stator plate should be held in place with 3 bolts, I believe, and the holes that those bolts go through in the plate should be slotted. rotating the stator plate adjust the timing, there should be notches that line up to show stock timing

although it has nothing to do with the bike not starting, 50:1 is not enough oil in the premix for a 125. with a beginner rider you would probably be ok with 40:1 using synthetic but i wouldn't use anything less than 32:1 - the rings will seat better meaning better horsepower and the piston, rings, crank and all bearings will last longer

[Trailplug]

"did you check the spark with the plug in contact with the cylinder?"

-I did check the spark with the plug in contact with the cylinder... having never owned a 125 not sure what consistutes a "good" spark.

"the two things i can think of are timing and the cdi"

-I wanted to check the timing, but in the manuals it says the bike needs to be running to check the timing. Do you know of an other way?

"Either way, you should be able to just take the ignition cover off the left side of the motor, and adjust timing from there. The stator plate should be held in place with 3 bolts, I believe, and the holes that those bolts go through in the plate should be slotted. rotating the stator plate adjust the timing, there should be notches that line up to show stock timing"

-I've taken the cover off and checked the stator, the timing mark on the stator lines up with the mark on the casing. I'm hesitant to start messing with the timing if the bikes not running... don't want to induce too many variables without it running. I'm thinking of going with a hotter plug to see if that does anything to help. Then it's to the CDI unit....


"although it has nothing to do with the bike not starting, 50:1 is not enough oil in the premix for a 125. with a beginner rider you would probably be ok with 40:1 using synthetic but i wouldn't use anything less than 32:1 - the rings will seat better meaning better horsepower and the piston, rings, crank and all bearings will last longer"

-Good call on the ratio, I wasn't thinking. I'll go with the 32:1.....


Does anybody know what it is that a Honda Dealer does to check the CDI unit out? Why is it only they know how to check if it's good or bad?

[the_privateer]

if the timing marks line up when at TDC I would rule that out. I don't know how they test the cdi other than plugging in a new one and seeing if it fixes the problem

[dirtdoggy]

my guess is the cdi.....sounds like no spark under pressure

[Wuby The Wabbit]

wife learning on a two-stroke 125 at that dang, thats crazy. My mom could barely learn on a ttr-125 much less a full blown race bike. Congrats to her.