Sudden loss of power overall, engine cuts out at idle

[tommychains]

Hi guys, I'm a first time poster and huge fan of CB750's. I have a '78 CB750F. This morning all of a sudden, my bike had a noticeable different sound (to my amateur sound perhaps not every cylinder is firing), and when riding it there was a significant loss of power. Stopping at a red light at idle would result in the engine cutting out. After leaving it sitting all day, it took a number of tries for the bike to start, and again there was a loss of power (when ramping up the throttle at idle however the sound transitions to normal (at a high rpm)). My points cover was damaged and the points have been exposed to moisture
(it was raining today). I'm a newbie at bike mechanics - could the moisture be the cause of the problem?

 

[dirtdigger]

Yes wet points can and will make a miss. When they dry out you may get spark again but the moisture on the surface of the points will cause rust and corrosion and cause a constant miss or an intermittent miss. I would clean and adjust the points... and get a different point cover.

 

[Travis]

Did you ever get this figured out? Nice looking bike by the way... Did you build it?