You are correct in assuming you need to check timing on both 1-4 and 2-3. They are timed separately. Your timing light should work the same on both....the dyna pickups are generally reliable but they do fail.
I explained that that was for a double overhead cam Timing principals still remain the sameYep on both counts.
I think we’ve gotten a little off topic. I was never questioning how to time the bike. I was simply stating that when the bike started to stutter and die, the timing light became erratic on cylinders 1 and 4. Don’t know if it means anything. I will rebuild the carbs and report back.Dont know where the confusion is.
I surely can explain if you are not sure how. I have been working on sohc hondas specifically for over 30 years so if you need some expertise on them I can help out. And I am sure not everyone here knows how to time dyna otherwise people wouldnt come here for advise. This thread has been about the sohc from the start, no need to add dohc information if it is irrelevant to the topic of sohc. If you want you are more than likely to start your own dohc threads to share your info and photos.