Welcome Aboard !

Wow, you inherited a classic if there ever was one !

Yes, it is quite common for the points to stick open on bikes that have been sitting. It is also common for there to be unseen corrosion on the surface of the contacts after long storage that stops all electrical flow. The fix is VERY easy. Disconnect the battery, then remove the front cover. Remove the 10mm hex nut and the auto advance will slide straight off, and give better access to the points. Wiggle the points arm until it moves freely. Clean both contact faces with a doubled-over piece of fine emery. Oil the auto advance with motor oil and make sure it moves freely, and put it all back together.

With the spark plugs laying on the cyl heads and connected to the plug wires, you should have spark on both sides as you kick the bike over with the battery re-connected.

There's going to be 100 tiny tasks like this to do before you can ride, but it's going to be VERY rewarding when you finish. I highly suggest hauling the bike to a local Tech Day near you. (Maybe even 2 or 3 Tech Days !) That's the fastest way to learn your way around a very unique engine and motorcycle, and get the really in-depth technical help you may need.

There's more info... HERE.

And ask lots of "stupid" sounding questions because buying lots of unnecessary BMW parts will cost you a fortune. You can't ask anything that we haven't asked ourselves. So these questions only sound silly to you.

All the best.

Thank you very much for your response. I took your advice and cleaned the contact faces. The points move easily if pulled back, but always spring back to the closed position. Still when the bike is turned over or if the crank is turned they never move from the closed position and there is no spark.

Edit: Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like the shaft that the advance unit is attached to is not perfectly round, and there are bumps on it that push the point out. Could the reason why the point doesnt open be that it is not making contact with this shaft?

Yep, that was the issue, I adjusted them and thy work great. Thank you

Hey, that's great news. Some suggestions...

• The correct points gap is set when the points are riding on the highest part of the ignition cam lobe. There is a specific gap distance that must be used.

• Typically, a dab of high temp grease is added to the ignition cam face to keep the phenolic cam follower from wearing down as fast.

• Sometimes the ignition cam surface may become covered in rust. That will act like sandpaper on the phelonic follower, so it has to be removed. Simply wrap the ignition cam in fine emery and rotate the auto advance unit back and forth. Polish it to a high luster. Pitting of the cam face is inconsequential... the pits only hold more grease. The grease mentioned above will stop any new rust.

• Anytime you adjust the points gap (as you have just done) you have also changed the ignition timing. It may be close, or there could have been considerable change. No one can tell you. If you restored the proper "points gap" it's probably good enough for your garage tuning purposes, BUT the timing must be very accurately set before venturing out onto the roads. And until the timing is accurately set, you won't be able to accurately "tune the carbs". Or stated in the reverse, you should fully expect to re-do all the carb adjustments after setting the ignition timing.

Hope this helps.

I'll add another tidbit to Wobbleys thorough response. To REALLY set your points gap you want a dwell meter. Usually combined with a tach for a tach/ Dwell meter. I forget what you want on the scales, I can look it up. The meter will tell you how many degrees of crankshaft rotation the points are open (and the coil is charging). This is old tech, you can get them cheap. You adjust the points gap to get the correct dwell---as in set it wit some sort of feeler gauge first the check with the tach/dwell.

There are are some nifty tubular gauges for setting points, using feeler gauges is getting to be stone age, move up to the bronze age. Check the usual Airhead tool suppliers.

I personally do not use sandpaper on the points. Being a cro-magnon type I use a proper points file. But when you are done it is critical the points faces be ever so clean. Like run a slip of paper dampened with alcohol through them.

All that said I am through with fussing with points. I fit electronic set-'n'-almost'forget ignitions to everything I have.

I personally do not use sandpaper on the points.

I didn't say anything about "sand paper", which is only found in a wood working shop. I said emery. And I said that for 2 reasons....

1) I assumed that the OP would replace the points set in there with brand new after he got the bike to run. Remember the request was "help me get it running", not to ride 10,000 miles before the next check.

2) I knew the real way is to pull a bill out of your wallet, soak it in thinner, and burnish the points back to life. But I also know that most BMW riders keep nothing but fifties and hundreds in their wallets, so they wouldn't take a chance on loosing one of those, even if it was to get their bike running. 😛

All the best.

Snowbum has the emery paper. But you go back to Muir you find the points file.

um...actually emery abrasive does come on paper backing. I have a whole bunch out in the garage, You can call home and ask ma wife. It also comes on mylar backing, cloth backing, resin bond on various things, etc. I have a canister of strait powder that I think is emery and a canister of paste that certainly is (a lapping compound). I have not seen narrow roll stock on anything but cloth backing and this is because of the way it is used as in for polishing shafts. mach night.

When points are worn metal transfers from one side to the other and make a tiny tit of weld metal. This is very hard and pretty sharp. It must be removed to get an accurate measurement with a feeler gauge. The points are dressed to remove that tit, and no more. The points faces are domed and the tit forms somewhere on the dome. The ridged tool gives the most control in removing only what needs it and nothing more. The plating where that tit has formed is long gone.

The BMW points cam grease is NLA and I gave my last tube away to Cutter, who wanted some (and was in exchange unappreciative). However Mallory (used to be) and perhaps others still make it.

I use a bit of cardstock and some alcohol to give the point faces the final cleaning. The card stock is trimmed off my lawyers card (always carry) and the alcohol is 90% rubbing kept in a small squirt bottle for priming the stove.

https://www.euromotoelectrics.com/product-p/cs-lubetube.htm

Note EME shows a pic of a tube but the description says you get a single application pillow pack....for $8!!

https://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_model_a/distributor-cam-lube-made-with-silicone-7-8-ounce-381620.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&adpos=&scid=scplp28-20966-1&sc_intid=28-20966-1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwvb75BRD1ARIsAP6LcqtqXl281x_apGkS0xPoCIc8E7KHH9TD4WEOrd_2iKYYkmpbxC1WTdUaAhmGEALw_wcB&gclsrc ="aw.ds"

These guys look like they give ya a tube.

https://www.vwnos.com/5-700-002-005-2?gclid=cj0kcqjwvb75brd1arisap6lcqu3crh-bfkwn1vayvbvxodlmcvus6s4t0naypbkmaynk9o0ppeb19yaavevealw_wcb

Genuwine Bosch FT1v4, the oem BMW grease.