Is a battery necessary for proper running....?

[Crispy1]

'64 CB77 Superhawk w/ 15k. I've read a couple posts in the archives that seem to suggest the battery contributes to the ignition working. I thought it was a conventional magneto. Thanks, C.

[OldStan]

Alternator, not magneto. Battery is necessary with the stock setup.

[Crispy1]

Thanks Stan, I just found some other threads on the subject; most talking about weak charging. When I got this bike, I assumed (first mistake) it was a mag and proceeded with my work. When the bike started and idled, I never gave it a thought. If you saw my other posts, it would only run 3-4 minutes and not much off-idle.
Question- Have I done damage running without a battery? I did have the (+) battery cable wrapped in black tape. C.

[Crispy1]

The answer is YES!!!

All it wanted was a battery! I put a battery in and it runs like a champ. I still have a right side carb slide that doesn't want to go down to idle. I can reach in and push it down but it wants to creep back up.

Very fun day hitting the back roads by my house on the first real test ride.

[G-Man]

Nice!

G