Joe Hunt magneto

I had to laugh. I was at the historic races at Phillip Island. There was a a 500cc 1941 741B Indian Scout racing there which had a Joe Hunt magneto where the distributor should be. it also had a 5 speed Trrumph gearbox. It was probably within the rules. Yet when I raced my Triton, they insisted I remove the hydraulic steering damper off it - an essential safety item. They probably wondered why I did not race for twenty years. The guys in Australia who started the historic racing, were two idiots from the Velocette Owners Club. Anyone who thinks Velocettes are good, is obviously a dill. The only reason I ever raced an an historic class, was there wad nothing else left, apart from MotoGP.

Fast Eddie said:

Wow…

I had no idea that fuel injection could quadruple the horsepower!

Can you post a link to this kit please?

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A Joe Hunt magneto can put a spark up your bum.

acotrel said:

A Joe Hunt magneto can put a spark up your bum.

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One of my mates went down the front straight of Phillip Island jumping up into the air. A spark plug lead lead had come off and gone down into his boot. Acurually is is a bit sad. That guy had a stroke and the last time I spoke to him he was dying in an aged care facility. He said ' I loved motorcycle racing'. He ended up wealthy, but his money did not do him much good.
I sometimes wonder what the real potential of the Commando motor might really be. I am surprised at the way mine performs without much modification. It is much better than I ever thought it would be. But it is very deceptive with the heavy crank. The combination of gearing and jetting changes it a lot.
I do not know what the 961 will do with the changed bottom end. Nothing is predictable, until it is raced.

No link Al?

Shame, I was looking forward to that…

acotrel said:

One of my mates went down the front straight of Phillip Island jumping up into the air. A spark plug lead lead had come off and gone down into his boot. Acurually is is a bit sad. That guy had a stroke and the last time I spoke to him he was dying in an aged care facility. He said ' I loved motorcycle racing'. He ended up wealthy, but his money did not do him much good.
I sometimes wonder what the real potential of the Commando motor might really be. I am surprised at the way mine performs without much modification. It is much better than I ever thought it would be. But it is very deceptive with the heavy crank. The combination of gearing and jetting changes it a lot.
I do not know what the 961 will do with the changed bottom end. Nothing is predictable, until it is raced.

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If you are thinking about the potential of a Commando engine with its original cases etc, we know approximately what that number is. It is somewhere around 55-60 crankshaft bhp give or take.
The 65bhp Combat version didn't work out.
The earlier and later slightly lower output engines seem to be ok as long as you aren't running at sustained high RPM.


Glen

Al I don't care what you say about a Joe Hunt and all the crap that you say about them to be honest you have no idea at all, you talk a lot about your racing days but really you haven't had much racing at all by your own confession of the years you haven't been on the track and to have a expert opinion on a JH you have no idea about, you have never had one or used one.
Tho older JHs only had 2 rare earth magnets they were good but the new JHs have 4 rare earth magnets that produce a even bigger bang for their buck, and if you keep think about coming down all the time then maybe it's time to throw in the towel and just talk about the old days, hang on I think you are already doing that.
Sorry AL but really you just keep rattling on and on.
Same as everyone's expert opinions who have never used or had a JH Maggie but they all have their opinions about them and the biggest one is having to retard then to start, set right they don't kick back and will fire on 1/2 swing on the kicker and easier if you had to push start them.
Over 46 years of owning my Norton and the JH is the best spark my Norton has ever had and I haven't touched my spark plugs in 12 years since I been running the JH, 2x I have pulled the plugs and took a look at them and put them straight back in, same as the points on the Maggie haven't touched it, so far coming up to 35k miles with the JH on my 850.

Ashley

NorLuck said:

So which way do I turn the drive sprocket when trying to get 28degrees on the Commando? It’s different from the merc right?

Gonna likely assemble the bike tomorrow.

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Same way as your back wheel spins on the road going forward and they spin the same way as setting up points and EIs they spin ANTI CLOCKWISE.

NorLuck said:

Cool, thought so just wanted to double check. I was 99% sure it’s the opposite the merc.

Ok so looking at the WART I mean magneto (see what I did there @acotrel)… when adjusting for retardation in the event I get kicked I turn the actual mag very slightly to the left or right? I’m guessing left but it’s just a guess that could get me kicked until you all confirm.

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First you said drive sprocket. When referring to ign timing and drive sprocket, 99.99% of people are gonna assume you mean primary drive sprocket.

Now you‘re talking about turning the mag.

And it’s not clear which mag you’re talking about… behind the cylinders or on the timing cover…

Seems you are trying really hard to help people give you the wrong info here !!

POST SOME F*CKING PHOTOS WITH YOUR QUESTIONS FFS !!!

Simply depressing the kickstart (plugs out if you want things easier) usually gives a big clue as to the the 'proper' direction of anything in the drive train and ancillaries...

Simple logic from then on

NorLuck said:

Two different questions. When you first setup the mag you get your 28degrees from TDC. That was one question and it’s done.

Second question was about tilting the actual mag you have one you know you can slightly tilt it clockwise or anti clockwise since there’s quite a bit of room for fine tuning. I don’t know how I can be more clear (other than photos I guess).

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Photos....

IF you’re talking about the Commando, and as you’re familiar with Tri Spark already, you should already know that the cam rotates counter clockwise (as viewed from the points housing end).

Therefore any ignition component mounted on the cam is also going to rotate counter clockwise.

Therefore, if you rotate the mag body counter clockwise, it will spark later, ie it’s retarded. If you rotate clockwise, it’s going to spark earlier, ie advanced.

But… if you can read your previous posts, and put yourself in the shoes of the reader who is trying to decide which bike you're talking about, and trying to decipher which ‘drive nut’ you're talking about, etc… if you can re read this and honestly NOT see how you could improve the clarity… then I don’t know what to say.

NorLuck said:

Are we reading the same posts? I’ve copied it below incase… I clearly said commando. AND, in the second post I called it a wart which seems to be the common term for a commando magneto when attached to the timing case.

“So which way do I turn the drive sprocket when trying to get 28degrees on the Commando? It’s different from the merc right?

Gonna likely assemble the bike tomorrow.”

Apologies if I wasn’t clear. Photos next time.

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No need for an apology to me or anyone else, we are simply trying to help you.

You were simply not clear at all.

First, which nut? Which side of the bike? Connected to what? Makes a big difference.

And actually, it doesn’t matter which way you rotate ‘to get 28 degrees’.

28 degrees is simply a point in the rotation. So you can go whichever way you like to get there, it really does not matter.

What you actually want to know is “which direction do I rotate it away from TDC to get 28 degrees of advance” ?

And the answer to that is going to depend a lot on precisely which nut we are talking about.

So no. Not clear at all.

If you want clear helpful answers, you need to pose clear questions. Actually, you might often find that in the process of writing a clear question, the answer becomes self evident to yourself, and if it doesn’t you’ll get far better, clearer answers. Even more so if you add a picture or two showing your issue.

Well Nigel just told you what way to do it so simple, couldn't get any clearer than that.
Yes you did say Commando as some don't realise that the Commando don't have the set up for putting a Maggie behind the cylinders unless the crank case has had machine work done to it and extra cogs and chain eta eta.
Some may call it a wart hanging off the cam, not me it's so simple to set up off the timing case and really it's the best place for it where it sits out in the cool air and I am proud to show it off, call it what ever you like but if you want a lovely big spark and one kick every time, simplicity, reliability, and to the people who have never ran one before you will never know how good they are no matter where they are set up.

NorLuck said:

Cool, thought so just wanted to double check. I was 99% sure it’s the opposite the merc.

Ok so looking at the WART I mean magneto (see what I did there @acotrel)… when adjusting for retardation in the event I get kicked I turn the actual mag very slightly to the left or right? I’m guessing left but it’s just a guess that could get me kicked until you all confir

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NorLuck said:

When looking at the non-timing case side of the engine (primary case side) where a belt drive would possibly go do I turn the three rowed sprocket that’s attached to the engine anti clockwise to initially set up the Joe hunt mag?

When looking at the Joe hunt magneto hanging off the timing case flapping in the wind do you rotate the magneto ever so slightly anti clockwise to make kickstarting easier? (I think this is called retarding the advance.)

Better? Or do we still need photos bc I can take them in a day or so.

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Instead of learning by "monkey-see-monkey-do" method, try to adopt the learn by understanding method. It will serve you a lifetime.


Slowly press the kicker, NOTE which way the engine turns.
(ANY engine)

Figure out which way the rotor in your ignition device (ANY ignition device) by WATCHING which way it turns.

To RETARD the TIMING, move the ignition device (ANY ignition device) in the same direction, a small amount.

The IDEA, which correlates directly with accurate nomenclature, is that the rotating trigger/points cam lobe encounters the trigged coil/points rub block LATER (RETARD the ignition firing event) when you move the ignition trigger in the SAME DIRECTION as the rotation of the rotor.

To ADVANCE the timing, move the stationary in the opposite direction of the rotor's rotation, thereby causing the firing event to occur SOONER, also known as ADVANCE the timing.

Understand?

NorLuck said:

When looking at the non-timing case side of the engine (primary case side) where a belt drive would possibly go do I turn the three rowed sprocket that’s attached to the engine anti clockwise to initially set up the Joe hunt mag?

When looking at the Joe hunt magneto hanging off the timing case flapping in the wind do you rotate the magneto ever so slightly anti clockwise to make kickstarting easier? (I think this is called retarding the advance.)

Better? Or do we still need photos bc I can take them in a day or so.

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Try to always use the terms "timing side" and "primary side"
Makes life easier
And read what concours said a couple of times
Imagine the ignition wheel turning and what it has to do

As said before many times you set to which way the motor runs, the back wheel turns when riding and if static timing is set at 28 degrees when the point is just starting to open, if you get a bit of kick back then move the Maggie ACW ever so slightly till you get no kick back, once you done that your all good to go, unless your carbs are out just remember little move ments in adjustsments can go a long way, once set will always be set unless you put new points in, I haven't in over 12 years since I put the JH on and 35k miles later.

concours said:

Instead of learning by "monkey-see-monkey-do" method, try to adopt the learn by understanding method. It will serve you a lifetime.


Slowly press the kicker, NOTE which way the engine turns.
(ANY engine)

Figure out which way the rotor in your ignition device (ANY ignition device)

To RETARD the TIMING, move the ignition device (ANY ignition device) in the same direction, a small amount.

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Well said..

No matter what its a learning curve which ever way you go, it's like anything you learn by your mistakes and helps by using the right terms when asking questions help us to know what you are asking and if you had your bikes long enough you should know what way they are set at, whether points, EIs or Maggie, motor only turn one way and just looking it over slowly tells you which way they go.
I might not know everything but I do use my eyes but to get to know your own bike is to take notice and think about it before jumping, it's how I learned about my Norton and in your case Norton's.

A very short vid showing Hot magneto spart at only 100 RPM

jseng1 said:

A very short vid showing Hot magneto spart at only 100 RPM

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Advance curve?