Which electronic ignition?

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MikeG said:
MikeG said:
#1 on avoiding the Sparx, mine is less than a year old and the insulation and wiring is cracked to hell. Still works but...??? I also have a Power Arc from Old Britts. Been having ignition trouble of late and not sure yet with what. Still going through the elimination process of switch/harness/?? Tonight I ran a wire direct from battery to Power Arc to bypass all of it. I'll find out tomorrow if its the cure of if the Power Arc is bad.
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Well the results are in, with ALL of my original switches and harness bypassed the Power Arc would not even get me out of my driveway this AM. It will be replaced...
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Well :oops: :oops: I owe Power Arc an apology.....seems they are very finiky when it comes to grounding. I used a new connector and tapped into the existing harness ground wires, but I guess it was not happy like that. Ran a separate wire direct to battery positive and no problems.
 
How about that, like the belt primary's, none of em work long unless the tranny shafts support in good shape too. I got rid of my faulty wrenches the jaws broke off and also those that twisted my bolts off too...
 
hobot said:
How about that, like the belt primary's, none of em work long unless the tranny shafts support in good shape too. I got rid of my faulty wrenches the jaws broke off and also those that twisted my bolts off too...
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Good idea-think I'll get rid of all those high torque wrenches too, but better a twisted bolt than twisted nuts :lol:
 
I replaced my Boyer yesterday with a Tri-Spark setup from CNW. Transformed the starting, can now sit on bike and push starter thru and its running. The Boyer had serious kickback issues, with fully charged battery, and if did not start first or second kick could wear you out.
I had similar happy results with the Tri-Spark on the mk3 I just sold. Could start freshly rebuilt engine pushing the kickstart thru by hand.
If Tri-Spark stands the test of time will be able to delay the Alton E-Start for a few more years!
 
There's so many different likes and dislikes and what works for some doesn't for others, I may wonder if it's more in the setup than the product?

Dave
69S
 
I've put more miles on analog Boyer than points and well know all its faults but also that it can give step on dead slow idle starts and not skip a beat beyond 11 grand and same now with points - which of course would bounce float before end of red zone. At least threads like this reveal there's so many Cdo's out there it can supply a market with a hand full of makers to choose from as a favorite. Neither me nor my good buddy Wesley could for the life of us get the Pazion Sure Fire to fire, even though each and every test tested fine. Got a new brain box just in case but have not been able to take time out of riding to see if that was the issue of some bad parts fitting close in the trigger magnets zone.
 
I would be reluctant to fit an electronic ignition that mounts the black box inside the engine, too much heat and vibration for longetivity I would think.

A couple of years ago there was a new electronic ignition that came on the market for airheads, nice neat install with black box inside front cover, only problem was that after 12 months or so those black boxes started to fail in large numbers.m Idont know but I guess that heat and vibration played a part in the problems.
 
elefantrider said:
Anyone have experience with the Old Brits system listed on their main landing page?
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I've had one for a couple of years and I've been completely happy with it.
 
elefantrider said:
Anyone have experience with the Old Brits system listed on their main landing page?
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I've been running the Old Britts Power Arc for three years and over 7,000 miles. No issues yet even in 90 degree F Virginia (read humid) heat.
 
I treated my 74 to a tri-spark and one of there coils after many years with an old boyer what a revalation it ticks over now something it would never do
 
II put gazillions of miles on a 750 Combat ridden rain or shine 365/7 with a early Boyer, never had a problem or hard starting, my current 850 came with a fairly old Boyer and has been loved but ridden hard and long with no trouble and always starts 1st kick & idles perfectly.. That being said I did just buy a Pazon shure-fire for the BSA and if the Boyer gives up the goat I think I would be tempted to go for one of the digital ones.
 
I have not had any problems with my Sparx HO alternator .I've been using a Pazon ignition and it's quite nice.
 
I ran a old boyar for a long time with out any problems and over 130,000 miles on it, I replaced it with a Joe Hunt maggie and my old boyar is installed in a mates Norton now, he had a few problems and replaced the pick up but it had the same problem when he fitted it, when I looked at how he set it up it was just a earth wire problem, he didn't read the instuctions right, I told him straight away he hasn't wired it up right, but he wouldn't listen to me after all I have only owned my Norton for 37 years.

Ashley
 
I had similar questions for my '74 850. A tech editor for a well known mag runs a Power Arc, but put a Tri-Spark on a friend's bike (and video taped the process for web viewers) and recommends them both (I like that they're both self contained within the points cavity). Another guy says Tri-Spark if you can afford it, else Pazon. Matt at CNW swears by the Tri, and is also their US dealer - hmmm, quite an endorsement. Most recommend a dual coil setup as well. What about the Wassell unit? There are references to it being designed by former Boyer techs and is produced in the Czech Rep for Wassell (Pazon actually states their Boyer lineage on their web site). I like that the Wassell unit is completely sealed w/a nice CNC machined plate; and, while the few reports have been positive, I guess it's too new to tell. Does Power Arc really have an advantage with optical triggering and 3 sparks per cycle? Do they all need resistor plug caps? One guy said he fried his Tri-Spark with a H.O. alternator - was he not using a 200w regulator, like a Podtronics? I can see blowing a zener or (Lucas) rectifier and zapping the ign box with A/C, or over-volts, but what's safe? Lastly, my '75 T160 Trident came with a Boyer mkIII when I bought it in 1996 and has been trouble-free since day one, although now it won't idle below 3500-4000 rpm. 35 year old caps in the Boyer finally gone bad? Right now, finances are leaning towards a Pazon or Wassell, then later a Mikuni 34VM, and eventually an alt/reg/coil upgrade...
 
jdnort said:
I had similar questions for my '74 850. A tech editor for a well known mag runs a Power Arc, but put a Tri-Spark on a friend's bike (and video taped the process for web viewers) and recommends them both (I like that they're both self contained within the points cavity). Another guy says Tri-Spark if you can afford it, else Pazon. Matt at CNW swears by the Tri, and is also their US dealer - hmmm, quite an endorsement. Most recommend a dual coil setup as well. What about the Wassell unit? There are references to it being designed by former Boyer techs and is produced in the Czech Rep for Wassell (Pazon actually states their Boyer lineage on their web site). I like that the Wassell unit is completely sealed w/a nice CNC machined plate; and, while the few reports have been positive, I guess it's too new to tell. Does Power Arc really have an advantage with optical triggering and 3 sparks per cycle? Do they all need resistor plug caps? One guy said he fried his Tri-Spark with a H.O. alternator - was he not using a 200w regulator, like a Podtronics? I can see blowing a zener or (Lucas) rectifier and zapping the ign box with A/C, or over-volts, but what's safe? Lastly, my '75 T160 Trident came with a Boyer mkIII when I bought it in 1996 and has been trouble-free since day one, although now it won't idle below 3500-4000 rpm. 35 year old caps in the Boyer finally gone bad? Right now, finances are leaning towards a Pazon or Wassell, then later a Mikuni 34VM, and eventually an alt/reg/coil upgrade...
Click to expand...

Holy 900 questions in a first post! :shock:
 
I think that the rule of thumb is that if you have a digital processor in your ignition you should use suppressed plug caps NGK 5kOHM (Boyer microdigital). A more basic analogue ignition (Boyer mk 111) requires little or no suppression.
 
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