Author Topic: which ignition to use  (Read 2357 times)

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Offline cavi

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which ignition to use
« on: June 06, 2012, 04:07:31 PM »
okay, planning for a near future, I will want to get away from the stock points and go electronic.  which one is the best on the market, I saw some good comments on the dyna  and the cyclex offers their version which they claim is lightyears better than the dyna style.
a little help??

72500john

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Re: which ignition to use
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2012, 04:16:13 PM »
what model and year bike do you plan on putting a new ignition on..??

Offline Eddie

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Re: which ignition to use
« Reply #2 on: June 06, 2012, 04:24:04 PM »
Pamco....heard too many stories of poor performance about Dyna. Cycle-X looks to be good unit as well.

Offline cavi

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Re: which ignition to use
« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2012, 04:29:03 PM »
1978 cb750f

Offline shinyribs

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Re: which ignition to use
« Reply #4 on: June 06, 2012, 04:59:02 PM »
I can't recall which company it is,(I'm thinking Dyna,not sure)but one of the companies offers a set of coils that they warn you STRONGLY against cranking the bike with the plug wires off. Apparently,if you crank the bike with a plug wire off it instantly fries that coil. I would hate to think a plug wire accidentally fell of and wrecked my new high dollar coil. >:( Plus,checking for spark would be extra complicated.

As far as recommendations,I have only had experience with my Martek ignition. Of course,I have onlt had it for about 6-6500 miles now,but I am pleased with it. I have not heard any bad things about Pamco.
The darn fool didn't know it couldn't be done...so he went ahead and did it anyway.

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72500john

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Re: which ignition to use
« Reply #5 on: June 06, 2012, 05:06:22 PM »
pamco is a good choice. have not read anything bad here about them. i run a hondaman with points and am happy with it.

bollingball

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Re: which ignition to use
« Reply #6 on: June 06, 2012, 05:15:56 PM »
pamco is a good choice. have not read anything bad here about them. i run a hondaman with points and am happy with it.

+1 Nothing better than being able to switch back to points only if you are miles from the house or it is 3am

Ken

Offline BobbyR

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Re: which ignition to use
« Reply #7 on: June 06, 2012, 05:25:51 PM »
I had a Dyna and it crapped out which seems to be too common recently. I went PAMCO and so far it seems to work very well.
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Offline Rgconner

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Re: which ignition to use
« Reply #8 on: June 06, 2012, 10:09:12 PM »
You might want to check out the Hondaman ignition.

It will not let you remap the advance curve, but gives you maximum reliablity for the minimum cost and stays close to stock.

Uses the existing points but runs lower voltage so they wear very slowly.

Also uses less power and can be disconnected in a failure and the points take over.

You did not ask about it, but I wanted to make sure you knew of all the options.
1975 CB550K aka "Grease Monkey"

Offline wrenchmuch

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which ignition to use
« Reply #9 on: June 07, 2012, 06:04:50 AM »
Boyer bransten ( i think that's the right spelling ) is made in the uk. It uses magnetic pick ups like Pamco , Dyna , and the made in Germany ignition (can't remember its name ). The Boyer locates just the pick ups under the points cover. The electronic components are located in a box installed elsewhere on the bike. The Boyer is programmed with the advance curve and eliminates the advancer under the points cover. Boyer , CycleX , and Dyna (2000 model only) all eliminate the mechanical advancer. CycleX and Dyna 2000 both provide multiple advance curves and the Dyna 2000 comes in a model that allows you to program your own curves. Units that use magnetic pickups can exhibit some timing drift at idle. As revs rise this clears up. Optical pickups like CycleX , Martek ( no longer available ) don't have any drift. Only Boyer , Dyna 2000 ,and Hondaman locate electronic components outside of the points cover eliminating heat from the points area as possible cause of failure. Of these 3 only the Hondaman offers redundancy in being able to dissconnect the electronics and connect up the points. The Hondaman because it uses points has the precision of an optical pickup system. If I wanted to fit electronic ignition to a stock bike I'd go with the Hondaman. If I were fitting it on an engine that I'd built that required some tweaking to the advance curve I'd go with the Dyna 2000. I think I read somewhere that CycleX was coming out with a model that could be programmed. If they do I would choose it over the Dyna due to its optical pickup . In general I think that putting electronic components under the points cover isn't a great idea and choosing a unit that does this is probably compromising longevity.
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Offline Lostboy Steve

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Re: which ignition to use
« Reply #10 on: June 07, 2012, 06:35:36 AM »
I love my points. Just saying.....
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Offline cavi

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Re: which ignition to use
« Reply #11 on: June 07, 2012, 02:16:31 PM »
I am again doing my research to decide the path that my bike is going to travel.  Can I run higher power coils with the stock points setup?  Will I go through points faster if I do that?

Offline wrenchmuch

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which ignition to use
« Reply #12 on: June 07, 2012, 02:50:31 PM »
You will go through points faster with 3 ohm coils ( stock coils are around 5 ohms). Hondaman sells a pair of 1 ohm resisters mounted on an aluminum bracket with the proper connectors
ready to install in line with the coils. Dyna 2000 is designed to work with 3 ohm coils but Dyna recommends 5 ohm or a 1 ohm resistor for use with Dyna S triggers. I think Boyer is capable of running 3 ohm coils without damage as well but you might want to confirm that.  If you
are increasing electrical load with things like 55w/60w H4 headlights using 3 ohm coils as well will likely be more load than your charging system can keep up with in normal city driving.
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Offline Duanob

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Re: which ignition to use
« Reply #13 on: June 07, 2012, 03:35:24 PM »
I've been completely happy with the Dyna S and Dyna 5ohm coils. Easy to install and The bike does not miss a beat.
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Re: which ignition to use
« Reply #14 on: June 07, 2012, 03:41:10 PM »
No problems with either Dyna S or Dyna 2000.
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Offline Rgconner

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Re: which ignition to use
« Reply #15 on: June 08, 2012, 05:21:17 AM »
I am again doing my research to decide the path that my bike is going to travel.  Can I run higher power coils with the stock points setup?  Will I go through points faster if I do that?

Yes, they will burn faster if all you do is go for 3ohm.

But, with Hondaman ignition, you are not running the full voltage through them, it is handled buy the transistors in the HM ignition.

My 550 has far less amps than your 750. I had to clean up bad connections and replace wires to support a 55w headlamp, 3ohm with resistor pack. If yours is in decent shape, you will likely be ok.


1975 CB550K aka "Grease Monkey"

Offline dave500

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Re: which ignition to use
« Reply #16 on: June 08, 2012, 05:36:35 AM »
ived used a few of the boyer bransdon units,from the first analouge through the micro digital and the micro power,,i had an analouge unit fail,intermittently got worse,i had bought this second hand in the box and still boyer sent me a new unit not requiring the old one returned,the analouge unit was obsolete at the time!,,the micro digital unit will run the stock honda 5ohm coils and down to 3 ohms,the micro power unit comes with special 0.6 ohm dual output coils,,these get wired in series,it still has the curve in the box as the mechanical unit is removed as per all the boyer units,i like them.,,they seem unheard of in the states??

small coils,,boyer supply either gill or pvl digital coils,these are gill,the kit comes with solid wire lead you make fit and connectors and boots,,youll have to wind your idle down once you fit it.
« Last Edit: June 08, 2012, 05:44:43 AM by dave500 »

Offline Spanner 1

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Re: which ignition to use
« Reply #17 on: June 08, 2012, 05:52:25 AM »
I had points for years and years, but I felt I needed a change so I replaced them with more points...  :D
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Offline Deltarider

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Re: which ignition to use
« Reply #18 on: June 08, 2012, 06:07:17 AM »
Quote
I had points for years and years, but I felt I needed a change so I replaced them with more points...
Point made. :D
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