Topic: Best Electronic ignition?

[Deltarider]

Just wait for the pound to fall further and further and further. From what I've heard they're made by a poor family somewhere in an old empty barn.

[flatlander]

when i bought the boyer the UK was still firmly part of the EU which made it a better price for me than others that were made more expensive by import duties.
but you did not answer my question: which oil should i use with my electronic ignition 

[Deltarider]

Would you like to hear the story of the old empty barn?

[Deltarider]

Well, here it is:

[BomberMann650]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha


Pamco

Yeah, see what I mean? 

In an attempt to bring this subject back on track I'll say I've had a Dyna-S in my 750 for about 5 years with no issues.
I have been curious about the Tytronic ignition which appears to be identical to Charlie's ignition.
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=158702.0

So what’s the best oil to use with electronic ignitions? 😂😂

[strynboen]

transformator oil/ must be the best elektric oil

[Bailgang]

Boyer Bransden on mine. What I don't like is no rev limiter and as far as I know none are compatible with it, I also heard that it actually has it's own rev limiter but that needs to be specified when ordering it (sure would've been nice if they had told me that when I did order it) and what I dislike the most is they wont respond to any email regarding the subject to tell me if any of it is true or not. Oh well in the meantime I'll just polish up on my shifting so I don't blow shifts and not have to worry about a rev limiter. Aside from that is it the best? Damned if I know but the bike does run well and besides Dave says it's the best so it must be true. 

[Bankerdanny]

I had a Gerex Multifire on my GL1000, which worked very well. But they are long out of production and hard to find. They also use a large controller box that needs airflow to stay cool, so not a good option for minimalist style bikes.

My 550 came with a Martek 440, but it was starting to fail in the desert heat on my ride in August and so I went back to points.

[PeWe]

I had a Gerex Multifire on my GL1000, which worked very well. But they are long out of production and hard to find. They also use a large controller box that needs airflow to stay cool, so not a good option for minimalist style bikes.

My 550 came with a Martek 440, but it was starting to fail in the desert heat on my ride in August and so I went back to points.

A friend has a NOS Gerex set, the coils are huge!

[Bankerdanny]

Mine was just the ignition, it didn't come with the coils.

[swestleyj60]

In putting together my first 550K this year, one of the things I did was swap the points out for a Dyna-S unit.
I installed new 5-ohm coils, along with the Dyna-S and everything works great.  The installation was easy, and the dynamic timing wasn't difficult either - Personally, I found that timing everything with a timing light was much easier than doing a static timing, but I'm pretty inexperienced too, so that may differ for you.

One thing that folks here wisely mentioned to me is the power draw of the Dyna-S.  It's a powered unit, so it's going to pull more electricity than your points did.  I think, if I remember correctly, when I did the amperage calculations, adding the Dyna-S was going to leave me with something like 0.2 amps of production while the bike was being ridden.  Given that you're not generating any electricity unless you're riding at something like 3500 rpms, it bears thinking about.

For what little it might be worth, at the suggestion of someone here, I disconnected the always-on front marker lights, (they still blink...they're just off the rest of the time), and switched out the incandescent tail light for an LED.  I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't done that, but my battery has stayed solid all summer long.  I had read a lot of threads about folks not being able to start their bike once they got where they were going, simply because the
increased power draw of the Dyna-S had not kept pace with the electricity being produced by the bike under operation.

[flatlander]

Given that you're not generating any electricity unless you're riding at something like 3500 rpms, it bears thinking about.

think about it like this: you shouldn't run this engine below that, anyway - problem gone. that's not a joke, they need to rev.

[Bodi]

Well. Popcorn time again?
Around 1980 I got a Martek 440 and installed it in my 400F when also doing a Yoshimura 466 kit plus Yoshima street cam plus Kerker exhaust build. No ignition issues since then: I haven't even checked timing for a few years, it just never changes. I realize it could fail any time - but now I have CAA Plus so I can get a "tow" home (covered on the membership) if it does. The electronics may fail and the IR LED has been fading for decades and will eventually die or get too dim to trigger the unit. LEDs have a generally agreed mean lifetime of 50,000 hours but the high temperature in the points housing may accelerate decay.
For the first year or more I carried the points plate and whatever advancer parts had been removed for the 440 rotor with me on rides, not completely trusting the electronic ignition. I was also leery of the first EFI Jeep I owned... but neither gave me any trouble.
Hondaman's module that uses the points as a sensor and does the "heavy lifting" of switching coil power seems pretty ideal: get a good points set and it will last pretty much forever (the cam follower and even the cam do wear, keep the cam lubricated!) with very very slow changes in timing since the contacts themselves will not be eroded by the miniscule current.
For complete EI systems, what's best depends on your application. The Dyna S has well known issues with dwell duration - the coils are powered for almost the entire crank rotation - this increases power load over points and there are reports that it doesn't do well at high RPM. Same for the (long discontinued) Martek and probably other current units.
Models that eliminate the OEM mechanical advancer have benefits as you can pick your advance curve, the dwell should be more normal, and some have vacuum advance inputs but I haven't heard much about using them ... how for one thing and whether it is helpful for another. Having a rev limiter is important for racers or those who push the limits, especially on a "built" engine.
Boyer Brandsen have a good reputation and have overcome the "Prince of Darkness" reputation well earned by 20th Century British automotive electrics. I installed a few of them (on Brit bikes, not on a Honda though) and never heard complaints.
There's nothing wrong with points and condensers, they just need more attention than fully electronic solutions. And so what? If I wanted a maintenance free motorcycle I wouldn't pick one 40 plus years old. Dressing the contacts, oiling the felt, and setting timing doesn't add much to the annual spring maintenance work. I don't regret putting in the Martek but if doing such a build today I think I would stick to points ... maybe just for sentimental reasons?

[Stev-o]

but you did not answer my question: which oil should i use with my electronic ignition 

Have you tried cannabis oil?!

[BomberMann650]

but you did not answer my question: which oil should i use with my electronic ignition 

Have you tried cannabis oil?!

Hahaha 😂😂😂

That #$%* works great tho, seriously.

[strynboen]

tkink it make the firing up more un presise

[jfitz9]

Any suggestions where could one purchase a Boyer ignition?

[Deltarider]

What's this with Boyer & Bransden firing all 4 plugs at the same time? With a desirable burning time of 1,5 ms minimum, will there be enough time left to saturate coils near red zone?

[CycleRanger]

Any suggestions where could one purchase a Boyer ignition?

Howdy! 

Start here: http://www.boyerbransden.com/dealers.html
The list is short.

[flatlander]

if you're in europe or UK don't bother with dealers, just contact them directly. i found them very helpful, they answered all questions and shipped quickly.

re. firing: i have not measured but do not notice any adverse effects in or even slightly beyond red zone. the kit comes with dedicated coils, i presume they've been chosen to support the system.

[PeWe]

Well written Bodi Sentimental reasons, big part of the CB SOHC hobby! I'm sure many of us has to test other technical solutions as we upgrade the engines in many ways.
I have a box with 10 really old condensers, Koyo, marked 30250-300-000 found on eBay. I have to test if they will work.

[Deltarider]

Which reminds me... I still don't know why condensers have a shelf life.

[BomberMann650]

Which reminds me... I still don't know why condensers have a shelf life.

It’s a capacitor right? 

Capacitors get old and pop smoke all the time.  Result of the chemical half life to their core elements.

[Bailgang]

What's this with Boyer & Bransden firing all 4 plugs at the same time? With a desirable burning time of 1,5 ms minimum, will there be enough time left to saturate coils near red zone?

Yeah that's what I thought when I first wired the coils up. BB calls them "micro power" coils and I think they're 1 ohm coils, I say think because I don't have my volt/ohm meter handy at the moment to check it right now so don't take my word for it. I guess you could call them mini coils because they are much smaller than the OEM coils. You have 1 wire coming off each pick up on the plate at the crank just like you would with points, both wires go into the electronic box ...... but only 1 wire comes out of the box going to the coils. Each coil has a + and - terminal, that 1 wire coming from the box goes to the - of  the 1/4 coil, then a jumper wire going from the + of that coil to the - of the 2/3 coil and then the 12 volt pos to the + of the 2/3 coil so if the one coil fires the other one does too or double wasted spark however you want to put it. I'm not an electronics wiz so don't ask me their thought process on the design but the bike does run.

[Bailgang]

Any suggestions where could one purchase a Boyer ignition?

Howdy! 

Start here: http://www.boyerbransden.com/dealers.html
The list is short.

And unfortunately most if not all the dealers in the US cater to the British twin engines and not our sohc 750's. Maybe I didn't search hard enough for a US dealer that sold one for a 750 but I ended up getting mine from a UK dealer that did but not directly from boyer bransden. I'm not here to promote their product because I don't know how it compares to all the other ignition systems that are available but it is another choice for you to pick from.