New 550 ignition system fitted!!!!!!!!!

[EricWoods]

8-[ Hi everyone. Eric here in Dublin again. Well got my new boyer bransden ignition system for my 1981GS550T. Spent the day ripping off my old coils and ignitor. Fitted the new transistor box. Fitted new digital coils. Wired all the coils and HT leads and fiited new suppresion caps. Removed old stator plate along with the old auto advance unit. One thing with my bike is that when you remove the old cam off the auto advance and fit the new magnetic rotor, the side cover does not fit back on. So I rang boyer in the Uk and decided to cut a small bit off the auto advance shaft. this solved that problem. So i set the auto advance to the Top dead centre mark and when your at top dead center you have to set the rotor to be between the magnetic pick ups. This i Did. Charged the battery and got ready for the grand start!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Didnt happen for 15 mins. Finally with the choke fully out she started and sounded rough. Now the bike has been lying up for 3 weeks!!!!! So i slowly released the choke and the bike appeared to rev nicely but didnt want to idle. Also if i held the trottle to idle, and then gave a good handfull of trottle there was a null, followed by the engine cutting out!!! Heres a summary if my probs

1. Bike has got brand new ignition system to include coils, transistor box, Ht leads, suppression caps, ststor plate and rotor.
2. Bike often cuts out hard. By hard i mean if i let let the bike idle sometimes the engine stops dead! i mean dead! as if shes locked up!
3. I Change the ignition system as spark was coming and going and felt after 26 years she deserved a treat!
4. I have a problem with timing. I need to set at top dead centre when engine is static. Then when i rev to 4500rpm i need to align the "F" mark and re tighten the stator? Does this make sense?
5. Took the carbs off 1 month ago and cleaned pilot and main jets but did not go near air screws on top of the carbs as they had blanking caps on top and didnt want to cause any damage. Should I have done the air screws?

Can anyone shine any light on the airscrew, timing and strange random locking of engine every so often at idle? have already spent way more on this baby than what it cost me!! Any takers?

Eric Woods ( in dublin with my helmet boots and leathers on) and NO BIKE!
Thanks

[zig06]

According to my Clymer manual, all of the breakerless ignitions are not adjustable. So as long as you installed it correctly, it should be pretty much correct.

Yes, you should have CAREFULLY drilled out the air screw plugs and removed them so you could complete your carb cleaning. Be sure to count how many turns they were orginally installed at before you totally remove them.

As far as the engine just suddenly stopping, it's hard to say. But if the air screws are plugged and your trying to get it to idle for a long time, then it's possible that you are over heating the engine and are dangeriously close to seizing a cylinder.

My advise:
Double check your ignition installation. My manual says nothing about the "F" aliment, only that it's non-adjustable.

Drill the plugs and clean out the air screw ports with carb clean (no need to remove the carbs).

Because your messing with 2 big items (ignition and carbs) you could be fighting 2 different problems. You may have to install the old ignition, fix yours carbs and then move into the ignition upgrade.

[Nessism]

You need to establish a baseline from which to move forward from. I suggest a complete carb cleaning, by taking them apart and soaking in carb dip or at least spraying through all the various passages to verify they are clear. After that, new o-rings all around and new intake boot o-rings. Everything must be fully sealed and clean.

As it sits right now, we are not sure of the condition of your carbs and your ignition timing may be a little wanky as well. Start from the beginning and work from there.

[EricWoods]

Re my ignition

One thing that i have noticed with the bike.

The cover that goes over the air box has absolutely no seal whatsoever. The metal panel also rocks back and forth even when its tightened down. And no 2 and no 3 cylinders has a cable tie on the airbox side of the carbs instead of a jubilee clip? Could these be adding to my probs?

[Nessism]

One thing that i have noticed with the bike.

The cover that goes over the air box has absolutely no seal whatsoever. The metal panel also rocks back and forth even when its tightened down. And no 2 and no 3 cylinders has a cable tie on the airbox side of the carbs instead of a jubilee clip? Could these be adding to my probs?

Yes, it can add to the problem. Any false air that enters the system can disturb it.

[srsupertrap]

Ericwoods,
Your comment about the side cover is alarming. I have installed several electronic ignitions dating back to the early 1980's (Martek 440). If the magnet rotor is slotted with two rectangular slots and the "Points cover" would not fit, that would suggest the rotor is sticking out and not keyed correctly. Check that.

Second, you failed to mention whether the Boyer plate is slotted for timing adjustments. If it is, than the your statement about timing makes sense. My old genuine Suzuki GS1000 Factory manual states, under 1500 rpm you the F mark should be in alignement. Over 2500 rpm the timing mark F 1.4 should be aligned. The ignition advance I would bet is similar if not identical.

Keep this hard lesson in mind when troubleshooting . . . when modifying your bike and the result is it does not work or meet your expectation. Always look at the work you performed first.

Your bike would benefit from adjusting the air screw but do that later. If the your GS 550 was working before you ripped the ignition don't inject problems that previously did not exist.

[waltfen]

I fitted a Boyer Bransden unit to my GS550 and it's the best thing I ever did.
I believe that you may need to readjust the ignition timing. The instructions state to time to the full advance mark at 4500rpm.
The full advance mark on the GS550 is the unmarked one (the third line).

The F line should be aligned below 1650rpm.

I also had problems reattaching the cover and solved this by making a cardboard gasket which gave me just enough clearance.