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Sparking ignition points

Big T said:
You can't fix bad condensers on the side of the road. That was Allies problem.

I haven't had to fix my Dyna in almost 40 years. I did check my timing back in 2008, it was still good
Click to expand...

Well you can't fix them but you can replace them, there is that. The real issue right now is buying new ones, waiting for them to come, putting them in, and having them both fail half way to work your first trip. Not to mention the scarcity of points... I found a pair for less than $75 finally, and they turned out to be NOS... for a GS400. They do work just fine. After I ground one of the chassis down so it would slide past the adjustment nubs on my breaker plate. I'm happy enough with that but what happens when I can't even find that? Me, I'm stepping into the 1980s. YMMV.
 
Allie said:
Well you can't fix them but you can replace them, there is that. The real issue right now is buying new ones, waiting for them to come, putting them in, and having them both fail half way to work your first trip. Not to mention the scarcity of points... I found a pair for less than $75 finally, and they turned out to be NOS... for a GS400. They do work just fine. After I ground one of the chassis down so it would slide past the adjustment nubs on my breaker plate. I'm happy enough with that but what happens when I can't even find that? Me, I'm stepping into the 1980s. YMMV.
Click to expand...

ebay.com comes up with heaps. I believe the same points are used 1000, 750, 550. I think the condensers vary a little but it doesn't matter they will all work. For those kinds of parts I would ALWAYS fit OEM certainly not cheapo copies. I know what you say about failing condensers, here in Kenya I've fitted new replacement ones in the past and they've failed in ultra quick time on the odd car. Though condensers you could probably source from an electronics shop that are probably made in a much better and modern way, the thing that cooks older ignitions is leaving the ignition switch on and not running the engine. I've never had any kind of ignition failure on my bikes, apart from worn points, I can't remember swapping the points often.

Look there's more on ebay than you can shake a stick at, in the US you're lucky because it's all at reasonable cost and plenty of it..
gs1000 ignition points | eBay
gs750 ignition points | eBay
gs750 condenser | eBay
 
tatu said:
ebay.com comes up with heaps. I believe the same points are used 1000, 750, 550. I think the condensers vary a little but it doesn't matter they will all work. For those kinds of parts I would ALWAYS fit OEM certainly not cheapo copies. I know what you say about failing condensers, here in Kenya I've fitted new replacement ones in the past and they've failed in ultra quick time on the odd car. Though condensers you could probably source from an electronics shop that are probably made in a much better and modern way, the thing that cooks older ignitions is leaving the ignition switch on and not running the engine. I've never had any kind of ignition failure on my bikes, apart from worn points, I can't remember swapping the points often.

Look there's more on ebay than you can shake a stick at, in the US you're lucky because it's all at reasonable cost and plenty of it..
gs1000 ignition points | eBay
gs750 ignition points | eBay
gs750 condenser | eBay
Click to expand...

Points are less problematic than condensers granted. My issue right now is that I just don't trust what's out there in the way of condensers. If I really wanted to I could buy reliable substitutes from my local electronics store (THOSE are rare as hell these days too!) and try them out under the points cover or even mount them up by the coils. Both Mallory and IC make yellow axial lead polypropylene caps with a 105C temp and 600V rating... and self healing windings. I'm sure a way could be found to mount them permanently, and keep using points. For me I just don't think it's worth the hassle. I will be converting to the Dyna S soon, and I think the odds are pretty good that I'll never have to worry about it again. Hey if I'm wrong, I'm not throwing away my breaker plate or anything... but by then maybe I'll have an e-bike!
 
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