Ignition swap thoughts/recommendations

[alfiembra]

My bike doesn’t get a lot of use but generally always starts on the button, can be a little rough running initially and occasionally runs on 3 cylinders for a while till it warms up and then kicks in.

I was thinking an ignition swap would maybe smooth things out a bit and was looking for any thoughts or recommendations on any particular systems. I’ve seen a wide variety of kits and prices and are they a “you get what you pay for” type upgrade?

Cheers Alan

[Rob62]

Its entirely a personal choice but if the bike gets little use maybe it would be better to just fine tune the existing setup as these bikes are perfectly capable of running smoothly and reliably on a std setup.... start with new plugs, points, condensers, check the coils, caps and leads (new coils and leads will only set you back 50 quid or so...), set the timing. Balance the carbs, check the compression. If all ok it should run smoothly.

[kevski]

Dyna and Boyer are both good with Boyer dispensing with the original advance unit, though points and condenser are just as good if set correctly, the three cylinder running also occurs when you put electronic ones on,so it may not be the present ignition system, firstly you need to make sure all connections are good and all settings as should be including carbs and valve clearances, but one thing i noticed years ago on another bike as soon as i went back to an OEM exhaust system the problem stopped immediately, not saying this applies to all cases

[Trigger]

My bike doesn’t get a lot of use but generally always starts on the button, can be a little rough running initially and occasionally runs on 3 cylinders for a while till it warms up and then kicks in.

I was thinking an ignition swap would maybe smooth things out a bit and was looking for any thoughts or recommendations on any particular systems. I’ve seen a wide variety of kits and prices and are they a “you get what you pay for” type upgrade?

Cheers Alan

That sounds more like a carb problem than ignition. Most carbs will run like this if not set up right or the bike is on the side stand 

[TrickyMicky]

Also. don't forget that if it runs on 3 cylinders, the problem cannot be with points, condenser, or coil, because each of these serves 2 cylinders using the "wasted spark" principal. Look at plug lead, cap and plug itself. But if used very infrequently I would suspect a carburettor problem. Happy New Year!

[alfiembra]

Thanks all for the replies some good advice as always. I’ll start with the plugs and ht leads got a carb rebuild kit sitting waiting to fit but need to clean up the garage and make some working space before I tackle that.