Is electronic ignition the way to go?

[terryg]

I like the 'physics at work' aspect of the magneto and its independence. It's a simple enough concept that Michael Faraday might have dreamt up. Like so much engineering it works by having the right bits, doing the right things, in the right places at the right times. If that's not the case then some servicing is called for.
Electronic ignition is good too but has a different set of potential problems, and you need a good battery and charging system.
You pays your money... etc.

[Tomcat]

My 20c worth...
If the charging system is an alternator in good working order (and fitted with an electronic rectifier/regulator),  then electronic ignition is superior to points. ie on an A65
BUT... as this is an A7/A10 forum, then most discussion is related to these engines. So my advice is to have the magneto fully rebuilt by a reputable repairer, then it should be fit and forget. Peter Scott reconditioned my magneto (longstroke A7) 10 years ago, and it always starts 1st kick hot or cold......
Cheers Tomcat

[bikerbob]

I have both a 1963 A65 which I converted to 12volt and ellectronic ignition no problems unless the battery runs down then if you try to start it up with run down battery then the Pazon unit goes to full advance and it kicks back quite severely reminding you that the battery needs charging has only happened once as I now keep the battery on a trickle charger over the winter. The 1956 A7 has magneto and I have no intention of replacing it with electronic ignition I have just replaced the bearings as they were rumbling I overhauled a magneto some years ago on a A10 Gold Flash and I ran that bike for 16 years until I sold it the only other thing I had to replace was the pick up brushes.

[Triton Thrasher]

Somewhere out there may be the perfect electronic conversion, cheap and reliable as a chainsaw ignition.

And discreetly fitting inside the spark plug cap!

[metalflake11]

Magneto for me, and I wont be changing any time soon. I understand others trying to maximise the performance of their A10's with modern electronics, but it's not for me.
A good re-build easily lasts ten years or more, the symptoms of a failing mag are as clear as the nose on your face and if you're going a long way from home you can carry a spare one. Neat, compact and self-reliant, how can you fault that?
In all my years, only once has it let me down when the points plate came loose on my way to Kent, an hour later I was back on my way minus a points cover which had fallen off.

[Butch (cb)]

We get suckered into this conversation more often than most other forums get to talk oils.

[shuswapkev]

I have a 50 or so A10...put a wassel hall effect ignition..i would say it worked perfectly...dead easy to time to within 1/2 degree...degree wheel and inductive light...

but...my problem was I couldn't get even charging...went to 12 volts dvr2 regulator...worked fine for a while...then gross over charging...then undercharging...I have a voltmeter on the handlebar...always keeping an eye on that.....I disconnected the dynamo on a full battery and ran on that until it stopped ...would get about 2 hours out of a 10amphr doorbell battery

at the end of it all...the electronic  ignition was great...but the constant worries of the E3L output...wasn't worth the fuss...  I have parted a magneto together with a brightspark condenser...... I have even bought a Kubota alternator...and am looking at adapting that as the sportster guys do...on the outer end of the dynamo...that gives 30 amps...they are about 3inch dia and maybe 2 inches long...permanent magnet

[chaterlea25]

Hi,
A caution about usung high output alternators on "small" bike batteries
The high current output of the alternators will damage the batteries,
One of my friends had a citroen 2CV alternator on a Vincent comet, It would ruin batteries in short order
The problem occurs when the battery is not fully charged (bike sitting idle for a while) the alternator stuffs its full 30A output into an 8 -14AH battery

HTH
John

[bsa-bill]

the alternator stuffs its full 30A output into an 8 -14AH battery

what's any voltage regulator doing or not for this to happen John

[chaterlea25]

Hi Bill,
There in lies the problem 
The regulator sees say 11.5 v , its sole function is to  get this up to its cutoout voltage paobably 14,4v
If the alternator is capable of stuffing 30A into the battery it will do this till the battery voltage rises to its cut out point
Basically tha alternators and batteries need to be matched in capacity within certain peramaters

The Kubota or similar permanent magnet alternators are probably not as hard on the batteries as excited rotor alternators but they have antother problem
They have very strong magnets so do not turn over smoothly at lower revs, rather they pulse from one magnetic pole to the next
Early Alltons suffered from this and apparently used to break the (dynamo) drive gear teeth on certain bikes
THeres a guy in USA or Canada who has devloped the Kubota for use on Vincents, I believe it uses some kind of centrifugal cluth

I went through the ups and downs of fitting such an alternator to the A10, but abandoned it due to complexity and the issues mentioned
The thoughts of broken timing gear teeth and then valves hopping off the pistons put me off the idea

The 12v dynamo with belt drive and Podtronics regulator have been 110% relaible so far
So this is what I have recommended to my customers to go with, (DVR2 regs on those)

Cheers
John

[bsa-bill]

Thanks John
Seems a long time since a battery was a battery was a battery.
Back in the sixties it used to be an item that you'd have to replace every year or two, my Focus is an 07 and still on it's original battery, gets serviced once a year and not anything more in between than an oil check ( and that never varies), OTOH I got sick of buying those big yellow lanterns (millions of candle power) that have lead acid cells in them that must never run down or be overcharged or they die.
I've just bought one with LI-on battery, seems to last for ages between charges, must say I'm impressed with this Lithium stuff, got most of my cordless tools changed to them, quite a surprise to go to them and find they're full charge even after sitting in a cabinet for months.
Now when are they going to make them for bikes

[warmshed]

Bill,   motorcycle lithium battery  http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=motorcycle+lithium+battery&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=74772936254&hvpos=1t2&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14433422312069977893&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_5xnh3m7174_b

[bsa-bill]

 

Bill,   motorcycle lithium battery

Cheers

[KeithJ]

I see this is an old post but these look interesting:
https://skyrichbatteries.co.uk
The problem I understand is our charging system is not best suited to charge Lithium Ion batteries and they require specific chargers.  However, these batteries evidently, have some electronics in them which results in them being OK to charge on regular chargers and our bike's charging system.  Thinking about using one and going electronic as just had mag problems which is after two rebuilds in 5000 miles on a rebuilt engine.

[RDfella]

Lithium batteries pack reasonable power for their size, but carry disadvantages too. First of all, the voltage is different – you don’t get 6 or 12v, you get 7 or 14v (or thereabouts). Secondly, thay have to be charged in a special way, including charging each cell in the pack separately. Wasn’t aware, as Keith says, that gizmos are available to connect the two different charging requirements. And lastly, there are carrier restrictions on them for safety reasons. And yes, they do fail and are pretty expensive to replace. A good lead acid battery should last five years, so I stick with them.