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Anyone keep the bean can + ignition module installed when changing to EnduraSpark?

drj434343

Newbie
Greetings all, new MOA member and 1982 R100RS owner. 59K miles, looks to have been garaged and well maintained. Known maintenance includes full fluid changes, rear caliper rebuild, clutch and rear spline lube, rear main seal replacement, and neutral switch replacement. I am new to airheads but not to mechanics and wrenching. Lots of reading under my belt but not a lot of saddle time...yet. Here's a picture of the bike.

bike1_zps116e7de4.jpg


I'm prepping for a 2500 mile ride in Sep, which may be a tall order given how unknown the bike is to me. I've pulled the heads and it looks like they were converted at some point in the past, no apparent valve seat damage or recession. I'll have to monitor the valve gap closely as I ride to be sure. I also have a new clutch and throttle cable on order (throttle is a bit sticky), as well as some fork gators and misc pieces.

I've done a lot of reading about the aftermarket ignition and charging upgrades for these bikes. I don't think I'll need increased charging capacity, but am interested in maximum reliability. Initially, one of the dual hall sensor cam driven ignition options seemed like the best choice, but now I'm leaning toward EnduraSpark plus a new rotor and diode board. This is based on the understanding that the most common failures are the rotor, bean can hall sensor, and diode board (I have the non vented front cover).

Because EnduraSpark is crank mounted and small, it seems to me I could keep the bean can and original ignition module installed but unplugged, and in the event of a failure, switch back over to the original system. In addition, if I keep my original working diode board and rotor, I may have double of almost every charging/ignition component that can fail.

Has anyone done something similar? Any issues with leaving the bean can connected but unpowered in this fashion?
 
On my 81 r100rt I installed a motorad electric bean can and ignition module and diode board and the bike now runs better than ever.The magnets broke loose on the original wrecking the manual advance unit.good luck and nice bike you have there. :drink
 
Hi, I'm over in Camas with an '81 RS that I've resurrected from a wreck in NoPo. (Dammit, you have my original paint job!!! (Mine was turned all white before I got it.)) I suggest that you head over to that last (surviving) dealer on the west side and talk to Jim Callaway at the parts counter. He's a great guy, and has forgotten more about airheads than most of us will ever learn. (I used to make my living as a wrench, I trust him.) Also, there's Steve Prokop out in Dundee, on the way to McMinville. He's an independent and has very high standards. I think he's a good guy, but he can be a bit, err, demanding. Good luck; if my schedule EVER again allows me to visit an airhead meeting, hopefully I'll see you there.
 
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