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electronic ignition for airheads

M

Marine

Guest
i have a 1977 r75/7. is this bike a candidate for electronic ignition? would it be necessary, or better to dual plug it with elec ign? any recommendations on the best brand,or system that would work with this airhead? thanks very much for your help on this.
 
Yes it is...I have the Dyna III on my /7. Read Anton's page for the gamut of electronic ignition systems:

http://www.largiader.com/articles/ignition/

Dyna III allows for independent timing of each cylinder to help smooth out the power pulses; the downside (some say, I don't have a problem with it) is that it uses the stock mechanical advance. A little fiddly to set up but once set, it works great.

Boyer is probably the easier installation and setup but has built-in advance curves...I prefer more of the stock curve that the original advance system provides.

I've heard some about the Omega...I believe it uses the crankshaft for timing so there won't be any double image issues as compared to the others that use the camshaft for timing pulses.

I think those are the three main ones for consideration.

Dual plugging gets pretty complicated since you have to remove the top end and get the bottom plugs drilled and tapped. Plus the additional set of coils needed. I think dual plugging can be useful for bikes that are prone to pinging or situations where you want to run a lower grade of gas. Other reasons for the dual plugging as well...probably better cold starting, etc.

Electronic ignition is kind of like the first level in performance improvement, cheaper all the way around, and can be easily reversed. Dual plugging provides additional areas of improvement but you really want to be heading that direction rather than just trying it on a whim.

If you do get an electronic ignition, consider what it takes to convert back to the stock ignition on the side of the road. And be sure you carry that with you. DAMHIK.
 
Omega

I installed an Omega on my 74 /6. Very simple installation, mounts on alternator and no ghost marks. Has numerous advance settings. It works very well. Another plus is that if you run another wire to the right side coil instead of using the wire to the condenser you can switch back to points by swapping two wires and disconnecting green wire that powers the ignition module.

I was unable to get timing exact at both idle and full advance with the conventional points set up. Lots of info on Omega ignitions on Boxerworks forum.
 
Dyna III and dual plugs

I have Dyna III and dual plugs on my 78 R100RS, starts easy, no pinging, does not require messing with points and timing once things are set up. Those are the positive things. Negative things, if it breaks I no longer have the points and points plate to put back in, and I am not sure it would do any good with the dual plug plugs. So far, no failures and my setup is 20 years old.

I talked a friend of mine who now owns my old R90S to do the same thing. His only complaint, the bike now starts and runs too smooth, especially when cold, to be 35 years old.
 
periodic maintenance?

Do the electronic ignitions, particularly the Dyna III which uses the original advance unit, require any kind of periodic maintenance?

The reason I'm curious is that my Luftmeister fairing is a real PITA to remove so that I can access the points. It is off the bike right now, and if I stay with points, I may leave it off. If using an electronic ignition will let me leave the fairing in place for long periods of time, I will put it back on.
 
I've done little in the way of maintenance on my Dyna III.

Check wiring for worn insulation, check connectors, a bit of dialectric grease on assembly backed with a bit of heat shrink tubing takes care of that. A look inside the front cover from time to time is good to check for water in the timing box as well as checking & lubing the spark advance. I keep planning to change the advance springs someday just since they are old, but the price keeps putting me off.

Checking to see that all screws and bolts are in place & properly tight is good to do while "you are in there" .

Be very careful not to break off the nose of the camshaft while tightening the bolt that holds the spark advance in place
 
Do the electronic ignitions, particularly the Dyna III which uses the original advance unit, require any kind of periodic maintenance?

The reason I'm curious is that my Luftmeister fairing is a real PITA to remove so that I can access the points. It is off the bike right now, and if I stay with points, I may leave it off. If using an electronic ignition will let me leave the fairing in place for long periods of time, I will put it back on.

Hmmm...I have a Luftmeister on my /7 and have never removed the fairing to get under the front engine cover. I don't have lowers but I wouldn't think those would get in the way either.

Routine maintenance on the advance unit is still considered important. The swinging weights at their pivot points need to cleaned and/or lubed every so often. The advance should be removed for that...hence the warning to be careful tightening the 10mm nut on the tip of the camshaft. It doesn't really have to be that tight.
 
I was questioning the need for fairing removal. I've never had mine off, seat and tank, but never had to remove fairing for routine maint. Luftmiester with an unknown mtg bracket. I found the bracket and dealer had a used fairing, when I bought the bike. I've never ridden it nekid.
 
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Thanks for the replies, guys. I don't want to hijack this thread talking about my Luftmeister, so I will probably take another look at the brackets and then start a new thread.
 
I have a 1978 /7 that I have owned since new with both the Luftmeister fairing and the lowers and a Dyna III. I have never removed either the fairing or the lowers to service anything under the timing cover.
 
I have several Boyer microdigital electronic ignition units. I bought mine from Stan Smith at Rocky Point Cycle -
http://www.rockypointcycle.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=RPC&Category_Code=B8

On my R60/6, which is dual plugged, I have the Boyer unit for a dual plugged bike. The unit installed easily and has worked well. The Boyer does not use the mechanical advance unit.

My /7 (a 77 R100RS) had a damaged mechanical advance. The Boyer unit was less expensive than a new mechanical advance. The Boyer was again easy to install and works well.

I replaced the points and mechanical advance on my 64 Triumph Bonneville with a Boyer with good success.

I've purchased a Boyer unit for my R75/5 project bike.
 
Anyone have experience with the Boyer Micro Digital that they care to share?

I installed the Boyer microdigital unit on my 1980 R100T over ten years ago and have had zero problems with it.
 
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