Well the Norton had no electrics all the way up the Island...running off torch batteries.... Anyway bought a 5 watt 1 ohm from DSE.....disconnected the alternator and connected it accross....started motor and 9 volts just as the book said. For the want of a wiring diagram I had to buy $50.00 worth of batteries... Traced the rather jointed wiring and found the charging light relay wired back to front... Started it up again and 13.8 volts... Took off the air filter and balanced the carbs with a finger in one and eye balling the other....that'll do, set the idle and sorted. Went for a spin thru the rush hour traffic, easy peasy on a 176 kg bike. after dinner off to Mission Bay for an ice cream.
If only all our problems were sorted so easily. You realise Lucas electrics usually wait until you are far from home on a dark and stormy night before they strike...
It was a close call for you....could have been bunking down at the Dadpole Pad.....with all the georgous Tui Women: yeah right...
If only all our problems were sorted so easily. You realise Lucas electrics usually wait until you are far from home on a dark and stormy night before they strike... Sounds like it will breakdown outside Frankenfurters Castle ! Better pack your suspender belts and Fishnets Volty
just took my "electronic ignition" XS for a run....OMG......what a fucking difference........it stalled a couple of times......but kicked straight back to life.......runs like a dream....still shakes and rattles......but i hit 140.....and it still wanted to go faster!!....which would have been fine except for the motorcycle cop suddenly appeared ahead.......and who after i slowed down....rode alongside me.....for a k or two......i felt a bond......although i made sure he was just enough in front that he didn't see my rego or wof.....
that he didn't see my rego or wof..... Or was it the lack of reg and wof? By the way your XS looks great, What year is it? There is a guy in town with a D model, and another guy I know with a XS1
Best thing you could do to any bike with shitty electrics and or points is throw them in the bin and buy something like an ignitech or zeeltronic programmable ignition
Commando had a Boyer, Starts second kick, or third kick...etc...... Went crusing along Mission Bay with the Missus, had an ice cream...then it got dark....and skarewy.....I wondered about the electikrix......rod for 30 minutes and it made it back....amazing.
Kickaha- I have done the opposite in recent years after having 2 Dyna III ignitions fail for no dicernable reason. One was a dud straight out of the box and the other failed while riding- went on intermittant one to two cylinders then stopped dead. Now all my bikes have gone back to points and I carry a spare set of points and a condenser under the seat. With modern quality coils and decent plugs I notice no difference between electronic ignition and points ignition on Guzzis at least. For the Ambassador rebuild I am going to use a resin filled MSD Blaster coil and iridium plugs which I have used in V8's before with fantastic results so time to try it out on a bike Not that I am adverse to technology, just adverse to breaking down and not being able to get going again
Good 'Point"....maybe I should carry a spare Boyer.
Or a spare Norton...
I helped install a boyer on my mates x75, and it works great he hasn't had any electrical issues since.....
After owning, thrashing, crashing and genaraly abusing LC's for close on 20 years I have had a fuse box terminal break and the blinker fuse fail/fall out on my Road Bike and a CDI on the race bike shit itself just before the last meeting. Must have been a sign not to race, if I hadnt my Shoulder wouldnt have got busted..........LC's are Mag CDI so will run without a battery, just unpluging the ignition switch will disconnect the kill switch and they run I have replaced GS reg/rec with Yamaha ones and changed them from there 2 phase normal to 3 phase with lights system (or how ever it works/doesnt work). Have done 3 or 4 GS's now. Checking the 3 phase output from the stator is a must, check for burnt wire/hot looking wires and 75 AC between the phases at 5000rpm from memory. And good earth connections The Duke hasnt done anything major, just niggly lights faults, bulb holders that are crap and loose, Low fuel senser, loose earth leads, ignition switch that wouldnt turn on, I did get a few looks hotwiring at a K Mart, then push starting it ;-( My Bonneville had heaps a gremlins, had been fucked with tho, all sorted with a new loom and Zener Diode, Had no problems with my T150 Trident, it was tidy original bike that still had points that hadnt been butchered, I kept it in tune too. I would like another T150
Kickaha- I have done the opposite in recent years after having 2 Dyna III ignitions fail for no dicernable reason They quite often break wires in the pickups, I know a few people who have had dyna failures so i wouldn't use them (except for maybe the coils) I intend to put an ignitech on the R100RS racebike thingy, a few bucket guys are using them now with good results
