Hitchcocks Forum

Hi all, new to this forum so please be gentle.
I’ve just bought a 2000 500 kick start bullet from India to restore and play with. I checked it all over, did normal, oil change etc and even though I’m going to look into the engine further I thought I’d give her a kick and low and behold she went first kick, happy days.
Yesterday I decided to fit the new ignition and also power box as I have them on my 350 and had no issues.
Now here’s the part where I get lost as electrics are not my strong point.
To begin with I had no spark as I had done the same as my 93 bike but then I realised that the 500 his a stop switch so I then wired into the old wire from the old distributor, got a spark but won’t start, won’t even fire, I check the spark again and if you kick it, even after it stops the spark just keeps going and going.
The battery is fully charged, I’ve even moved the earths to see if that made a difference, used the plug cap and even the 350 plug just to see if it stopped it but it’s still the same. I then fitted the power box to see if that would help, still the same.
I’m now at the end of my limited electrical experience so I was hoping someone may have had this before and could explain in basic language what to do.
Thanks in advance
David

It's worth taking the time to study the wiring diagram, both for the bike (assuming a previous owner hasn't changed things around) as as well as the Boyer kit. A wire is just a pipe for the electricity, you have to get it to the right place.

After that it should just be a case of following the instructions TO THE LETTER. Make sure the ignition rotor is set up for the correct direction of rotation, CLOCKWISE at the points end, and check that you're wiring it in for the negative earth if that's what your 2000 Bullet is using.

A.

My struggle with this is if it started first kick and ran fine, why fit an electronic ignition? As for your problem, something is not wired up correctly.

Bullet Whisperer wrote: ↑

Sun May 03, 2020 12:22 pm

My struggle with this is if it started first kick and ran fine, why fit an electronic ignition? As for your problem, something is not wired up correctly.

I had already ordered the ignition system before I started, I have it on my 350 and it’s never once let me down so I thought I’d have it the same on this, again a lot down to myself not being great with electronics, thought it would be more simple

Adrian wrote: ↑

Sun May 03, 2020 12:17 pm

It's worth taking the time to study the wiring diagram, both for the bike (assuming a previous owner hasn't changed things around) as as well as the Boyer kit. A wire is just a pipe for the electricity, you have to get it to the right place.

After that it should just be a case of following the instructions TO THE LETTER. Make sure the ignition rotor is set up for the correct direction of rotation, CLOCKWISE at the points end, and check that you're wiring it in for the negative earth if that's what your 2000 Bullet is using.

A.

There is one of my problems, I can’t seem to find any wiring diagram that matches up to this bike.
It is wired as per instructions though and it’s the same as my friends bike so I’m quietly confident that it’s correct

The Boyer kit should have come with a wiring diagram.

Page 4 if yours is the Mk4.

http://boyerbransden.com/pdf/KIT00051.pdf

I'm not sure about the colour of the wires but I fitted a Mk. 4 to my 2003 Bullet some years ago. I don't know if this will help but I wrote it up and you can read the tale here;
https://thumperdiaries.exilesplace.dk/2 ... tronic-15/

Some points to check out.
Copied from From Boyers site,

I Have Continuous Sparking Without Cranking The Engine

A poor battery with a battery charger connected or one or more bad cells. A high resistance in the wiring circuit or earth return. Check that the engine is earthed back to the frame and battery circuit. Plastic coated frames must have a good earth return to the engine case. A wrong type of ignition coil with a very low primary resistance, this will draw a very high current and produce a large volt drop across the wiring. The unit will keep turning on and off generating a chain of sparks.

I had a Boyer on a Trident. It was horrible I sent it back under warranty, and the factory had put in the twin threshhold resistor. As the Triples have the alternator on the right, the box was also firing off the alternator magnet. Took six months to get the box back. In the meantime I welded a lump on the points cam and made a three lump cam with one set of points. When the box came back the bike ran great for a week;, then it did the same thing yours did. I still remember all three spark plugs lying on the head firing as fast as the coils went through their time-constants..... Smashed the box up with a hammer. 15 years later I bought an Aussie Tri-Spark and it is dead reliable, and single fires the original coils...I think there is a TRIAC in the Boyers that tends to fail...

Dhr. I had the same issue when I installed a Boyer on my 1996 535cc. It sparked continually. I found the 6-month old battery gave barely 12v. So I put in a new battery, and the bike ran for a few hundred metres - then stopped with the Boyer sparking continually. After lots of input from Boyer and another new battery, when I found 2 cells were failing on the new one, despite it giving ~12v just after charging. So I fitted the replacement battery from the shop and all was well. Boyer is magic for my twin-plugged bike, I wouldn't go back to the points.
Cheers, ChrisD