Hitchcocks Forum

Hello one & all,
After the cockup I made pulling of the contact plate assembly when changing the points ( still don't know why I done that) and screwing up the timing, it made me think, new points and condenser from our host, plus vat and p&p £19.50.
Is it time to move on to electronic ignition! stop any more balls up in the future.
My 1959 250cc Clipper runs on 6 volts, what's the good and bad things about electronic ignition, also how much can a system cost, I heard Boyer mentioned before and where can I buy such a system other than our host.

Cheers,
Howes.

I'm not aware of a 6V electronic ignition system but someone else might know. Personally I would keep the Clipper original and enjoy it as it was intended.

Pazon do a 6v electronic ignition for most old British bikes but I don't know how expensive it would be.

Hi guys----------- all you have to do is phone them and talk it through !!------- The young lady at Boyer's is VERY helpful !!.........I'm after a 12v system for a distributor model BSA B40.. I phoned Boyer, we discussed it and they can put a system together for me................Simples !!

pazon (and others) do a very good 6v points "assist" electronic ign setup in 6v , you retain your points but disconnect your condenser , this allows the small points to switch on/off a large (er) currant just like a relay . your points do not pit or ware out , the only adjustment after many 1000,s of miles is the cam heal adjustment , more or less fit and forget , lot better spark , win win

There are 4 bikes in the garage. Two have points ignition, I understand them and can fix them if they go wrong. The other two are modern machines and I have not got a clue how they work. If they go wrong I suppose I'll have to find out, but if either of them stops on the road I'm stuffed.

very true but in reality , just like old/new cars you have to maintain the mechanicly operated system at every few 1000 miles , modern cars/bikes run for many many 1000 of miles without a hiccup , in my case (ford focus) 1 x coil pack (£20 from eutro car parts) the pazon points assist (and others) is/was a popular mod on MGBs etc and can be converted back to normal in a matter of minutes

I'm with Midge on this - keep the points ! OK, you shot yourself in the foot with the contact plate cockup, but ditching this setup in favour of electronic ign. would be like shooting yourself in the knee to stop your foot hurting. It's a fact that many EI systems are very sensitive to low voltage, and the electrics and charging system on the Clipper are marginal, to say the least............BUT they've obviously served the bike well for the last 55 years; why change now?

much as I agree with you , (did you actually look at the type I suggested?) , the unit I suggested would only use a few miliamps and run as low as 4-5v , if the clipper has enough power to fire the coil it can easily fire a points assist system

Alan - yes, I did look, but if the complication (several more things to go wrong) and expense of the system you suggest doesn't actually do away with the contact breaker entirely I'd say it's of very little merit. Also, there is no way you can directly and fairly compare a fully electronically controlled system as on your Ford Focus with any c.b.pointed setup, even with assist. Incidentally, I did my own first EI conversion back in '81 to a car I owned (that used to "eat" c.b. points, mainly owing to their poor quality) with total "fit and forget" success, but using an excellent system that eliminated the contacts.