Hitchcocks Forum

Hi folks,
Apologies for the lack of participation... my bike has been off the road since November, and it feels like my head has also been "off the road" as it were!
Now I am back and seriously considering replacing the points with the electronic kit.
Some of you will advise against it no doubt, but in all honesty, if I can fit-and-forget as advertised, I'd be happy with one less thing to maintain.
2 questions:
Is it easy to fit on a home market 1999 500 Bullet?
Can it be run without a battery (powerbox is fitted).
I know there have been lots of previous discussion around this but don't wanna trawl through all the older thread!
Cheers,
Peter.

I had to reply to this thread myself or it would have got lost!

I don't know if it will work without a battery and I don't really understand why owners want to remove them. However, that said, I am a great supporter of Boyer. It will make starting easier and running smoother. It produces a far superior and longer duration spark then points. Have a look at the Boyer web-site for installation instructions as well as the 'Technical Notes' on this site. As to whether it is easy or not depends on your skill. I find them easy to fit, but then I am a vehicle mechanic. A few dinosaur riders will tell you that points are better, but it's them who you see at the roadside fiddling with fag-papers and oily hands!

I run without a battery - using the Boyer Powerbox - and have recently gone back to points and condenser as starting was very difficult with the Boyer ignition unit.




For what it's worth, we think that this was because the ignition unit wasn't reliably seeing enough volts on the kickover, to fire.

Thanks Midge and Johhny - exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for.
Seeing as my bike has been stood for a few months, I will initially replace the points (water has gooten in to the housing) to get the old girl going again, and then I will seriously consider the Boyer unit.