stock vs electronic ignition

[Davereif212]

I know it been kicked around before, but what are the thoughts on stock circuit breaker compaired to electronic ignition. I have a 59 with 80" jugs, std heads, running the single point breaker. Startings cold can be a task, but she always fires and runs great. Thanks for the input. I'm also of the " If it ain't broke, don't fix it" mindset. Dave

[chuck 56 pan]

It only takes so much spark to start an engine, if your current arrangement is in good order more spark wont have an effect. Im convinced these machines of ours will be easy to start with all things in good order, yet hard starting seems to be a common topic. Im still looking for that Magic in my bike,Its not always an easy starter, I hope new throttle shaft bushings will do the trick. If there is something I have learned in my years of bikes and hot rods is that the aftermarket sucks big time. I would recommend you keep your bike as much Harley Davidson as possible and try to restore all its parts back to like new condition.

[58flh]

Nothing wrong with the stock timer!-(simple set-up of points when needed & lube the points cam.---The electronic iG --you need 12V & once its dialed in your done!--set it & forget it! You already have the singlepoint auto adv.-timer/ I love em never had a problem with one & I run one also.---just my 2---RICHIE

[james]

I thought the electronic concept was a great idea.
I ran it for about a year until it stopped working or worked intermittently. Really hard to start and poor performance. Then there's talk about different ohm coils. I switched back to Harley points and everything is working as it was designed.
Also if your far from home and there is a failure it easier to get up and running if you carry a spare condenser etc.
Jim

[Schwee]

I love the performance and reliability of my stock (1964) dual point.
Also, it provides excellent diagnostic options when there's a problem, since the two ignition systems are almost independent.

I've been able to lope home on one cylinder when a coil totally fails.

[JR JOHNSON]

points are find,but if ya turning 10,000 r.p.m s,not good.but try to by quality points is tough.dyna makes a points booster,which keeps the amps off of the points,last for ever,as long you keep lube on the lobes.and easy to change back if the unit fails............just my 3 cents...............with respect.JR..........

[neilw]

You can always carry a spare set of points , but once the electronics quit you'll be pushing .. Of coarse they don't often quit , but the thought of it scares me.

[jdpan]

Never heard of a 10k rpm panhead, even the nitro Harley's only crank 6k at most. They use e ignitions so who knows. I prefer what has worked for decades, points, coil,,, only new fangdangled thing I use is an oem e-regulator and one of those fancy 65-a generators.,.

[Hog54]

I never had a problem with either one,so who knows?My 80 lowrider still has never had the cam cover off it with the original rivets.And I still have the original points and condensor in my pan from the rebuild 16 years ago.

[58flh]

If you do install the E-2000 its just a drop-in plate!--if the hall sensor goes bad ,you can carry points & cond. with you & be back running in 10min.--Most of the failures with these electronic drop in timers is you have to change the coil to a 3ohm-(those are for electronic ig.)-if you keep your points coil which is 4-5ohm it will burn up the sensoe! When is anybodys guess,but I put a few in with the correct coil & set it 1-time!,2 are on thier 3rd year & 1 on 2nd!--Its hard to keep the sensor cool---so you get a repop cap & drill 2 holes in it at a 1/4inch towards the back where it cant be seen!--Seems to help! & if you are running electronics do not buy spare sensor from a bike shop!-go to auto-supply there half price!---Richie

[panhead]

I have this one from 45partdepot.com for years without any problem:

electronic ignition

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[58flh]

James---you mentioned you had a year then intermitent firing!-& Hard-starting.---The intermitent firing is your sirst signal the sensor is going bad!(if your lucky!)-most of the times they just die!--Now hard-starting can be a number of issues im not gonna repeat them. But if you expierienced hard starting followed by intermitent firing-(sensor warms up)--its a good chance that the sensor was the problem for hard starting!---I know when these IG go in ,ALL you have to do is relax your leg & bikes RUNNING!--they start nnice with these IG. But in all truth I run a autoadvance timer on mine & mine starts 1-kick hot,3-dry.,Everytime!-If it dont start in 3 kicks I have a glitch to workout!-(usually just clean the points with solvent & good to go!---Richie----The 1 that Panhead shows is nice aint that expensive & comes with the original wire looking stuff.(asphalt type I guess).

[caschnd1]

I've had great luck with electronic ignitions in my panhead. I switched to electronic in 2004 and put over 100K miles on it. I had one module fail but it didn't strand me. I started getting an occassional misfire at highway speeds and this warned me of the impending failure. I had a new module in hand before the old one failed completely and swapped them out. I have enough confidence in these electronic modules that I rode 6000 miles to the east coast and back from Arizona last year without giving it a second thought (or taking a spare).

Are electronic ignitions better than points? No. The Pros/Cons I can see are:

Pros:
1) Set them up and never touch them. You're not likely to ever need to fix one on the side of the road.
2) If you run dual plugged heads, like I do, you can reprogram the advance curve. Having full control over the advance curve helps a little on performance.
3) Fully automatic advance and retard (you'll never forget to retard before kickstarting and end up with a sore ankle)
4) Some electronic modules are multi-spark. You get the first spark at full advance followed by two or three more sparks during the combustion stroke. You get a more complete burn of your fuel.

Cons:
1) They can strand you. Even though it's never happend to me, I recognize that it can happen. You're not likely to fix one of these on the side of the road.
2) Not going to find a replacement module at the local car parts store. Replacements are readily available since these modules are used in Evo and TC88 motors, but it's likely to take a day or two.
3) Expensive! $$$ for a high-end fully programmable module Still cheap compared to a magneto though.

-Craig

EDIT: I should add that late one night in the garage I was a dumbass and accidentally arched +12V to the front coil trigger lead and fried a module. That one was my own fault, so I don't look at it as a "module failure". But if you're a dummy like me, that can happen to you. So add that to the Cons column. On the upside, I returned the module to PowerArc and Gary (the owner) fixed it and returned it to me for almost nothing. So now I do have a spare on the shelf if I need it.

[58flh]

CASH---which one are you running the Dyna or Crane drop in type?---Richie

[caschnd1]

Richie,

I run the PowerArc CP-2. http://www.powerarc.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; This is the company that makes the ignitions for Spyke, so if you see a Spyke branded ignition, it's made by PowerArc (Ankeny, Iowa USA).

-Craig