I remember fitting electronic ignition to my Royal Enfield 500. Had a 360 protractor fitted to the alternator and a pointer. Oil splattering everywhere, strobe light and screwdriver in hand. Ah the joys of of British bikes.
Interesting to see you strobe time these bikes with an open primary case. How do you handle the oil flow on the unitized case bikes? It would seem they would drip all over if this was done.
The late unit Triumphs and such, with open main bearings on the drive side can be strobed through a removable round cover at the front of the primary case, and don't seem to make a mess - I strobed a 1970 T100C the other day and it was fine, although I wouldn't try to ride one with that cover removed!
I have one of these system fitted to my BSA Spitfire A65 I bought 2 yrs ago. Whenever I try to start it using 1/4 throttle it kicks back like a mule! The only way I can start it is on tickover, which is very hit and miss. The timing is spot on and when the bike is running it runs great. I am of the opinion the ignition although advancing correctly is not returning to a less advace for starting, despite the CDI unit being tested as good by Electrex. I now have to remove the complete system to send to Electrex for checking. Have you had any of these problems/ John.
Hi John, in the case of that Norton Atlas, there just wasn't enough advance / retard range - with the timing set to be correct at full advance, it would not retard anywhere near enough for easy starting and would kick back very hard. The owner was going to take it up with Electrex, but I don't know if he ever did.
@@paulhenshaw4514 Thanks Paul, I am sure the Norton was featured in Real Classic and the kicking back was mentioned and I contacted the owner but can't remember the outcome. Your explanation matches mine and will give me great back up when I re contact Electrex. John.
If you mean the system in this video, then no, I didn't fit it initially, but I corrected a few mistakes when I rebuilt the engine. To date, this is the only Norton Atlas I have worked on.
I remember fitting electronic ignition to my Royal Enfield 500. Had a 360 protractor fitted to the alternator and a pointer. Oil splattering everywhere, strobe light and screwdriver in hand. Ah the joys of of British bikes.
Interesting to see you strobe time these bikes with an open primary case. How do you handle the oil flow on the unitized case bikes? It would seem they would drip all over if this was done.
The late unit Triumphs and such, with open main bearings on the drive side can be strobed through a removable round cover at the front of the primary case, and don't seem to make a mess - I strobed a 1970 T100C the other day and it was fine, although I wouldn't try to ride one with that cover removed!
I have one of these system fitted to my BSA Spitfire A65 I bought 2 yrs ago. Whenever I try to start it using 1/4 throttle it kicks back like a mule! The only way I can start it is on tickover, which is very hit and miss. The timing is spot on and when the bike is running it runs great. I am of the opinion the ignition although advancing correctly is not returning to a less advace for starting, despite the CDI unit being tested as good by Electrex. I now have to remove the complete system to send to Electrex for checking. Have you had any of these problems/ John.
Hi John, in the case of that Norton Atlas, there just wasn't enough advance / retard range - with the timing set to be correct at full advance, it would not retard anywhere near enough for easy starting and would kick back very hard. The owner was going to take it up with Electrex, but I don't know if he ever did.
@@paulhenshaw4514 Thanks Paul, I am sure the Norton was featured in Real Classic and the kicking back was mentioned and I contacted the owner but can't remember the outcome. Your explanation matches mine and will give me great back up when I re contact Electrex. John.
Hi, are you the person who has fitted pit bike electronics to a Norton Atlas?
If you mean the system in this video, then no, I didn't fit it initially, but I corrected a few mistakes when I rebuilt the engine. To date, this is the only Norton Atlas I have worked on.