Starting problems,

[groily]

Oh Yeeees, as Richard says . . . better now by far. Absolute need 200 kilometres from home can't be satisfied unless you have a spare mag in your pocket and really want to show off your imperturbable approach to breakdowns in the rain (of course) at the side of the road. . . 
The bad news is rewinds aren't cheap - but no point doing anything else. I suspect either windings have lost their insulation or the condenser's dying. You can get just an armature with modern condenser on an exchange basis for not so much (see SRM site for example) if you're confident that a) the rest of the thing is OK and b) you want to do the job. Good luck. Know how you feel having had loads of mag troubles myself this year.

[octane]

Hi Baggy
I agree with the others:
make sure it's the mag. They are rather terribly expensive to fix.

One thing; in your first post on this forum you write:

she fired up as sweet as a nut and sounds lovely..

...so I'm just thinking that maybe you could go 'backwards'
and check whatever you have done to the engine/mag. etc.
If it was OK back then and it's not anymore,
you must have been doing something that changed that.

Could you maybe tell us exactly what you've done ?

is there anyone you can recommend to rebuild mine or sell me one fast....

Depends on where in world you are located.
If you're in Europe I'm afraid I'd disagree about using SRM for a rebuild.
I did; and it was an altogether bad experience.
Week after weeks of delay, unanswered emails and
when they finally got around to shipping it to me, the packaging was so
ridiculously inapt that the cover of the mag. had broken in two.
I got the local mag.-guru to check it (he didn't have time to rebuild it back then)
just the other day, and he was NOT impressed.

This is what my SRM-rebuild mag looks like.
That's the high tension lead.
Waaay to small, according to him

 


Should be like this:

 


This is the various soldering
around the condenser etc.

 


..which according to him should
be protected and kept from
shaking loose, by means of some sort of
epoxy or silicone

like this:

 





IF indeed it's the mag that's your problem
 and you're in Europe
and you don't want to wait for weeks
and you have money to spend;

Check this: MAGNETO Exchange

I do not know about their mag. rebuilds, but I do know that they are to be trusted for good and fast service,
like; I ordered some parts this Sunday....received an email Monday afternoon that the parts had been send.

..but as I said: be sure it's the mag.
That's an awful lot of money, but it IS a total rebuild including everything: bearings, slip-ring etc.
not just a rewind.

Here's a place in UK that will do a rewind for 85£+ vat: Independent Ignition Supplies

...if you remove and send them the armature. (Not difficult to remove. I'd be glad to walk you through the procedure)

[groily]

Ah well, very happy with my K2FC from SRM with 2 year warranty. It did take a week or so longer than I'd hoped -  including post from France and back it was a month when I was hoping for 3 weeks. Always answered e-mails and phone, and packaging was fine - maybe they learnt something from Octane's bad experience! Have to admit I haven't opened it up to look at the thickness of the HT wire, the soldering round the wotsits or the gunge/lack of round the condenser but presumably it will look like Octane's pix if the same bloke did it. I don't have much to compare it with either, apart from old armatures awaiting refurb for other ongoing projects. Anyway, it works very nicely but it WAS expensive. Had I not needed a slip ring plus all the consumables, I'd just have got an armature for less than half the money.

Reason I suggested them was because Baggy wants to ride the thing this summer - and an off-the-shelf exchange is faster than have-your-own-rewound.

I'd have suggested Independent Ignition if they still offered the exchange rewind service because that would be quick too - but seems to have been suspended for quite some time now. Couldn't do me one a few months back, and site still says 'Sorry, service withdrawn'
 
Few more suggestions:
 
Tony Cooper on 0121 5592405 (UK)
Sean Hawker - www.hawkerelectrical.co.uk
These 2 are both highly recommended by others, but haven't used them myself. Tony Cooper would have been quite a bit cheaper than SRM I discovered subsequent to despatching mine.

Also look at www.magnetorepairs.com (in Gloucestershire) about whom I know nothing more.

One or all of these folk would be able to sort you out if it's the mag that's the culprit.

Good luck again!

[Baggy]

Hey Guys, I Have spoken to Tony cooper, and he can turn it round for me in 7 days and is only half hour trip from me, he was really helpfull and his costs are very competitive, I will take it off tonight and drop it over to him tom, he will check it for me just to make sure,
hopefully while thats been sorted I can finish the other bits and bobs
will let you know the outcome,
cheers
Baggy.

[octane]

.., I Have spoken to Tony cooper, and he can turn it round for me in 7 days and is only half hour trip from me, he was really helpfull and his costs are very competitive..

Oh, that's great.

I'm anxious to hear if the mag. is indeed faulty.
I hope I haven't led you astray with a wrong 'diagnosis'.

If so; I apologize.


I do hope you get it running real soon.

[groily]

That confirms the good things I have heard - be very interested to hear the result in due course - and the £££!!!

[Baggy]

its £125.00 ish with £135.00 maximum and he runs BSA's so I have total confidence in him, ( even as a newby to BSA I told him what was happening and he told me how to split the cover, remove the mag, and be sure to make a template of where the bolts in the timing cover go,also he would walk me through setting it all up when back on the bike, what a star, simple but bloody invalueable advice thats rare these days)I will let you know tom night how I get on,
cheers
Baggy

[groily]

Well that's a very fair price indeed - and sounds as if it comes with a lot of extras! I'll go to him for my next 2, which are sitting on the bench waiting for me to make a decision . . .thanks for letting us know.

[Baggy]

Hey, been over today, guy is a bloody gem, put my mag on tester, showed me what was happening, spark, intermittent, dies quickly on one pot, altogether shot, so he will re build it and I can pick it up next thursday, he is so helpfull, and has some crackin bikes that he uses, brilliant,
cheers
Baggy

[octane]

Phew!

Baggy; I'm so glad the source of you problem was found.

showed my what was happening, spark, intermittent, dies quickly on one pot,...

Just like mine did.

You'll be on the road in no time.

[GuyboA10]

g'day. hey Octane & co. have u bought from Degroot bsa parts? I just recently found their website and am impressed with the goods they sell. How is the $ compared to others(srm)? cheers guybo.

[octane]

g'day. hey Octane & co. have u bought from Degroot bsa parts?

Hi Guybo

Yes I have.
As I said:

but I do know that they are to be trusted for good and fast service,
like; I ordered some parts this Sunday....received an email Monday afternoon that the parts had been send...

So as you can see; they deliver very fast.
..which is more than I can say about any other Brit-bike parts dealers that I know of,
certainly including SRM.

So far, I've been happy with the goods I've received.
... I'm thrilled that they have a web-site ordering system
that allows you to actually see photos of the parts
...the prices seams fair

No I haven't compared the prices to those of SRM's.

If you do, please let us know the outcome.
Thanks

[Baggy]

Hi Chaps,
Picked my newly sorted mag up on thursday, tony put it back on the machines that highlighted the problems and the difference was untrue, fat strong sparks across the rev range constant on tickover etc, came with new leads, caps, pick ups, holding clips, gasket,swapped the bits that were wrong on the mag , looked brand new, the whole lot ready to fit, he also lent me the tool to set the timing and all instructions, bloody brilliant, so today fitted & timed, first kick, no joy?second kick, backfire, timed it up on the wrong pot, swapped the leads over ( as in instructions by Tony) ........................
third kick and she burst into life strong and sweet, idles beautifully warmed her up and shut down, walked away, now the acid test hot sart...................

first kick and away she went revs strongly, idles perfectly, been wiring the bike up for the rest of the day. I now have all the nec lights, horn,etc, so kicked over many times and first time kick and she starts I'm so impressed, the total charge for all this was £140.00, if anyone needs a mag rebuild I cannot recommend him highly enough, so I am now about 2-3 hours away from a bike ready to take for its MOT, well pleased.
A big thanks for the help guys, really appreciated, will post some pics soon,
cheers
Baggy 

[a10 gf]

  Congrats! Good to read about success after all the work you've done.

[LJ.]

Now there's one heck of a happy chappy! Reading this kind of news makes me smile ear to ear. Dont it make a difference in reading of ones sucesses after ironing annoying problems. Well done Baggy! Now go ride that machine eh? Thanks for posting.