Electronic ignition or magneto

[Nomad54]

 I am unsure whether to go magneto or electronic ignition on my a10 alternator model. I have a duff knee so will have problems kicking it over. Some might say go the srm elect start but they don't have a kit that fits the alternator model.
Any advice out there guys.
Nomad

[Superflash]

Put a Tri Spark unit into my A10. One kick start every time. More or less set and forget.

[Rex]

Get your mag professionally rebuilt. Mags have run many billions of hours and the tech is tried and tested.
My K2F-equipped A7 is always a one or two kick starter.

[CheeserBeezer]

A properly restored magneto should be as good as electronic. A magneto will get you home even if all your other electrics fail. The other issue I have with electronic ignition is that it is a major component, which defines your bike as a classic. If you trawl back through the various threads about electronic v magneto you'll find the usual debate about the reliability of each. A properly restored magneto should be utterly reliable but it needs some maintenance. Electronic ignition relies on the rest of the electrics being OK and, if it goes wrong you (probably) can't fix it at the side of the road or even in the workshop, and it compromises the originality of your bike, to a greater or lesser extent depending on your point of view. Not all electronic ignition systems are reliable. those are the arguments. It's your bike so it's your choice!

[JulianS]

I tried an electronic conversion. It was frought with problems when used with Boyer Micropower setup but worked OK with Boyer Mark4 setup.

But I was not happy with it, I did not like extra complication or the space it took for the extra wires the twin output coil, on/off switch or black box. So I took it off.

I got the mag armature rewound and the bike starts first or second kick. Now I am happy with the ignition again. Thank you Andrew.

[limeyrob]

I too have a duff knee, age is a right pain!  I've gone magneto on both my bikes (Matchless single and A10). Magnetos are reliable - that's why they are still widespread on aircraft, and independent on the rest of the electrics.  One reason I sold the Harley and got the A10 was i wanted to get away from battery/coil ignition and go back to a magneto.  My bikes stand for a month then get used, this meant the Harley had always to be on a battery maintainer and still the batteries would do 2 years and fail at £90 a go.  There was always a real risk of going for a ride, stopping and not getting going again.  Bad knee or not a mag will always push start.
But its not all roses, i have found that I do have to kick start regularly to keep strength in the right muscles (at least one seems only to be use for kickstarting ) and make my technique as good as it can be, the days of taking a kick with no thought are over. I'll only get one or two good kicks so it's careful priming, A/R just right, just over TDC, then give it everything.  And park at the top of a hill where ever possible, just in case.

[muskrat]

G'day Nomad.
While I understand the reasoning of a well maintained magneto I have Boyer on both my A's. I had a mag on the A7 plunger for years. When I built the A7SS for racing I needed accurate and tunable ignition so I went Boyer with a total loss electrical system with a tiny 4Ah battery would give me an hour of racing. When the mag on the plunger started misbehaving (late 90's) I put Boyer on her through a DVRII to get 12v. Set and forget.
Cheers

[chaterlea25]

Hi All
If I had an alternator equipped A10
I would be tempted to fit one of the points housings that were on some Triumphs and Norton's (I think) and a twin spark coil
Battery and points will give their best spark at kickstart in speed..
A friend has a 1000cc AJS v twin in a Norton frame, built by someone in Canada a long while ago. It has an alternator and 2 sets of points / coils for ignition
It starts on the slowest kick over ever.
We were out one day when the battery failed. I disconnected one battery terminal and kicked the bike over and it fired up from the alternator 
There's also a good chance of repairing points ignition issues at the side of the road
John

[Triton Thrasher]

It was frought with problems when used with Boyer Micropower setup but worked OK with Boyer Mark4 setup.

I also found Boyer Micro Power to be awful.

The Wassell/Vape and (I think) Boyer MkIV have a “sleep” function which means you have to force it through two compressions with one kick.  That’s not as bad as you might think, but I wouldn’t say it starts easier than with a magneto.

I gave up on the magneto because the new points sets and baseplates are too badly made.

[limeyrob]

"I gave up on the magneto because the news points sets and baseplates are too badly made."
Good point (pardon pun )  The Land Rover community are having the same issue. Dizzy wears out after 50 years so they fit an electronic one, that is junk and fails after a year or so so they buy a replacement points dizzy and that lasts a year before its clapped out (Chinesium). Then they get a 60's dizzy, send it for overhaul and the engine runs great.  The old clapped out dizzys are now fetching a premium because they can be rebuilt into a high quality unit.
I'm now on the look out for original mag parts for the same reason.

[Greybeard]

During the restoration of my '55 Plunger I got the mag overhauled. That was pretty expensive but over the next 10 years the bike inevitably started first kick, after flooding the carb if the engine was cold. I consider the cost of getting a good mag is well worth the cost.

Fitting a DVR2 voltage regulator was another good decision on my part; more expensive than alternatives but eminently worth the money.

[groily]

It was frought with problems when used with Boyer Micropower setup but worked OK with Boyer Mark4 setup.

I also found Boyer Micro Power to be awful.

The Wassell/Vape and (I think) Boyer MkIV have a “sleep” function which means you have to force it through two compressions with one kick.  That’s not as bad as you might think, but I wouldn’t say it starts easier than with a magneto.

I gave up on the magneto because the new points sets and baseplates are too badly made.

Had 2 Mk IV Boyers and they worked OK, on a 700 Oilfield café-racer that had been 'Interceptorised' quite a bit (and was quick), and on a P11 (they're all quick - for the day). Stayed with it on the Oilfield as I'd upgraded the alternator etc, it was all 'of a sort' with Power Box etc and it worked very well as long as the battery was maintained. Swapped out for a mag on the 750 Norton engine though, which still had its mid-'60s Lucas alternator, to get rid of the various points of potential failure. All of which went into a box labelled 'potential points of failure' and went to the current owner along with the K2FC that was on it.
No moral to the tale - both systems worked well, the Boyer guaranteed the timing with the wasted spark, but the mag guaranteed reliability in the event of leccy trouble (which arose in due course when the rectifier and associated wiring self-combusted). The mag got me home.
My 650SS had a hissy fit last month when the still-quite-young regulator/rectifier decided not to bother any more and boring things like bulbs all blew and the ammeter went berserk. But - with a mag - got home without the lights that are obligatory hereabouts, after disconnecting the alternator leads at the side of the road.

Ref the replica points assemblies and backplates   . . . it's worth refurbing any original brass bits, and the 'low inertia' steel ones too if that's what there is   - but whatever happens don't chuck them away. One of mine runs with BTH points, which are in some respects better than Lucas, and I've grafted Bosch on before now - also excellent. Key dimensions were standardised 100 years ago, and for the Resourceful Owner there are good options despite the lack of half-decent Lucas bits, even if it sometimes means a bit of thoughtful effort in the shed.

Things aren't going to get any easier I don't think, with prices treading water and expertise dying out after 30 or 40 years of 'growth'.
All I need is another 10 years or so! Like many of us of a certain age  . . . .
Thank the stars there are people still up to sorting out a spot of mayhem caused when an oil line split on one of my AMCs last week and the crank seized at speed  . . .  (I might post a pic in 'What have you done with . . .' when the depression lifts!)

[limeyrob]

Your reminded me, I took the points off my A65 as they just didn't seem stable at higher revs, using a strobe was an eye opener as the you could see the timing jumping about. This was a 71 model and the OEM Lucas points were made of cheese, and not a even decent hard cheese. I fitted a Lucas RITA, they hadn't long come out and it was pricey but a superb bit of kit.  If I were going electronic now i think I would look for a 40 year old RITA set.  There's often sets on e-bay and prices are sensible.

[Shark]

FWIW, as others have noted a properly built magneto is robust, reliable and independent, so if you have access to an expert who can overhaul it with quality parts then that would be my choice.
That being said I have three with EI ( two Trispark and Pazon ), I have had one Trispark throw the towel in inexplicably which led to the Pazon. I like the EI but when they die that’s it, bin time.

[Triton Thrasher]

Your reminded me, I took the points off my A65 as they just didn't seem stable at higher revs, using a strobe was an eye opener as the you could see the timing jumping about..

Many people would get a surprise if they strobed their magneto at over 4,000 rpm.