Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

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pete.v

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I have experienced a new sensation on my Norton an it's hard to explain. There may seem to be an awkwardness of a magneto sticking out the side of the timing case, but when riding down the boulevard with your foot set behind it, it all make sense.

I have never had such a steady idle even with the hotter cam. One might think that you could shut it off by just releasing the throttle but it appears that it doesn't happen. I do not have the grounding shut off hooked up yet so i just pull out the Leatherman and touch it to the side. No Biggy.

It's a strange feeling knowing that whatever fails in the electrical system, I'll keep running down the road. It's kinda like a loss of apprehension, a freeing feeling. A sort of "bad ass" buffered by a sense of security. Humbly cocky! Completing a full circle. A feeling of being home where ever you are.

I will not say that it wasn't a pinch, but I aready feel it was well worth it. After all the going around with EI units and waiting for something to cook, I have surrendered. When you let go, you don't fall, you float!

I have picked up some 90 degree coil ends to cleanse this line of site.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.


Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
 
pete.v said:
I have experienced a new sensation on my Norton an it's hard to explain. There may seem to be an awkwardness of a magneto sticking out the side of the timing case, but when riding down the boulevard with your foot set behind it, it all make sense.

I have never had such a steady idle even with the hotter cam. One might think that you could shut it off by just releasing the throttle but it appears that it doesn't happen. I do not have the grounding shut off hooked up yet so i just pull out the Leatherman and touch it to the side. No Biggy.

It's a strange feeling knowing that whatever fails in the electrical system, I'll keep running down the road. It's kinda like a loss of apprehension, a freeing feeling. A sort of "bad ass" buffered by a sense of security. Humbly cocky! Completing a full circle. A feeling of being home where ever you are.

I will not say that it wasn't a pinch, but I aready feel it was well worth it. After all the going around with EI units and waiting for something to cook, I have surrendered. When you let go, you don't fall, you float!

I have picked up some 90 degree coil ends to cleanse this line of site.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.


Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Click to expand...

Does it have a timing advance mechanism? Does it retain the original advancer?
 
concours said:
Does it have a timing advance mechanism? Does it retain the original advancer?
Click to expand...
No advance, nada, nill, siltch.
No issues with starting, idling or running up.
All of these were of a concern but ashman eased my apprehensions and i thank him for his support.
They say many EI ignition systems are a "set and forget" type of thing. I think we can all see by the numerous threads that this is not aways the case.
 
pete.v said:
concours said:
Does it have a timing advance mechanism? Does it retain the original advancer?
Click to expand...
No advance, nada, nill, siltch.
No issues with starting, idling or running up.
All of these were of a concern but ashman eased my apprehensions and i thank him for his support.
They say many EI ignition systems are a "set and forget" type of thing. I think we can all see by the numerous threads that this is not aways the case.
Click to expand...

What is the static timing set at?
 
So how much does that thing weigh ? Aren't you worried that it will crack off one day and fly off from vibration ? I suppose the long plug leads would drag it along the pavement for a bit producing sparks of a different sort. Never seen one on a Norton. But real interesting.
 
When I bought my featherbed/Commando in 1985 it came with this Hunt mag installed.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.


The owner had used it as his street bike for some time, and it seemed to work fine. I converted the bike to a vintage racer right after I got it, and replaced the mag with a points ignition using an Alloy-Tech breaker plate that had it's own ball bearing for the points cam. The mag would have been fine, but I was worried about its vulnerability in a crash. The mag had no advance mechanism, but that didn't seem to cause any problems.

Ken
 
AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME. congrats Pete that looks a sexy bit of kit.
Did you get Jim's updated version or the stock one from hunt?
Hunt seem to have a few options like spark lock and cosmetic differences (clear cap) etc.
I've asked Jim about the key unit and he was looking into it.
 
Only thing awesome is the delight of the rider but its just more evidence the HD's are are closest kissing cousins and its life is limited, especially if mine going down on that side by my own hand or no fault of me own. I can get off on the great function but it looks like a cancer to remove to me, same as it does on old clunky Harley's. My tractor, big gen set and lawnmower are all mag fired so not against them at all just better installs is all.
 
pete.v said:
No advance, nada, nill, siltch.
No issues with starting, idling or running up.
Click to expand...

That's lucky, especially for starting. Only bike I ever had with a mag was my old '65 ironhead XLCH. Prior to '65 the advance on those was fixed as well but, starting in '65 there was a cable which was worked by a left side twist grip. You could retard it for starting and then advance it for power. It also came in handy if you were loaded down for camping and came to a hill - if it started to ping a bit, you could forego a downshift and just retard the mag a bit. Made for a nice light bike since there was no starter or battery. I wish you all the luck with yours.

Mine was very dependable except when it rained. Too young and lazy to diagnose and fix the problem I just traveled with a big plastic bag and some string and would outfit my magneto with its "rain gear".
 
Torontonian said:
So how much does that thing weigh ? Aren't you worried that it will crack off one day and fly off from vibration ? I suppose the long plug leads would drag it along the pavement for a bit producing sparks of a different sort. Never seen one on a Norton. But real interesting.
Click to expand...
Come on now, everybody knows aluminum doesn't spark.
 
Dkt26 said:
AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME. congrats Pete that looks a sexy bit of kit.
Did you get Jim's updated version or the stock one from hunt?
Hunt seem to have a few options like spark lock and cosmetic differences (clear cap) etc.
I've asked Jim about the key unit and he was looking into it.
Click to expand...
I got it from Jim, but I don't see any update. Something about a allen screw in the middle of the rotor to assist in static setup. I really didn't miss it. What I did get is what looked like a beefy hex drive. Some say they got lead wire as part of the kit when purchased form other venders. Lowbrow, I think.

Although after the fact, but I have found it for much less here. I do not think I would have from buying from Jim though.
http://www.skinandbonecustoms.com/Trium ... netos.html
 
jaydee75 said:
It seems like it would turn a Norton into a catapult.
Jaydee
Click to expand...
You might think so but it just isn't so. Now if you were speaking of power arc, new update or not, I would surely agree. That was my experience with 2 units and 4 curves.
 
Hi Pete, No more coils? Can tuck in in the back but need an atlas timing rig, and lots of know how. I like the look on the outside.
 
Good on you Pete, I have been telling poeple for some time now how good these Joe Hunts are on our Nortons, they run and start very easy without a advance unit, some don't like them sticking out on the side but myself think they look hot, if you do go down that side you will do damage to any parts on that side, so far I have gone down 2 times, not on perpus and so far have only cracked the Maggie cover, cheap to replace, but the idea is to not come off :roll: m y friend who races old Triumphs told me to use soft bolts so if you do come off the Maggie will break off and not do much damage to it.

I have had mine on my Norton for 3 years now and over 13,000 miles and have had no troubles with it at all, Pete you told me you haven't put the kill switch on yet, all I did was to mount a toogle switch under my seat where its easy to get to and is hidden from others.

Ashley
 
Think they look good...... You are all kidding aren't you, it's like the story of the Emperors new clothes all over again! Sorry, Im trolling :?
What does the unit actually do(technically) that makes it worthwhile desecrating the LH side?
 
Old Bloke said:
Think they look good...... You are all kidding aren't you, it's like the story of the Emperors new clothes all over again! Sorry, Im trolling :?
What does the unit actually do(technically) that makes it worthwhile desecrating the LH side?
Click to expand...

I produces a spark so strong that .......well let's just say that you don't want to get in the middle of it.

It is also a self contained ignition and has nothing to do with the rest of the electrical system. Other than for light and such you will not need the battery, stator, coil(it's internal), no nothing needed. Just drives off the cam and kicks ass. Many use a battery eliminator or a capacitor to run lights and stuff. No more battery. I have a new light weight battery so I will keep it. Read up on magnetos and it will look better and better to you. Not to say that it will ever look good to you, just better. Hence the title of the thread.
 
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