ignition, charging, and boyer bransden dual output coils

Hi guys
During my commando rebuild I will be binning the partly squashed coils currently on the bike, and getting new stuff. Whats your opinions on the boyer bransden dual output coils? Hotter spark??
The bike has boyer mkIII black box, BP7ES plugs, solid state rectifier and I dont know what kind of alternator. Will the "hotter spark" have any effect on battery drain or the charging system in general?
Also, NZ has just introducted a lights on policy for all motorcycles now, and I havent been riding since the law came in, so I dont know what kind of effect there will be on the battery, with the aforemention coil and halogen headlight turned on all the time.
thanks

PS Ive just come across an new EMGO brand dual output coil for 2/3 the price of the boyer bransden.. should I go there?

Hi Wilco,

Your alternator by now could be anyone of several makes and outputs. Earlier Lucas units output 120W and later ones 180W. Probably a good idea to pop the outer primary cover and eyeball the rotor and stator, see if you can see a makers name and part number. 180W should be fine with 6V coils and headlamp on. I can't say which of the hotter coils you mentioned may be better, but I'm attracted to TriSpark's new product. Have a look a the TriSpark web site (South Australia)and give Steve Kelly a call he's quite helpful. The prices looked OK to me. I think the EMGO stuff is made in Taiwan,nothing wrong with that but I'd prefer to see a specification before I buy.

Mick

I run one of Colorado Norton Works single coil conversions. It's a Crane with, I would imagine, Hardly Ferguson credentials. I run a 42 thou gap and it's great.

Wilco

dont panic about the lights on policy, although it has been announced i don't think it is law yet and it hasn't been terribly well reported to date - it will apply to 1980 and newer bikes only. Although not a bad idea anyway.
Even with a 3 phase alt up to 35MPH with my headlight on low beam my 12V charging light doesn't go off in top gear, but riding on the open road is no problem. I normally do pilot light around town and low beam on open road.
Pazon also list a dual output coil, which when i last looked appeared the same as the Boyer one, and it only has to travel to you from the Bay of Plenty.
Does the coil make that much difference to the power usage? I had assumed not but I'm electrically illiterate so will be interested to know.

My only experience with coils has been the stock (squashed) Lucas and now TriSpark replacements. Both work fine. Any dual coil with 4 ohms primary resistance will be compatable with a Boyer.

A 20 watt halogen pilot bulb in the headlight works great for daytime running without taxing the battery.

I might go with the boyer coil for peace of mind if nothing else, I dont like taiwanese stuff from past experience.

As previously stated if you go to the official govt web site permanent lights on is only applicable to motorcycles manufactured after 1980. emgo is a taiwanese brand that sources from various supplyers from that region. What is rong with the coils you have?
Al

possm said:

As previously stated if you go to the official govt web site permanent lights on is only applicable to motorcycles manufactured after 1980. emgo is a taiwanese brand that sources from various supplyers from that region. What is rong with the coils you have?
Al

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Ah, they didnt state that in the paper. No worries with lights off then.

I was investigating the merits of the dual coil as I also need electrics for my triumph project which currently has nothing.
The coils on the commando do work, they are just old and partly squashed, I wonder how much longer they will last. Everything else in the electrical system is in good order, so I was considering replacment. The dual ouput single coil setup would also allow me to hide it further up under the tank, as part my my plan to clean up the look of the bike. Unsure which way to go still.

I have a dual-output coil fitted from RGM, bike starts first time and runs fine...the Pazon coil is identical as far as I can tell as I have compared my RGM one with a friends Pazon and measured resistance etc. As a quick pointer you will need to fit a heatsink or ensure that the mount for the the coil bolts to a decent lump of metal...you can buy a Pazon heatsink but the price is daft...just as easy to buy an electronic generic heatsink and bolt that on. (Got mine from Maplins for about 5 quid.)