New breaker points, what brand?

It is 15 degrees F here in Northwest Illinois with about 8 inches of snow cover. So my Norton is put away for Winter, but before Spring, I plan to replace the breaker points. I've been browsing around to see what is available. It appears that Lucas points are somewhat hard to find (are they still made ?), and that there are a few different aftermarket brands available. My question to those of you still using (or knowledgable on) breaker point ignition, are there any particular brands that last longer and / or perform better than others ?

Mike

I've faced this on couple of pointed Combats. Just call best vendor you know and tell em what ya want. The only real deal in contacts is if they have much differing surface area then the standard farad condensor may not give as nice sharp make break spark so can tend to ring and arc more of less. Yet large trucks to tiny chainsaws all use about same size points and condensors so can't hardly go much wrong even in worse case combo. Keep that mech. advance will greased or it won't matter how good the contacts are for low rpm steadiness.

I'd bet that any current points are Chinese products (or worse). I'd try to find some NOS Lucas points on the internet if at all possible. IMO, the lack of decent parts is one of the reasons to go with a E-ignition. I ran points until last year. I recommend the TriSpark which essentially duplicates the timing curve characteristics of the oem Points/AAU.

DomiRacer lists 2 sets of the 54419827, 68-72, point sets. They have 2 different ones, haven't a clue what the difference is. One of them claims to be a Lucas repro. $10.80 for one and $18.26 for the other, called a set, but I would make sure, they may sell them each. A set may be both sides of the breaker, not both breaker sets? Don't know about point sets after 72. I was thinking about getting a set, but my original Lucas sets are working fine for now. Don't know about how long the original condensers will last. Anyone with info on the condensers? So far so good.

Dave
69S

Well, I for one am using points on mine, and have been since I completely rebuilt it. Been working great too. (I keep the advance well lubed.) I would use genuine Lucas if available. As far as condensors (capacitors) ... I've had really bad luck with the OEM type (Lucas or otherwise) falling apart because of ... Argh ... vibration !!! To be fair, it's more an issue on my Triumphs than the Norton. Anyway, been using Yamaha XS650 condensors (from mikesxs.net) for years now, and NEVER had a problem since. Just my 2 cents ...

Condensers are a weak point of wear tear and time that can leave ya sparkless. Even new ones can be dead out of the box so don't throw old ones out till ya try the new for sure. Thank goodness point ign are all about same size so all condensors are about the same frd rating. With study online you can find the variety of range to fine tune the dampening of the gap opening arcs. Points last longer that way. There are also transistor gizmos that take the hi current flow to coil and just use point as their trigger, sorta like a relay switch. Real Commandos have real Norton ignitions, hard as that may be to retain. i am on one Combat for as long as I can.