New magneto option for Commandos

For those who want to retard their Commando timing side mount Mag - now there is a retard lever that you flip to retard it 20 crank degrees for starting. Not available over the counter - it has to be assembled from a combination of Hunt and Morris parts and I had to re-configure/re-orient the parts to get everything to work correctly. Took some work in AutoCad to get it right. Very easy starting.

Jim my JH is always easy to start always first kick, the first kick for the day is always a big swing on the kicker but once started for the day it only takes a 1/2 swing on my kicker and sitting on the seat, my old triumph with the JH was the same.
A lot of people make a big thing about JH not having auto advance but to me and other friends who have had and still have JHs on their bikes its never been a problem.

Ashley

I put together this mag for a customer who suffered a leg injury from a kickback when using an electronic ignition. That EI had the habit of advancing the timing when the motor was reversed in rotation just before starting (can happen when pushing the bike back and forth fishing for 1st gear etc) causing severe kickback.

So he wanted something that was retarded on start up. Something that starts easy and todays Mags with rare earth magnets put out a good fat spark the 1st revolution of the kick which usually results in the bike starting before the kickstart reaches bottom. The timing side mount magneto doesn't have an automatic advance so its kick started at full advance. That scares away a lot of people. The reason Morris came out with the retard lever was to avoid kickbacks on kickstart Harleys. So now people have the option. This may be the 1st side mount mag on a Commando with the retard lever.

But I have to say that the eccentric brass pin that moves the points has to be checked to verify that its correctly orientated so that it actually retards the points properly. I had to move the flat on the pin to orient the lever so that the eccentric was rotated where it needed to be. I have another pin coming from Morris and I'll check it to see if its right. I'm not saying that Morris got it wrong - but the two pins I got so far were different and I could just have received the wrong part.

The only reason it scares a lot of people away is they don't really understand how the JH maggies work, my JH has only ever kicked back once when I first set it up and the timing was a wee bit too advanced, hasn't done it since coming on to 8 years now and still haven't touched it, still the original points just pull the cover off it to check and lube the felt pad for the points arm and clean the points with a bit of metho, I never file the points as that take the hardening off them and they will wear real quick if you do.

Ashley

Seems to be a lot of work or mucking around to fix a problem that is not there in the first place.

Ashley

ashman said:

Seems to be a lot of work or mucking around to fix a problem that is not there in the first place.

Ashley

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It's a problem if you have an injured or weak right leg, I suppose......In that case it needs someone to find a fix.

maybe the average age of Commando owners is getting higher or..... I'll go with or..

I decided to reveal I'm the guy who ordered the mag. I actually don't have a weak right leg and, yes, the setup I have now really gave me a helluv a whack on my shin when it kicked back. To be fair, there is a starting proceedure with an optical count ignition such as the one I have, that, if followed rigorously, should not produce kickback. And I did come up with a scheme that would totally eliminate the problem if, say you slipped up or the bikes carburation was off, etc. But there were problems with getting that implemented. It could be done, I know. I have a little knowledge of controller boards (like a very primative, but effective motherboard for its intended purpose). But I was on the phone a bit about it and, of course, how would the people involved have time to rework all that just to accomodate one guys desire to experiment around. I'm trying to say the ignition worked well enough (in fact really well once running -- advance curves selectable and all that), but I didn't trust myself to always do exactly the right thing. That I do blame on my ancient age. But here is the root cause of my decission to go with a mag. I like the idea of a mag! I would have put that all in caps, but that might be over kill. Battery won't stop you. Wiring won't stop you. Alternator won't stop you. Simple as hell. Two wires to the plugs, that's all. Giant fat spark that ignites even a poor mixture. Giant fat spark that increases with rpm and acts like an advance curve. Half kick and it starts ( I know. I know. Everyone elses ignition does that too.). And, here's the "kicker" -- and the caps. I WANTED ONE. I had one on a Norton when I was a kid and I liked it. Yes, if any one recalls a previous post of mine, that old Lucas mag (Lucas, prince of darkness) ended up destroying my engine. That was bizzare. But it was my own fault too. So, I wanted a mag because, on top of all it's obvious advantages, there was a deep seated primative desire for it. Because it is primative. Like the Norton itself. Let me ask you, why do you want a Norton?

Well you don't have to convince me lol, I am and always have been a big believer in the JH maggies, they are simple, reliable, big juicy spark, one kick to start every time, no battery, spark plugs last forever, well a very long time, spark plugs run clean, some say they look ugly hanging out the side but to me they look great and why not proudly show it off, I have been using JH maggies on my old British bike since 1981 and have never had no problems with them, on my old Triumph I clocked up over 250k km with it, it just kept going, so no need to convince me in how good they are.

Ashley

oldschool said:

It's a problem if you have an injured or weak right leg, I suppose......In that case it needs someone to find a fix.

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Well I have chicken legs and when set up right they don't kick back, any ignition systems will kick back if not set up right, but how many systems will start 1/2 way through a kick and I have used a few from stock to 3 EIs.

ashman said:

Well I have chicken legs and when set up right they don't kick back, any ignition systems will kick back if not set up right, but how many systems will start 1/2 way through a kick and I have used a few from stock to 3 EIs.

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Jeez.....Charles Atlas with chicken legs!

I run a JH mag as well on my Atlas (with Auto advance). No battery. There's something comforting about old school simplicity.

Now people have a choice - a way to retard starting for Commandos. And if you already have a side mount Mag on your Commando - you can retrofit the retard lever.

jseng1 said:

I run a JH mag as well on my Atlas (with Auto advance). No battery. There's something comforting about old school simplicity.

Now people have a choice - a way to retard starting for Commandos. And if you already have a side mount Mag on your Commando - you can retrofit the retard lever.

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Jim, When you say auto advance do you mean the Lucas type as fitted to Norton twins or a Joe Hunt one?

Matchless said:

Jim, When you say auto advance do you mean the Lucas type as fitted to Norton twins or a Joe Hunt one?

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I mean a Joe Hunt with the mechanical auto advance that originally came with the Atlas and Lucas mag. I ditched the Lucas mag for the JH. Its a drop in fit. But you must add sealer between the JH adapter plate and the mag, use a fiberglass reinforced gasket for the mag to the case and make sure the spring on the oil seal is facing the oil in order to prevent oil leaks.