Sparkplug Wires

Stupid question time again, but want to cover the bases. I want to re-route my sparkplug wires because currently they come straight down from the single dual-output coil and rest on the exhaust rocker covers before connecting to the sparkplug cap. I want to get longer wires with a 90 degree connection at the coil to come up under the tank and to the cap from the rear, as the original Lucas setup does. My question is can I use leads from an automotive shop? Are the press-on coil connections standard auto fittings? I'm running a Boyer ignition and high output stator.

And just for curiosity sake, my 2-1 carby manifold is of unknown origin. It has the words "DO IT" cast into the top, same position that you would find "MAP" on their brand of manifold. Any idea what brand mine is?

Bike is running perfect. I think I really lucked out with the jetting. I got it as close as possible, with what I had on hand, to recommendations from this site. Thursday after work I met up with AussieCombat, we went out for a couple hours and I finally forgot my past issues of valve failure and really enjoyed the bike. I spent another 6 hours in the saddle on Saturday, enjoying beautiful weather and amazing roads. Looking forward to a possibly clear Sunday so I can take the wife out. We met shortly after my last Commando went out of action so she's never been on a Norton! She has slept beside one however, when it was stored in my bedroom beside my bed when she and I first met. On the 3rd floor of my house in Toronto!

I make my own plug leads, just buy the fittings and cable that you need and make them to your size you want, most big auto stores will have the bits you need, I use copper core leads on my Norton as I run a Joe Hunt maggie, have 90 degree caps that go into the maggie cover, a lot neater than the Joe Hunt leads that came with my maggie.

Ashley

Cool, I figured I could just make my own but wanted to check. I'll take one of my leads anyway just to make sure the coil fitting is right.

Dont use the ' string / carbon ' core stuff ( resistored )

possible to get flash H.D. race type stuff , off a 6 cyl at the wrecking yard . :lol:

once upon a time in my area one could stop at any number of auto supply houses and walk out happy. No more. America is changing and leaving me behind. They all want to sell a moulded set specifically for your car.
I had an awful time making up my own wires. There is no shelved stock plug wire bits in any of the local shops, not in NAPA, not in Carquest, Not in Advance Auto Parts, not in Walmart. The closest bike shop had some used bits, a red wire a black wire, etc. There is one bike shop a fair distance away and they are well stocked. They have solid wire and screw on (onto the wire) plug caps. The Emgo coils the PO had on the bike have a 7mm screw on rubber collet arrangement that I had to reuse with the new longer solid core wires because no one here had anything that fit correctly.
Now the Lucas coils I installed have the usual brass HT lead clip and slip on rubber boot affair and I have had to make three attempts to get the correct rubber boot.
The rubber thing that is called a distributor boot actually fit the Lucas coils that I have and that seems to vary by manufacturer or supplier, the coil nipple boots from the same supplier did not fit.
All a very frustrating and protracted experience personally, I do wish you all the best.
My advice is to do it all in person if you can and bring the parts you want to connect and try the fit before you leave the store. Or buy the entire system, coils and wires, from the same supplier. There are just sooooo many different automotive coil connections used today to be able to hit it sight unseen first time in my experience. If you listen closely you can hear me in the garage screaming "Life shouldn't be so #$%^ing complex".
Lately Jethro Tull has been correct, Nothing's Easy.
All the best.

Thank goodness some auto parts in the Ozarks are still about 50 yr behind the times and have loose wires and terminals for old cars and tractors. But they look so utilitarian under hood ugly so I order a stock from here and you may have too too. Bouncing around Ozarks has finally worn some thin spots in decade old set but not yet shorting out.

http://www.mossmotors.com/Shop/ViewProd ... exID=63697

Autoparts stores are becoming as useless for the DIY crowd as Radio Shack stores. You can't find any components to build things, but you can buy all the cell phones and batteries you could possibly want. In the autoparts stores, you can get any variety of Yosemite Sam floor mats or mud flaps, but no spark plug wires or caps. Kids these days, etc.

Cowboy Don said:

Stupid question time again, but want to cover the bases. I want to re-route my sparkplug wires because currently they come straight down from the single dual-output coil and rest on the exhaust rocker covers before connecting to the sparkplug cap. I want to get longer wires with a 90 degree connection at the coil to come up under the tank and to the cap from the rear, as the original Lucas setup does. My question is can I use leads from an automotive shop? Are the press-on coil connections standard auto fittings? I'm running a Boyer ignition and high output stator.

Click to expand...

About $7ea from Old Britts.

http://www.oldbritts.com/alt_062263.html

You can also find what you need to make wires here:

http://brillman.com/store/rajah-terminals-c-855.html

I like the Rajah clips for the plugs, with Packard 440 solid copper core wire.

Summit Racing has copper core plug wire and all kinds of spark plug and coil terminals. There is a two piece tool for crimping where you put one side in a vise and lay the terminal on it then put the other piece of the tool over it and hit it with a hammer. Not sure if they have that -- mine is an ancient Accel one but it wouldn't be hard to make one out of 1/8" steel. I have some leftover terminals and boots if you want some -- enough so you can make a lot of mistakes.

I have the same setup and the wires come out from the coil at a right angle facing up then pass under the tank running along the edge of the tunnel. I sleeved the wires with fuel line under there too to keep away from the SS rocker feed lines. The wires then go to the plugs from the rear like stock.

My local NAPA shop sells stuff like plug wires, boots and fittings. They have catalogs that they can order all sorts of goodies like that. Never had a problem buying plug wire by the foot.

What? Like that?

Met up with an old Cow poke from Canada a couple of weeks ago, went for a joy ride down the Peninsula.
It was great to see that "Norton" smile after some years of wait.
Fire Flake Bronze I believe.
A Mikuni convert. hehehe
Congratulations Donald.





I hope I'm allowed to show these photos.

Very "kewl" 8) AussieCombat, luv those photos !!!

Flo said:

What? Like that?

Click to expand...

Exactly like that, Flo. Thanks.
Swoosh, my coil terminals are facing downward so I need to run a 90 degree fitting there. I could make up a new bracket but new wires will be easier...... we'll see.
I'll check out some shops tomorrow. If no luck locally I will have to order some bits and pieces.
AussieCombat, of course you can post the photos! I gotta get an 850 front guard, don't like that modified front support around the caliper. Priorities though, eh.

I did mine recently and ended up using MSD Street Fire wires, bought a V8 set for about $40 so I'll be able to do a few bikes....Anyway they work well, improved the idle, and came with a clever crimping tool for the terminals...and also suppress RFI



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Auto shops have been no help, all they carry now is model specific premade stuff and it's all resistored.
I know I can order some copper core from my local bike shop, hell, they may even have some on hand for workshop use. So I'll just do that as it's no rush to get it done. I figure I'll run a fully unresistored system, lead and caps, as I can just use resistor plugs. Got Boyer (old), high output stator and modern regulator so I guess it'll need a resistor somewhere, from what I can gather by searching the forum anyway. I'm a bit lost on this topic.
Only question that remains (for now) is does it matter on size, 6.5mm, 7mm, 8mm or 9mm, etc? I may not have a wide choice anyway but should I care?

http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/V ... minals.php

Actually cowboy there is no need of any R item with analog Boyer unless you are concerned about the staccato static others may hear on their radios as you pass them or sit next to at lights. Only thing you might detect on you own ride is if you have a fancy LED signal system then it will become an extra attention getter by acting as syncopated rpm timing lights when toggled to turn. In my 2 Combats next time -soon I will slide and glue on oil-fuel hose where the leads lay against an engine part or fastener. Thank goodness our ignitions don't make much kilo-volt potential or mine would of shorted out a few 1000 miles ago d/t half the insulation gone where they are notched out by abrasion. Anal racers store their leads in bags of dry rice inside of freezer.

Hi Cowboy,

Steve's right concerning the old analog boyer and its insensitivity to rfi. However, many modern rectifier/regulators ARE sensitive to this noise sosurce, and require 5 kilohms in the hv circuit. Your instincts are good; use copper wire and then decide whether you want resistive plugs or caps (the NKG resistive caps are particularly attractive, IMHO). Some "non-resistive" wire will provide several hundred Ohms over the 24" length of the wire, and some "non-resistive" caps show 1 kilohm of series resistance. While I doubt that an added 2 kilohms of series resistance, 7 kilohms total, will pose a problem, there are many products out there, especially wire, that produce near zero series resistance. For reference, 10 kilohms of series resistance IS a problem, as the breakdown current is not reliably sustained during ignition (read the PowerArc technical stuff to appreciate what one company had to do - multiple firings- to overcome a 10 kilohm hv path).

Rick