Sparx or Tri spark

Hi again. So happy with the response to my first post, I thought I'd try again ...
My 71 Combats wiring and ignition is a bit of a mess. I thought I'd start with a new main wiring harness and electronic ignition.
I'm looking for feedback on Sparx v Tri spark systems. Tri spark is double the cost ... worth the extra ?? Ease of installation ??
I'm fine with mechanical stuff, electrics .. I tend to struggle a bit.
Any ideas or opinions would be appreciated.

Cheers Col

I'd go with the Pazon. Some have had issues with the TS which are fixable but at that cost? Pazon just next door to you. Mine has been great but was made when they were in UK.

The new Boyer Mk IV and Micro Digital kits have a 3 year warantee and are significantly less expensive than a Tri-Spark or Pazon, the Sparx has a 90 day warantee, not sure about the TS or Pazon.

RS

I don't have experience with the Sparx but I put a Tri Spark on my 750. Installation was easy. It allows you to get rid of a few connections in the wiring harness, which is a good bonus I think. I used a degree wheel to check the timing scale in the primary, set it to 28 and went riding. I have only a thousand miles since the installation, but most of those are daily communting, so the kick starts per mile ratio is fairly high and I am really pleased with it. That and the bike pulls like train from idle on up.

A word on electrics...take the time to learn a bit about the wiring harness on your bike. The block connector under the tank is sure to be junk, and there are a lot of places to improve upon the way the connections are made. I really liked that the Tri Spark allowed me to simplify some of this stuff. But without cleaning up the harness I doubt I would have found as much benefit out of it.

Russ

RoadScholar said:

Sparx has a 90 day warantee

Click to expand...

WHOA!

I resell Sparx with THREE year manufacturer warranty.

Complete kit with coils & plug wires for lower price than any other, excellent easy setup & results.

Pazon has 7 1/2 years warrentee.

grandpaul said:

RoadScholar said:

Sparx has a 90 day warantee

Click to expand...

WHOA!

I resell Sparx with THREE year manufacturer warranty.

Complete kit with coils & plug wires for lower price than any other, excellent easy setup & results.

Click to expand...

I sell them too, and the importer told me 90 days, where Are you getting yours?

RS

JRC is my distributor and they give me a 3 year warranty on the Sparx EI & alternator systems, straight from the manufacturer, no questions asked.

I have an analogue boyer that I bought in about 1984. It still works perfectly. It has about 55,000 miles on it. How can you improve on that really.

Nigel

Here are my thoughts on the Trispark versus Boyer.

The Boyer is cheaper and seems to do what it does reliably. I had a problem with the Boyer kicking back when trying to start the bike. Kicking back with a Commando is no laughing matter. And my battery and charging system are working perfectly so it was not a low voltage issue. Once running the Boyer is OK as far as response at different RPM's. Not great but OK. The Boyer has the remote box to be mounted but it's no big deal at all.

The Trispark is far superior (my opinion) in it's ability to advance and retard depending on the situation. The effect of this is better running at all speeds and especially at higher RPM's. The Trispark NEVER kicks back. Never. The entire unit fits into the points recess and it has a cool LED for static timing. Now the sticky part. My first Trispark developed a pain in the ass intermittant failure habit. Much checking of systems and changing things out until I identified the Trispark as the problem. After some misunderstandings with CNW I received a new unit which I installed just before leaving on a 1500 mile trip. 900 miles into the trip on the top of a mountain in the heat of the day my bike refused to start. Dead. Nothing. This was old hat for me by now and after I removed the points cover (now a Trispark cover) the bike started up again. I then cut two pieces of rubber tubing and slid them onto the cover screws. This gave me a small gap that allowed airflow into the points recess. 800 miles of flawless performance after that.

So.....The Boyer is dead reliable but a so so performer. The Trispark is the better performing unit but there is that nagging issue of reliability. For me, I would go with the Trispark hands down. Just know that unless you make allowence for the unit to get some breeze, it might crap out. The advantages of the Trispark (when working) are many.

I have the Tri-Spark in both my Commando's and although I have never had any problems with them I decided to get a little air to them. I have ridden in some pretty high temps but not long rides of over 75 miles or so, So this was just in case they do at some point find they need to have some cooling. I find the Tri-Spark superior to both the Boyer and the Sparx unit, You sure can tell with the way the bike idles and it seems to run much smoother thur the rpm's. Even if the unit didn't have the benifit of no box I would still fit one just because of it's performance. On the MK III all you have to do is look at the starter button and the bike starts, On the 72 it helps to only have to kick it once maybe twice if it has been sitting for a few weeks and it comes to life. I hope they turn out to be durable because i am totally sold on their product, O.K. my infomercial is over.

How do you attach the mesh in there? solder?

I really would have been tempted to get the Tri-Spark because of the improved idle and advance curve but the 2 failures with different failure modes for one person are a deal-breaker for me. Will wait til they get further along on the learning curve (which is the same one Boyer already went through in the '70s.) Automotive and motorcycle environment is tough on electronics. I once built a homebrew CDI ignition for a '73 Datsun truck and it worked but sang to me all the way to Daytona and back. Components need to be mil spec. I'm hoping they come out with a separate red box version - like a Tri-yer.

I have had my Trispark for four months now.

I find it superior to the previous three other electronic ignitions I have had over the past 21 years in a number of areas.
I live in New Mexico, and have regularly ridden hundreds of miles in a sitting at temps over 100 degrees, with NO "issues" of any kind.

1) No, or little kickback on starting.

2) Virtually immediate idling without having to hold the throttle very long. Don't know why this is, but it is a very pleasant feature.

3) I like, a lot, the entire unit inside the points cover. The less connections, the less finding a hiding place under the tank or along the frame somewhere for the separate units, the better.
Simplicity of design.

4) Don't have any dyno hard figures of comparison, but the motor just seems to run smoother and stronger, without any feeling of the slightest hesitation anywhere.

5) It is made in Australia, where is gets very very hot, it was tested there first. Yes, a couple of people have had a build issue, or possibly an internal issue that caused it to fail?
That is a very good record, considering quite a fair number have sold, all over the world. From my understanding, the units were replaced and no further failures reported.
I would be very surprised if any new mechanical or electrical offering would be go through its initial public sales without ANY issue at all. Trispark has certainly stood behind it.

6) The "heat" issue: The unit is intentionally designed to be installed in very high heat under the points cover on a Commando. There is no specific language from Trispark for any
need to vent the cover. To me, this means heat is not an issue to the people who make and test it. It is an issue to people what want to make it an issue, possibly because they are rightfully very happy with something different and have not tried a Trispark, and so look for or hope for, others to try it first and report a failure so they can say I told you so.
We do not know if the heat from being inside the points cover caused a failure, it could just as likely simply be a poor internal plastic mold in a batch.
A failure, therefore, cannot be deduced as necessarily because of the location or "heat", as a bad mold batch would have presented itself ultimately anyway.

7) Price. yes, at $300 it IS a lot more money than a boyer or whatever else. And if I were not 60 years old, and not be able to afford $300, then yes price would be an issue. I am lucky, having $300 less net worth does not change anything at all. Twenty years or more ago, I could not have said that.
I want the best of everything for my Commando, I ride it every day. I believe the Trispark is the best ignition for my bike.

Thanks for all the feedback. Decided to go with the Tri spark. If only to support Australian made.
Busy studing wiring diagrams and web sites.
Expect lots more questions in the near future ... Knowledge is power !!! Thanks again.