Good source for parts

[joeninpo]

Ok...I need an ignitor unit for my 1980 GS 550 L and I don't have $400 to blow on a $600 bike. I've emailed a couple of salvage yards already, but I'm still not a big fan of buying a used part from someone that I don't know. Do you guys and gals have any suggestions on electronics parts? I like Z1 because they are well priced and they ship really quickly, but they don't have the ignitor unit that I need.

Thanks for the help!
Eddie

[mike_of_bbg]

They may not have the ignitor for your bike, but Z1 does carry the Dyna S DS3-2 for about $130, which will replace both the sig gen and ignitor for your bike.

[joeninpo]

I considered that, but is it pretty easy to do the conversion? I don't have a problem turning a wrench and using a multimeter, but I'm pretty much on my own here as far as motorcycle people. If it's something that's pretty easy to do, then I might try it out. Beats $400 regardless...

Thanks for the tip!

[mike_of_bbg]

It's not a bad job at all - and BassCliff recently added a Dyna S installation doc to his site so you might go check that out. The entire ignition is contained behind the ignition cover, so you can just unplug your ignitor when done. Electrically the Dyna is a 3-wire installation: one wire to each of the coils, plus the +12V which you can also grab from the coils. A little splicing is all that's required.

Physically speaking it's nearly a perfect bolt-in replacement for the sig gen on an 8V GS550. You'll have to replace the rotor as well. The only snag I hit was that the spacer included for use with factory electronic ignition was a bit too thick, and when bolted down with the rotor it would not allow the mechanical advance to turn. My solution was to sand down the top of the rotor 1mm or so. One could also try just finding a thinner washer as a spacer. On an 80 that might not even be an issue.

[joeninpo]

Your bike is so CLEAN! I think I might just have to try this out. Did you notice an improvement when you changed over to this system? Granted, anything is better than what I have now...lol! I'll go check out Basscliff's stuff and let you all know how the installation goes.

Thanks again!
Eddie

[mike_of_bbg]

Clean happens when your bike never seems to hit the road Not that I would necessarily call my bike CLEAN compared to some I see here. My shot there totally cuts out the oil weeping from the head up front

Let me ask you this (because there was probably a thread leading up to this job that I didn't see): why are you replacing your ignitor? Mine was overheating after 20 mins or so of riding and cutting off the engine entirely. In that respect there was a big improvement! There wasn't an increase in HP or anything - at least not that I could discern. It may have just been my imagination, but the bike did seem to start up more easily with the Dyna in place than before.

What I'm saying in my humble opinion is that you'll want to install the Dyna (or a new ignitor) to fix a problem, not for massaging any performance out of the bike.

[joeninpo]

Well...quick story in the shortened version...I had a petcock problem, but I got that replaced after a small bit of troubleshooting. I suspected an electrical problem as well, but I couldn't get to that until I got fuel where it needed to be. I had spark, although it was relatively weak. I finally got a new petcock and started the ol' girl up just fine. She ran for about 10 minutes and then died. I went back through my normal line of troubleshooting...fuel, air, fire...and realized that my spark was gone. I did the troubleshooting in the manuals that I have and everything is pointing to the ignitor. I started pricing new ones and salvage yard one and was shocked at how much they were. I started doing more research on here and viola! Here we are. So, I'm not looking for more performance. I was just curious about that more than anything. I want my freakin spark back so I can ride this stinkin thing instead of work on it! I've had it for about a month now and I've pushed it more than ridden it. <shakes fist at sky...again> On payday, I'll order a Dyna S and see how things go.

I gotta tell you, I've had a lot of different projects over the years and joined a lot of different forums, but YOU guys are by far the friendliest and most helpful group that I've encountered so far. I really appreciate all of the help!

Eddie