Coil olhms for a '79 750

[Fieldmaster]

Howdy, I'm the proud owner of a 1979 GS750L. I've had for over 30 years. I bought it from a friend for the rest of the payments. I only have 34K on it but it looks old, not brand new like some of you have kept your scooters I've been looking at on this site.
My current need from ya'll...can anyone tell me what olhmage (is that a word?) my coils are? I've seen all sorts being advertised...2.0, 2.5, 3.0 etc. Also, I took mine down to the local dealership today and the guy told me one of them isn't putting out so I need to buy another. Hopefully not for over a hundred bucks! Wow, I didn't know they cost so much. And no, I forgot to ask the guy what the Olhms for mine were. Thanks everyone., Ed

[azr]

Your stock coils are 3 ohms. The primary should be between 3.5 - 4.5 secondary should be around 30'000. If you need to buy new coils you can get a new seet of Green Dyna coils for $130 and that's a great improvement for the bike. I'd always be a bit leary of the local shop.

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. Fieldmaster,

Three to five ohms. I think the stock coils are ~5 ohms. Most here like the green Dyna coils @ 3 ohms for aftermarket replacements.

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[Steve]

If you still have points in the ignition, I would stick with the higher value (4-5 ohms), as they will reduce the current that the points have to interrupt. Lower resistance (measured in ohms) means that more current will flow. More current means that the points will burn quicker.

If you switch to electronic ignition, you should also switch to 3 ohm coils. The transistors can handle the higher current better than mechanical points, so you can take advantage of the higher current for bigger sparks.

.

[SqDancerLynn1]

The thing to do is get 3 ohm coils and install a 2 ohm ballast resistor (a 70's mopar ign resistor- 4 prong, one side is 2 ohms) in the 12v supply line. That way a switch to dyna ign at a later time doesn't require new coils. My 79GS850 has been hooked up that way for 3-4 years...

[koolaid_kid]

To collect all the information into one:
If you stay with points, you want the black 5 Ohm Dyna coils. That is all you would need.
If you are considering upgrading to a Dyna S electronic ignition in the future, the 5 Ohm coils would still work but not be the most efficient, lowering the overall high voltage output. The better choice would be the green 3 Ohm Dyna coils and 2 Ohm ballast resistors. When you upgrade, just remove the ballast resistors and use the coils themselves. Do not use the green coils by themselves with a points ignition, this would be a bad thing, as noted above.

[Nessism]

...or hit the Parts Wanted forum and find a used coil. Shouldn't cost more than $20 or so.

[Fieldmaster]

Thank you!

thank you all for the great info for me to obtain the best coils for my scooter. And a big thanks to you Cliff, for the wonderful welcome and all the sites to go visit including your own. I joined in August but my work doesn't give me a lot of time to read and reply a lot. I thought I was the last guy to own an old GS. Exagerating, I know, but I had no idea there were so many of you out there. This site and you folks will likely be my new family. I thank you and so does my 750L. I'll get some pics up soon. Right now I've got to get it running well again.
God Bless, Ed