Looking at replacing the points system

[Guest]

I Have put better aftermarket coils from Dyna on my gs1100g. They did suggest that I also put an electronic ignition on it as well. I have never done this and was going to attempt it here in a few weeks when my wife lets me order the unit. I was planning on ordering from Dyna directly. Is there anything I may need to watch out for when installing the unit? Does anyone have any suggestions on other units maybe not Dyna branded?

[Steve]

Not sure about "other brands", but either way, you will need to get a mechanical advance unit for the ignition.

The '82 1100G had the advance curve built into the ignitor unit, the Dyna S does not.

.

[eil]

An '82 1100G should already have an electronic ignition... Unless you or a PO retrofit points?

[adam]

It defiantly has an old points system, and so does the 82 1100g that I have been using for parts. The parts bike, I am pretty sure, is mostly original. I don't really see why anyone would convert an electronic ignition to points, that does defeat the purpose of reliability but who am I to assume what the last owner did or didn't do? Anyway, thanks for the info about the ignitor. I guess I wont really know what I need to do until I get it apart. I do have a new issue though, the new coils seem to have a fatter body than the stock ones. So when they are mounted in the stock location the lower wire on the coils seem to be touching the frame. This seems to have a negative effect on my battery. After running for a while and shutting the bike off the battery doesn't have enough power to turn the starter. I thought about cutting the mounting tabs off and using a bicycle inner-tube to make narrow rubber strips to wrap the coils in and fasten them to the frame neck with some sort of hose clamp or something. does that sound like a viable idea? Suggestions and info please.

[wymple]

I thought the 82's had electronic ignition. Mine did. Hell, my 81 850 did.

[adam]

well mine doesn't and it's defiantly an 82 the vin on the motor and frame say so.

[koolaid_kid]

Someone must have replaced the electronic ignition with the older style points system. Does it have a mechanical advance unit on it? If not, they are easy to find used. Either way, a Dyna S with a mechanical advance unit would be an excellent upgrade.
What color are the coils, green or black.
Rather than ordering from Dyna, I would order from Z1Enterprises. Much better support IMHO.

[bwringer]

Dittos on ordering from Z1. Much better prices and great support.

Here's the rotor your 1100G came with stock:



Here's what an earlier electronic ignition looks like, which incorporates a mechanical advancer (it's the widget underneath the bolts in the middle, mostly hidden by the plate holding the pickups). If some goober installed points on your 1100G, they almost certainly installed a mechanical advancer you can use. Then again, the workings of a mind that would install points on an 1100G are utterly mysterious, so who knows what the heck is really under there?