Dyna S ignition timing

[TylerM]

That isn't good. It should move freely

This spacer came with the kit, does it belong in that open space? When the spacer is in (this is how I've had it for a long time, but it hasn't run well) it seems that the black pickup is restricted in its movement. But if I take the spacer out there is wiggle room for the black pickup to move forwards and backwards. Here's two pictures, one of the spacer and the other shows the space in between the bolt and the pickup where I originally had the spacer installed.

[TylerM]

I used a timing light.......

I've been trying to avoid buying a timing light but I guess I really should just do it the right way

[TylerM]

The black piece that the yellow arrow is pointing at twists on the shaft. It springs to the left stop, and advances to the right with centrifugal force. The instructions tell you to twist it to the right. That is the full advance position. You turn the crank to almost line up with the right most mark, and then twist the black piece on the advancer to the right, and hod it against the stop as you turn the crank to line up with the mark.


Now as to why your assembly is missing the 2-3 marks. You original ignition was electronic, and had no adjustment individually for the 1-4 and 2-3 pickups. They were set 180 degrees apart. You will probably need a degree wheel to find where the marks should be....... Which brings me to the question: Since your bike had no breaker points, why exactly, are you installing a DynaS?

Something that will really clear up my confusion. The black piece you're point at, is that called the advancer? If that's the case then bikecliff's DIY (and most of the stuff you've been telling me to do) totally makes sense now. Man I was so lost because I didn't know which piece was the advancer.

I bought the Dyna S because my igniter was bad. I saw all the praise the Dyna S was getting on the site and decided it was a better deal than replacing my igniter. That and the fact that I had a bad coil so I went with the 3ohm Dyna green coils too.

[8ball]

Mine was a little different. The spacer was not needed. Maybe, you need to file a little off the spacer? When the bolt is torqued down, it should not squeeze down on the magnet....rotor...advancer....whatever you want to call it....that black thingy. But it should not be able to slide in and out as far as yours seems to be able to. Actually the rotor with the magnet, the springs, weights and plate with the timing marks...all together are the advancer assembly. But, what I was calling the "advancer", by itself, was the black piece with the magnet in it.

attached is a pic of mine...no spacer:

[TylerM]

Thanks for your help. I emailed dynatek to see what they recommend doing with the spacer. I think you're right and I'll have to sand it down to fit better. I'll post their response when I hear from them. Well I think this explains why my bike wouldn't go over 20 mph during my last ride lol.

[OldVet66]

Having to adjust the thickness of the spacer is fairly common but it is a required part. It should be adjusted so all the parts move freely. Make sure to be careful and sand it evenly, just to the point that everything moves freely.

[8ball]

Keep us informed!

[gs rider]

great pics of your ignition. always forget to do that. got my sons 450 started today with new dyna system. I got two 550's in the shed, a 79 and 81 to play with next so your thread will come in handy.

[GSCafe]

I timed mine with static timing using a multi-meter. From there it is just a slight nudge for advance or retard as needed.

[TylerM]

I have a little update after emailing back and forth with someone from Dynatek. Apparently I purchased the wrong ignition (needed Kokusan version but I bought Nippon Denso) and that is the reason my rotor is short but the spacer doesn't fit right. The guy from Dynatek offered to send me the Kokusan hardware (longer rotor I think) free of charge and he said it will be everything I need to install the ignition properly. Moral of the story: Dynatek rocks! They get my full support and they should get yours too.

It may be a while because I'm leaving town for a bit, but I will update further when I get the new parts and install them.

[TylerM]

Hey guys, it's been a while but I have an update. As I mentioned last time, I emailed Dynatek and explained my issue, they concluded that I bought the wrong ignition system and sent me the other ignition piece for free. That's right, it was my fault but they took the initiative to fix my mistake regardless. I got back in town to a package from dynatek with the correct advancer in it. I put it in and I now have a properly torqued advance assembly that still allows the rotor to rotate.

I set the timing to turn the test light on as soon as I fully twist the black rotor when the tick is on the rightmost mark. This also turns the test light on when I turn the motor to the F mark without twisting the rotor at all. I think I have the timing set properly now. Big thanks to all you guys who helped clear up my issues, and an even bigger thanks to Dynatek for being an awesome company to work with.

[phanham]

You might consider using an induction light to fine tune. Mine was still slightly off even though it was running good after static timing. Runs even better now

[TylerM]

I plan on doing that once I get it running. I'm still struggling to get it to start and I can't figure out why right now

[harlanb]

Hello all!!
I have not posted before, but have read through hundreds of posts seeking advice on my '81 GS850 GL. This forum has been a great help and I may have a tip that might be helpful to anyone installing a dyna s on their bike. My neighbor (retired engineer who until recently raced vintage bikes on dirt tracks) installed a dyna s electronic ignition on my bike. When it came time to static set the timing we followed the instructions and had 1/4 set quickly. 2/3, however was not so cooperative. after much trial and error we started over by aligning our sensors? 180 degrees and then setting the timing mark for 1/4. After that was aligned we turned the shaft to full advance while the other moved the plate until the test light came on. It worked, the bike fired up (after a bit of coaxing, it sat for a year waiting to be rescued) and smoothed out after it warmed up. It seems like a much less complicated way to achieve the same results. Maybe we were just lucky, or maybe we are on to something.

H.