Anatomy of a Vintage Smoke Dyna-S ignition!

Some of you guys have asked me what goes into putting one of these ignitions together, and I haven’t posted an “update” on the ignitions in a while so here goes….

First off is a complete Dyna-S ignition kit I get from Dynatek. I only use the switching modules from the kit.

First thing I do is take the ignition out of the box and bench test it. I don’t want to waste time putting together a kit using non working components. This is the first time the ignition gets tested. BTW….nothing fancy here…just a coil and set of test plugs mounted on the wall. I keep a battery (on a battery tender) under the bench to power it up.

If the ignition tests OK as shipped to me (and every one has so far) it gets mounted to one of my mounting plates that I have laser cut.

And the wiring gets trimmed to the length needed for an RD.

Next I trim back the covering on the ignition harness, cut the individual wires to length, and install the proper terminals on the ends of the wiring. I know some of you guys prefer soldering, but I crimp the terminals on using a professional, ratcheting, compound leverage crimper (imagine a “Vise Grip” style crimper). It actually folds the tabs on the terminals over on them selves and is super secure. Some of you that already have one of my kits will notice that I changed the style of connectors. The ones I am using now are high quality bullet style connectors with a clear rubber boot. They are a little larger than what I was using previously, but should be easier to disconnect (if you need to ) than the pin connectors and heat shrink I was using.

Now is when things get a little tricky. The ignition gets mounted in a rotary table and the 2 modules get timed exactly 180 degrees apart from each other. I keep the difference between the two modules to less than 0.2 degrees. The idea is that once installed, it should only be necessary to time one cylinder and the other will follow. More on timing later though….   This is also the second time that the ignition gets bench tested.

BTW…I just purchased a new rotary table and dedicated an older small mill I had to use just for timing the ignitions.

Now for the rotors……

I get the rotors rough machined for me from a friend who has a CNC lathe. Once I get the blanks or unfinished rotors from him there is still a bunch of machining to do. Pockets get milled for the magnets, a recess gets milled for the pin in the alternator that the rotor indexes onto, a sleeve gets pressed onto the rotor permanently locking the magnets in place, then the whole rotor gets finished machined including a few cosmetic touches. I also cut a timing mark to serve as a visual aid when the customer is timing his ignition.

Here is a box of blanks just received from the CNC shop. Unfortunately these were the first batch and were off in a critical measurement by a few thousandths of an inch. I guess I’ll find something to use them for…..

And a finished RD350/R5 rotor:

Now that I have the ignition and rotor finished they get bench tested for a third time. The idea is that the exact ignition and rotor going to the customer work properly together. This step is probably overkill, but it makes me feel better!! LOL!!

The ignition and rotor get packaged up with mounting hardware, connectors…..

And an 8 page instruction booklet:

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Here are some highlights of the kit and answers to some common questions I get asked:

-         I have 2 kits available. One fits RD400 and the other fits RD350, RD250, and R5.

-         COILS: The ignition will work with any coils originally designed for points. That includes any coil with a primary resistance of 3-5 Ohms. If you already have a set of RD coils from HVC, Economy Cycle, Etc, that were made to work wit the stock points set up they will work just fine. I am no longer offering my coil kit with the ignition. By time I added up the parts and labor to put the kit together I was losing money on it. Since I had a lot of requests, I originally offered the coil so I had something to go with the ignition. My coil kit worked very well, but in all honesty there are great coil set ups out there that can be had for much cheaper. In the near future I may be sourcing the Toshiden coils from John at Ecomomy Cycle so I have something on hand to offer with my ignition. The ignition WILL work with the stock RD350 or RD400 coils.

-         INSTALLATION: Installation is EASIER than changing out a set of points. I made the instructions as all inclusive as possible to make the installation as easy as possible. Really….if you can replace a set of points, set the gap, and set your timing, installing the ignition should be a walk in the park.

-         Installation involves no modifications such as cutting, drilling, welding, or cursing. Wiring the ignition involves 3 connections and the only “modification” you need to make to your bike is to cut the “U” shaped connectors off the grey and orange wires to install the bullet conductors for the ignition unit. If you do not have the proper crimping pliers to crimp the connectors I do recommend soldering.

-         CURRENT DRAW: Current draw for the Dyna modules is about 200 milliamps….and that is ONLY when the module is switching (firing the coil). It is not constant. There is NO issue with the Dyna ignition “over taxing” the charging system. Current draw is so low that it would be difficult to measure.

-         TIMING: Timing is set as you normally would by using a dial gauge. You can use an Ohm meter, but I prefer to lay a spark plug on the head and listen for the “crack” when the plug fires. Your ear is VERY sensitive and doing it this way leaves you to watch what your fingers are doing as you nudge the timing plate.

o       STROBE: Timing with a strobe light is NOT necessary and NOT recommended. The timing marks on the pointer and alternator rotor are not defined very well and it is tough if not impossible to get an exact reading. Timing on these bikes is set in 0.1mm increments and I doubt there is anyone out there that can accurately see a 0.1mm difference when looking at a spinning mark and a flashing light. Remember…2 strokes fire twice as often as a 4 stroke which means you have half the room for error. When you think you have the timing set, it’s easy enough to turn the motor over while watching the gauge and check that the spark occurs at your desired setting. This brings me to the next important point. I have verified the timing (on an actual bike) at different RPM’s using a strobe. THE TIMING DOES NOT CHANGE FROM IDLE TO RED LINE. If you find that it does, the cause is NOT the ignition and you need to check elsewhere such as a loose crank bearing that is letting the rotor move around instead of just spinning.

o       INDIVIDUAL CYLINDER TIMING: When I set up this ignition I really didn’t need to time the modules 180 degrees apart. As a matter of fact most ignitions available do not come this way. I did it to make set up easier for the less experienced installer. It is possible that after you time the ignition to one cylinder, the other cylinder will be off….a very small amount. This can be attributed to things such as a crank out of true, a difference in carbon build up on top of one piston compared to the other, or even the alternator housing being slightly misaligned (which would have the magnets closer to one module than the other)….among other reasons. Even if the timing is slightly different from one cylinder to the other you are still a thousand times better when compared to points. The moving parts and physical opening and closing of the points produce VERY erratic timing. That includes differences in one firing of the cylinder to the next, timing from one RPM to another, and timing after it is set and you drive a mile or 2 down the road. If any of you are interested in double checking the individual cylinder timing….go for it!! If there is less than a 0.1mm (.66 or so degree) difference I would leave it alone, but setting the timing individually for each cylinder is easy. Simply time the left cylinder by adjusting the plate, then fine tune the right cylinder by moving the module itself. Lock it down and double check your results.

-         Pricing: I sell these on e-bay for $285 plus $13 shipping. I offer these to board members for $265 plus $13 shipping. That’s a $20 discount. The only way I can offer this discount is if you pay with a credit card so I don’t have to pay PayPal fees.

If you guys have any questions….fire away!!!!!!