I finally got the bike to start after much tweaking of the rotor. My 1955 VH500 seems very sensitive to small adjustments of the rotor alternately backfiring violently through the carb or the exhaust. I even contacted Thorspark for advice but they could only suggest "using a strobe". Lucki...

I agree with Roger. Having purchased a 1955 VH500 that was just a frame with no forks or wheels, a gearbox and bottom end with no cylinder head it cost me much more to buy the missing parts than it would have cost to buy a complete bike. The alloy head alone was £700 never mind forks, wheels, tanks,...

Roger,
That is reassuring advice thank you.
Dennis

Paul and Rob, Than you for your replies. Yes the advance/ retard still works but I am still left with incremental adjustments at the rotor to get the ‘best’ starting point. If I am lucky I may not need to use a strobe light if I can find the sweet spot within the range of manual adjustment by the ad...

Rob, Thanks for your reply. I received my Thorspark on Monday and fitted it yesterday with no real problems. Most of the time was taken up routing the wiring. The spark is good and actually much better than the magneto spark. However, after a violent backfire on my first attempt at starting the VH50...

John,
It is good to know that you had a positive experience with a Thorspark set up. I'll check for arcing on the spindle but hopefully that won't be a problem.
Dennis

Rob, Thanks for the advice. I am still waiting for my Thorspark to arrive. For my clarification was it the plate supplied with the sensor that had to be re-worked? And would I be able to check for shorting out using a meter testing for continuity i.e. an electrical contact between the armature and t...

I tried to fit an 'Easy cap' but the wiring to the old capacitor was fried and when connecting those wires to the Easy cap they fell apart. Others may have had more success.
Dennis

Steve and Paul many thanks for replying. Good advice about the battery earth lead. I have tried two spark plugs from different sources and the magneto is earthed to an engine bolt. Looking forward to setting up the Thorspark system. I have a strobe I used before to set up a Pazon system on my Norton...

I have posted here recently about my 1955 VH500 and problems with starting. After a frustrating couple of weeks fettling the carb with no success I have purchased a Thorspark electronic ignition system in the hope that I can eliminated the magneto as the source of the problem. This may seem an extre...