Thorspark Ignition AA

[Steven.Carter]

You can get thorspark for singles as well John. Just pull out the points and fix in a hidden coil and your off. The advance leaver works just the same. Yes Alan the extra position on the wd switch could be handy for connecting in the duracells.
Steve

[julian.murphy]

Hi Steven.

Can you tell me about your experiences with the Thorspark - ease of fitting, clarity of instructions, quality of parts, ease of strobing to set up.

I have just ordered one for 1957 NH.

I am hoping to just remove the points and fit directly. The engine is already timed up, so hoping that I will only have to make fine adjustments.
I plan to make timing marks on the clutch outerplate, TDC, 1/2 " BTDC etc and then make a pointer fixed to one of the clutch dome fixing screws.

[Steven.Carter]

I'm not sure Julian if you can use the clutch for timing as the engine shock absorber would move around too much but the last time I checked out the timing on my VH I removed the timing cover and used the engine timing sprocket.
I'm just off to work now so will get back to you this eveing with more help.

Steve

[Steven.Carter]

Back to your questions

The instructions were easy to follow but if you run into difficulty they are easy to talk to.
The parts seem very reliable, I have done many thousands of miles on a similar unit in the Huntmaster and now my VH is always a first kick starter.
The timing is done by lining up the centre spinning magnet under the old points cover with a white mark on the pickup, that gets the bike able to start up and then the final fine tuning is done with the strobe. Like I said previousley I took the timing cover off and then timed of the magneto engine sprocket. The manual advance lever works as normal and of course the timing is done with it set to full advance.
I carry with me the old set of points that are easy to put back in case of emergency.

The best place that I found to put the coil was under the tank in the triangle formed by the frame just behind the headstock. It gets some airflow there and is protected from the rain, dont ask me why under the seat doesn't work!!!

Steve