The Hodaka Club Forum

Hey everyone,

I'm gathering info on electronic ignitions. I had a rough weekend on my 95 (Combat Wombat) pertaining to points. I had to clean them a couple times to get spark on a single day. I figure that I need to wire clean/replace my points, but a friend mentioned to go to electronic ignition...more reliability, more power, less fuss. Do any of you that have gone electronic ignitions have any pointers to systems you like? I see Hodaka-parts sells PVL, DC plastics sells HPI, and then there is the Powerdynamo MZ-B VAPE and probably others I have no idea about.

Thanks for your input.
Jay

The old saying is that if points are getting pitted it is the sign of the wrong gap or bad/wrong condenser. The wider gap seems to indicate less burning. Cleaning of filing burnt points never worked for me. --------------- Clarence

Thanks Clarence. I just replaced my condenser with one I purchased from NAPA so that could be an issue. Electronic ignitions sound like a good alternative but I'm on the fence from pulling the trigger to purchase since they are pricey. Look to see if others think they are worth the money or not.

From everything that I have heard and read, they are a great improvement in performance. However, I have never invested in one so I have no personal experience. That said, I have not experienced any issues with my points systems (knock on wood).

Your NAPA condenser is just fine if it is between .25Mf and .27Mf. Did you install new points at the same time as the condenser?

Hey Dale! Missed you at Boise this weekend. I will check my condenser to make sure it's in the correct range. I didn't install new points when I did change the condenser as I thought they looked good. Sounds like being cheap bit me in the butt again.

I can lend eager support for the PVL ignition. I have a Super Rat, Two Combat Wombats and a Suzuki TM125 that all have PVL ignitions with a combined 80 hours of hard racing and many times that in practice and trail riding. The have performed flawlessly and I have not touched them once. Excellent upgrade. I believe it does not kick the bike out of the classic class if AHRMA racing interests you.

Thanks Matt! Your post has pushed me off the fence.

Groovie. Mine were all installed by Hodaka Dave - perfectly. That fact is 100% of the reason they've worked perfectly, 100% of the reason I wanted them installed by a pro and 100% of the reason I didn't try to do it myself. You may have the juice to install it yourself. One additional advantage is that you can use the more intense Iridium spark plugs. You will notice an immediately apparent increase in snap off the throttle - especially mid-power band to rev out. It just keeps ripping. Awesome.