Jump to content

Electronic Ignition for 348/349 Cota


nh014
 Share

Recommended Posts

Electrex World (www.electrexworld.co.uk) offers an electronic ignition conversion for the 348 / 349 Cotas (kit #STK-349). I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has made the conversion and can comment on the installation and subsequent performance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Electrex World (www.electrexworld.co.uk) offers an electronic ignition conversion for the 348 / 349 Cotas (kit #STK-349). I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has made the conversion and can comment on the installation and subsequent performance.

Hi

Haven't used the Electrex conversion on a montesa trials, but have fitted one on my Maico 490 twinshock MX bike [well, everyone's got to have a secret summer life, haven't they...]and will say that quality is of high order, fitting straightforward and as mine was one of the first they'd done, Electrex were absolutely brill when it came to advice etc. Made a HUGE difference to starting the bike [could start it sitting down with left leg which, if you know anything about Maico starting habits...]and also ran lots smoother and cleaner low down [it may well have more "hit" but I've never been brave enough to find out!].

I would imagine that it might not be so dramatic on a Cota 348/9 but would be very surprised if it didn't make significant improvememnt.

Hope that's helpful

Will-in-the-mud :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
 
 
 
 

I can't speak for the reliability but this is an alternative.

http://www.powerdynamo.biz/eng/systems/7190/7190acmain.htm

Provides lighting too, which the Electrex one doesn't. Similar prices. But still a lot of money for something that you can't fix yourself if it goes wrong.

I saved my money and mastered setting up the points properly (with help from David Taylor who is on this forum).

I moved the condensor to a mount on the HT coil, which works well (cooler location).

Using a Lucas DBC203C is preferable to the stock condensor.

The advantage of staying with points is you can tune the bike to give milder (or wilder) power simply.

After a few goes I have a bike that starts hot or cold, ticks over steadily and pulls great.

Cheers Bill

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I saved my money and mastered setting up the points properly (with help from David Taylor who is on this forum).

The advantage of staying with points is you can tune the bike to give milder (or wilder) power simply.

After a few goes I have a bike that starts hot or cold, ticks over steadily and pulls great.

I have a 349 that I've been riding for years and never even looked at the points. I suppose it's about time...can you elicit more on how tuning affects power band? You can adjust timing with either points or solid state, so I assume you're talking about playing with dwell.

TIA,

Sam

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I have a 349 that I've been riding for years and never even looked at the points. I suppose it's about time...can you elicit more on how tuning affects power band? You can adjust timing with either points or solid state, so I assume you're talking about playing with dwell.

TIA,

Sam

Hi Sam

Good to hear you have a reliable machine there.

Once the points are set accurately at 3mm BTDC with a gap of 0.4mm you have a range of adjustment by varying the points gap alone.

A gap of 0.35mm gives softer (retarded) power, good for loose and slippy ground.

A gap of 0.45mm gives quicker pick up (advanced), say when you want to lift the front end easily for a lot of rocks, logs big wheelies on the driveway.

If you set the initial setting to 2.7mm BTDC then you will have more retardation and even smoother power delivery, although more body action is needed to get the front end up.

Go steady on advancing the timing too far though (say 3.5mm BTDC), don't want a holed piston!

Cheers Bill

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I don't know the cause of the problem, only that the bikes just wouldn't run properly at all. Whatever the cause, it's not sorted yet.

Woody,

Thanks for the reply. As the person who initiated this ignition development with Electrex, I was a little concerned to find that there were issues with this system. I was loosely involved with the initial development and tested the initial design on my Mont 348, although only functional checks were carried out. I recieved my pre-prod ignition mid last year but for various reasons never got round to fitting the system until late Dec - usual thing, overtaken by events! However, when I did, I noticed that the ign backplate can foul the crankcase oil seal holder, depending on whether the original retaining bolts and locking plate are fitted, and this can stop the ign backplate seating properly. The original ign plate is scallopped to avoid this. I worked round it by placing a small washer between the backplate and each locating lug, which then seats the back plate squarely and the bike runs fine.

That said, I spoke to Electrex at Telford on Saturday. They were aware of the issue and they have redesigned the backplate to resolve this. Ironically, the engine I gave them to develop this did not have the problem! Spanish quality control of the 70's? Anyway, they are also sending me a replacement backplate, free of charge, so can you pass this on those that had issues, so they can contact Electrex direct. Thanks for raising the issue and I hope this will go some way to resolving it?

Kind regards

RMM

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Interesting to know that, thanks for the info.

I know the 2 people who have bought the iginition, but I can't give any specifics as to what the cause of the problem was as I don't know and neither have Electrex offered a solution as yet. Neither of them has mentioned anything about the backplate fouling the seal carrier though, so I'm not sure that it was an issue (both bikes are MH349) However, if that is an issue Electrex know about and was a possible cause I'd have thought they could have rectified the problem by now.

Both were at the show this weekend so I'm guessing that they have both been to speak to Electrex to find out what is going on, as it has been dragging on for months. If it was me, my frustration with the suppliers at their apprarent inability to resolve this would have gone past boiling point long ago.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Hey Common guys and girls

Think about how many times those bikes have won competitions without electronic stuff. If you have a problem riding them with the bare essentials get out of twin shock. Leave it the way it is. My is fine the way it is. My 348 and 2 247's have not missed a bit in over 20 years. Think about it and the cost and the problems you may have are just not worth it. See ya

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Hey Common guys and girls

Think about how many times those bikes have won competitions without electronic stuff. If you have a problem riding them with the bare essentials get out of twin shock. Leave it the way it is. My is fine the way it is. My 348 and 2 247's have not missed a bit in over 20 years. Think about it and the cost and the problems you may have are just not worth it. See ya

Belldane

I'd be glad to stay with the standard ignition, but my original post in this column comes with some mild desperation. I've been riding my '77' 348 continuosly for 34 years now, but over the past two or three years I've been plagued with points corrosion, that requires that I run a file over the points if I let it set for more than one week. I've changed points, using both EFFI and Motoplat, changed condensors (yes, it is mounted under the tank), changed coils, and changed stators, but can't seem to correct the problem. Hence my question about an electronic ignition.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Belldane

I'd be glad to stay with the standard ignition, but my original post in this column comes with some mild desperation. I've been riding my '77' 348 continuosly for 34 years now, but over the past two or three years I've been plagued with points corrosion, that requires that I run a file over the points if I let it set for more than one week. I've changed points, using both EFFI and Motoplat, changed condensors (yes, it is mounted under the tank), changed coils, and changed stators, but can't seem to correct the problem. Hence my question about an electronic ignition.

Corrosion sounds more of an "atmospheric" issue that would probably affect electronic ignition in time also.

As said by others, points are generally reliable, and much cheaper to replace.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Belldane

...but over the past two or three years I've been plagued with points corrosion, that requires that I run a file over the points if I let it set for more than one week.

If I were you I'd try changing the points and condenser for new ones, both at the same time. Perhaps you've already done this, but even if you have it might be a worthwhile gamble to try again. My own experience has been that once a set of points has been filed/sanded they never work the same again - good to get you through a riding weekend but not much more.

Sam

Edited by samandkimberly
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
  • Create New...