I have an older Bultaco...an M21 with a registration date of 1966, and as noted above...a four speed. So far, I haven't had any luck sourcing an electronic ignition for the bike. Bultaco UK responded quickly that they had nothing available. ElectrixWorld just refuses to answer my inquiries via e-mail. On the bike now is a Femsa unit with a lighting coil. Do any of you guys have any ideas???

Thanks in advance

Mike

http://www.rexcauntracing.com/pages/ig_bultaco.html

try rex caunt

electrex world are a nightmare

wont answer emails

answer the phone then wont ring you back

i have sent three tz race ignitions back

the coils come loose on the stator

Why do you want to fit electronic ignition?

In my opinion the original FEMSA points set up works well, so changing this and fitting electronic would be the last thing I would do. Other peoples bikes I have tried with electronic seem to me no better performance than my own. I own 4 Sherpa's and an Alpina from a model 10 through to M199 and never had a starting problem. I have had condenser issues but these are easily sorted when mounted next to the coil. I do keep the points in good condition and take a lot of care setting the timing. About an hours maintenance once a year is all it takes. I will admit to owning two Bikes with electronic ignition (M120/M215) but Bultaco fitted these as standard.

I have heard good things about the units sold by Inmotion but two friends who have fitted different electronic units (both types mentioned above not from Inmotion) have both had failures in less than 2 years. Both claimed the main reason for going electronic was to reduce maintenance.

Stuart.

The campera came stock from Bultaco with a femsatronic ignition. They are hard to come by in working order now,but you can still buy nos ones from Hugh's Bultaco in New York. Be warned they are expensive and do have a shelf life. Believe it or not a 40 year old electronic ignition can go bad just sitting on a shelf. The phenolic coating on the capacitors inside the components will deteriorate and cause problems. It's easiest and quite inexpensive to retrofit the femsa points system. Having said that..... Femsatronic or motoplat systems in working order will provide better spark and quicker rise time which does result in better throttle response. And an ignition that is in working order that is regularly used should work indefinitely so long as connections are tight and the system has a proper kill button.

Steve

Don't mean to hijack this post but..... What would you classify as a " proper kill switch"

One of the many reasons an electronic ignition would go bad with Bultaco was because a kill switch was NOT used to stop the engine. Sometimes they would break when the rider fell or someone would take it apart and not reconnect it properly. You could connect the switch two different ways and both would work to kill the engine but one way would damage the electronics. Another thing people did was remove the spark lead to kill the motor and this would instantly damage the system. Sounds ridiculous to say but believe it or not his happened constantly. I saw many ignitions ruined by people removing the plug lead. Mainly though femsa electronics were touch and go at best. The rule of thumb we had was if it worked beyond two weeks from new then it likely would be fine forever. Many times this wasn't the case and they just quit for no reason. Switching to femsa points really does make sense It's cheap and reliable and if done right requires almost no maintenance

Steve

Interesting. I did not know the M21 had electronic ignition. I just assumed the FEMSA points set up similar to my M10.

I have always wondered why with the company's knowledge of electronic ignition they kept with the points for Trials models. Cost could be an issue but I suspect that the performance gains were just not worth the change with these relatively low revving engines. I would be interested to know more.

Stuart

Steve,

So what would be the best way to have a kill switch wired/operate? So as to not damage anything?

Thanks!

Mark G

I have always wondered why with the company's knowledge of electronic ignition they kept with the points for Trials models. Cost could be an issue but I suspect that the performance gains were just not worth the change with these relatively low revving engines. I would be interested to know more.

Stuart

The points ign was said (by the factory) to provide hotter spark at low rpm - more suitable for trials. Whether that was true or just a cover in an attempt to justify the cheaper cost I don't know.

The points ign was said (by the factory) to provide hotter spark at low rpm - more suitable for trials. Whether that was true or just a cover in an attempt to justify the cheaper cost I don't know.

Very well said, there is no advance in using a electronic ignition for engines that run mostly in low rpm. The benefit powerwise is the dynamic timing of the ignition which first comes to effect at half throttle.

In low rpm the spark as said is even worse then with a points ignition. The remaining benefit is less maintaince, but to be honest you have to ride a lot before an ignition has to be readjusted or even replaced.

I had 1969 250 Bultaco trials and the points never gave any trouble at all. Even if the bike had been totally submerged in water a quick clean with a bit of folded paper between the points got it going again.

Do points give a hotter spark? They give a longer duration spark compared to basic electronic ignition. You would have to compare the waveforms of both spark types on an oscilloscope to see which had the higher kV and which the higher duration and total energy.

I have an older Bultaco...an M21 with a registration date of 1966, and as noted above...a four speed. So far, I haven't had any luck sourcing an electronic ignition for the bike. Bultaco UK responded quickly that they had nothing available. ElectrixWorld just refuses to answer my inquiries via e-mail. On the bike now is a Femsa unit with a lighting coil. Do any of you guys have any ideas???

Thanks in advance

Mike

Hey Mike, Femsa ignition is bullet proof. That little M21 did over 6000 miles on the same plug and points. Where is my article? Get cracking!