TOPIC:

Hello,

I mentioned in an earlier post that with my Dyna S ignition and Dyna green coils installed on my 1978 KZ1000, the charging system could not keep up with the power demands of the Dyna ignition components. I also mentioned that when I use the factory ignition points along with the Dyna green coils, the charging system works great. Also, when I test the charging system according to the Clymer manual, everything seems to be OK.

This post is a follow up. I did some additional testing. As it turns out, I have an MSD MC-1 ignition box on my KZ based dragbike so I decided to install it on my 1978 KZ1000.
The MDS setup includes: the MC-1 ignition box, Dyna green coils, and Dyna S (used as the trigger).

This is the results of that test: the MSD system used about the same power as the factory points setup. I do not have an amp meter so all I could measure was the system voltage at the battery. Both the MSD and points setup maintained 13.5 VDC @ 2000RPM. At 3000RPM the system voltage rose to around 13.8 VDC. I saw over 14VDC and around 6000RPM. These voltage measurements where seen during several tests even after starting the engine numerous times and with a short (1 to 2 minute) run time to let the voltage stabilize. I did not charge the battery with an external battery charger either before or after each test. I believe these results would be similar to running your bike in stop-and-go traffic, making short trips or making several stops between your departure and final destination..

So could this ignition setup be the base of both worlds: offering low power demands (like the factory points) and a high-performance, electronic (i.e. set-it and forget-it) ignition? Also, the MSD uses a multi-spark discharge (hence MSD) which provides much improved combustion at lower RPMs. The Dyna S does not even come close.

Some addition notes: the older MC-1 box is kind of big and the current MC-3 box is not cheap. I believe the current MC-3 system [non Pro Stock version] has the same power demands as the older MC-1 system I have - when used with 3 ohm coils

Pawkz1k

As long as this set up works well for you and doesn't require too much power, then that's a bonus.

I've got a Kawi electronic Ignition from an early '80s model KZ in my '78 kz650. The Kawi elec systems do not draw the amount of power the Dyna systems do.
Just finding a kawi elec. Ign. would be the hurdle, as they are a dying breed, meaning less available used over the years.

I had a Dyna S system on for years, until one side fried for some apparent reason. Went back to points for some years, then found the kawi unit.