Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories Performance ignition for BA/SM

Does anyone know of any performance ignition stuff ie coils, plug wires for BA/SM?

Iridium plugs, that's about it. No aftermarket coils that are specifically fitted, no nology or jacobs wires that are custom cut, although that probably wouldn't be hard. No ignitors or other gizmos like tuneboys, power commanders, dynatek boxes for the bikes. This is one performance aspect that has been pretty much ignored by the aftermarket to date.

Gill is the manufacturer. Check em out?

GP4 Ignition Module Now tell me that this doesn’t look like our ignitor….


Gill ignitor pdf doc

Another thing is that our cranks are 270 degrees. We might be able to use an ignitor from another manufacturer if we had a bonneville (360). Greg has tried to find aftermarket plug wires. He couldn't. The coils may be interchangeable, but I haven't looked around...

For what it's worth....>

Tbone wrote:
After testing the coils [600ohms cold and 780 ohms hot as per specs]...

Bob Wrote:
These inductive pickup systems are common on bikes but, as an added point, they are found as both single or dual pulse systems. I don't know what Renegade is trying to do but this could be an important difference. Our TBAs are SINGLE pulse systems. Ride on.

RE Legend Ignitor TRIUMPHRAT.net site: "Also contact Baxter Cycle www.baxtercycle.com and check on a used igniter box. There are a couple of good breakers in England too -- can't think of any at the moment, but perhaps some of our Brit friends can help?

I'd strongly advise you to do ohms checks on the wires between the igniter connector and the individual coil connectors before you put out the bucks, though."

Oooops, it's getting close to beer thirty

The numbers on ours are:

1291100
ISS 4
908 MK F1



S/NO OT240055

thanks for the input guys...hey moe, you're right about that igniter...and it's programmable too! so gill must make this as a generic device and sell it to anyone who needs an electronic ignition module...it comes with an RS232 interface and software so is specifically programmed for the vehicle it goes on ie Triumph! the only thing it's lacking is the metal mounting mounting bracket, which again would be make/model specific...wonder what gill charges for it?

btw moe...the numbers on mine are similar to yours except i have ISS 5 and the serial number is of course different...looks like 01380631, all numeric...are you sure yours starts OT or is it 01?

another btw...i spoke with jeff at nology...he tells me he gets a lot of calls from triumph riders about failed coils...seems to be bikes about 2 yrs old and 5000 miles...he says he's told these bikes just died and turns out it was coil(s)...interesting...and i apologize if i'm getting off topic in here, i guess this isn't accessories talk anymore...

Looks like 'T'. The pic here has been reduced in size from the one I was looking at earlier. Do you think Gill would sell to the public? And what to program? Heck, buying a wrecked tba or speedy for $1,000 would be worth every penny if only for the coils, the ignitor and the carbs....Hum, I should look into that.

Who is jeff at nology? err, who is nology?

To get the application package from Gill costs $5k plus a minimum order of 100 ignitors...if I remember correctly...and you can't get Triumph's maps (this is proprietary).

I've tried to get the software to modify the paremeters...and have several packages from Gill but none that works with the GP4...

But with the early models (I think pre 2004) there are other ways to change the igniters parameters. Jojje in sweden reprograms them...and I know how it's done...but I need an early model igniter to mess with...I was able to interface with a non-working unit...but need a working one (one that can be sacrificed) to test...and have been unable to locate one...

Old_Wolf thinks he might need a replacement ignitor (and a coil too).

'You' desire a working ignitor. Those cost over 5 bills. Were there a way to read the parameters of a working ignitor, the blank GP4 could be programmed with those parameters, thus circumventing the proprietary Triumph BS.

Are you looking to read the parameters of a working ignitor?

Seems to me that bikes under warranty have the ignitor you need. ______ _____ ______



I wonder how much ONE unprogrammed GP4 would cost.

In closing, one would think that Triumph would be more concerned with keeping their bikes on the road for reasonable prices, and selling bikes, rather than always taking advantage of current owners looking to replace items that have failed prematurely.

How do you spell proprietary?

B u l l S h * t

Yes there is a way to read and write the parameters from a working (programmed) igniter without using GILL's software.

But it seems GILL/Triumph changed this feature in the later models.

A blank (unprogrammed) igniter is no good without the program...the parameters determine the REV limit and advance curve...

yep, looks like OT to me...maybe mine is a T but is misprinted or worn so it looks like a 1...nology is a company that makes performance ignition stuff for bikes and cars...their website is simply www.nology.com ...jeff is the guy i spoke to there, perhaps the owner, maybe just an employee...he seems to feel that one of their coils is a good replacement for our original ones.

I'm going to bump this topic "to the top", as it is very important.

If it weren't for the stock cast pistons in the Hinckley twins, I'd say forget about the rev limiter function.

And advance curves are much over rated. All you need is retard at start-up, and all advance in by around 3000 rpms. More advance is better - till you get spark knock!

The most important input for street riding/driving (applies to cars, too) is ported vacuum advance, which I don't think these bikes have. (Ported vacuum advance allows much greater timing advance at part throttle, where combustion pressures are lower, so that spart knock is advoided.) The ported vacuum hole is located in the carb body just past the butterfly (intake valve side) and has no vacuum signal at idle. As the butterfly is opened, signal comes in, and then as the butterfly is opened farther, the vacuum drops out. This gives you greater gas mileage at part throttle, but no spark knock when you roll on the gas and go to WOT. Of course, all this can be done with sensors and electronic gizmos these days and have the same effect.

The reason the factory plays it so close to the vest on this igntion stuff is because of smog law requirements they must deal with.

There's lots more to be said on this topic, but it's almost 3:30 AM here in Geezerville and I'm hitting the hay. Retired or not, I still need my zzzzzzzzzzz's. <chuckle>