contact felt

michipons

michipons

Hero member
Location
Palma de Mallorca
Hi!

I was changing the contacts, provided by Wolfang, when I realised that the felt looked pretty wear... How bad is it? how important is it to have it in good condition? is it possible to change it for normal hobby shop felt, or it has to be an specific one? if I change it... which way to go? remove the rivet and substitute for an small screw? or should I find the spare part and make no improvisation? or leave it like it is.... (scratch) (scratch)

Miguel

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No, he's talking about the small rivet holding the felt on, Ernesto. The felt looks usable to me - still makes contact with the points cam, so I'd leave it - a drop of oil on it should do the trick.
 
Ernesto said:
Hello, Miguel.
Are you talking about the points (contacts) or the condensers (because you mentioned rivets)?
Normally there is no reason to change the condensers.
And the points can be changed without touching the rivets, just remove the screws and the nuts
holding the cable connector and isolation plates.
Adjusting the gap correctly to 0,4mm is very important.

Ernesto
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Hi Ernesto,
I was talking about the felt, this little piece of tissue that cleans/lubricate the spindle. It is attached to the metal spring with a rivet, which makes it difficult to substitute. The contacts are new now
Miguel
 
Dellortoman said:
I'd recommend that you change the felt Miguel. Change it to an electronic ignition system.  ;)
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yes... something I've been considering... same as air filter and few other things, like the rear shocks... but finally I decided, that before starting to change things, I will make it run nicely with its original stuff, and then I will start to renew what I don't like, otherwise i start to change and I never end (drink)
Miguel
 
Your felt is pierced by that stupid pointed metal centre. They all wear like that and the point wears the points cam as well.
You can use ordinary felt. I did it once with orange felt, a very fast bike.
However, I found that using a screw limited the adjustment possibility of the adjacent point.

I would recommend changing the metal tongue for a flat ended one and using a small rivet.

Paul
 
Paul Marx said:
Your felt is pierced by that stupid pointed metal centre. They all wear like that and the point wears the points cam as well.

Paul
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Didn't notice that, Paul. Does the stupid metal centre need to be that long?
 
It needs to be that long so as to apply the felt correctly on the cam but it doesn't have to be that sharp.
That spike wears the cam on the auto advance after going through the felt.
A nice serrated edge or some glue should be enough.

Paul
 
Instead of the felt, I would be much more worried about the fact you still have the original 40 year old condensers. Replace them with any automotive one that will fit.  I have had them fail and it's usually when it's getting dark and cold.

Also if the auto advance mechanism is still in good shape, there is no advantage to fitting electronic ignition other than less maintenance. Not keeping the auto advance spindle and weights greased is what kills them.
 
The condensers are working for the time. I did a full maintenance of the autoadvance and the points, if some day something stop working, then I will consider to change to electronic, for the time, i will enjoy riding a system I can understand :LOL:
Miguel
 
Nice work Miguel.
I'll have to do some of mine one day, the metal is wearing the points cam.
I have plenty of orange felt.
:D

Paul
 
Dellortoman said:
Now you can throw it away and fit an electronic ignition.  ;)
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:LOL: :LOL:I knew somebody would say that! i guess that is a matter of time that I fell into the stream and change it, but at least I have restored and brought to operation the old one! and then it will rest with peace and dignity :LOL: :LOL:

Miguel
 
I ran points on my SF1 for 100,000km Paul - and I can assure you, I didn't go through 1.75 sets of points in that time. I fitted a modded Suzuki ND system from a GS1000 using the original mechanical advance unit and did all that mileage and more, never once having a single failure.

I was also able to remove and refit the primary cover as many times as I wished and never had to reset anything, just line up the marks. I totally agree with you that the SF points system is excellent and reliable - but you'll never convince me it's a better alternative than well designed elec ignition.

You can argue all you like, but how much would be willing to bet that if the factory had access to a decent elec ignition system in 1972 like those used on Japanese bikes from the late 70s onwards, that they wouldn't have fitted them? Obviously with the SF line at the very end of its lifespan in 1976, they wouldn't bother upgrading the SF3, but they did produce the Elettronica.

But thank you so much for providing us the opportunity to perpetuate this wonderful thread ... Paul and his points vs THE WORLD!!  :-*
 
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