Question about breaker points

** We have compressed air and spray guns these times. Blowing paint from the mouth over a hand on rock walls was a good idea in the day. The dancing gals probably loved a man with ochre hands 😉
 
I cannot help thinking a coat of rust converter around those engine bits might help, says the bloke who has exactly that on the list of stuff to do for his rear brake links and toque arm for the last 2 or 3 years.
 
TeddyG said:
Thanks once again guys- it's hard to tell, but the dirty felt wiper appears to still have some thickness where it presses along the shaft- too bad it can't be removed to replace or clean. I'm sure others have tried this, but I did a search for Bosch ZVUB1Z1Z stamped on the plate, but nothing appears since it's been discontinued.

1200ts- not sure what the "auto advance" looks like- I just see a shaft that the two "blocks" and felt pad press against- please elaborate, thank you.
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The auto advance is the part that turns and opens the points. The auto advance cam is what the points and felt pads rub on. Behind the points plate are bob weights that move out with increasing RPM's to advance the ignition timing. If you remove the points plate, what is left behind it is the auto advance. It is held to the shaft coming out of the motor by two screws. You must periodically clean and grease the auto advance or it will wear out! The clip on the end of the shaft in your picture is what holds it all together. Remove the clip and clean and grease it including the bob weight pivot pins. If maintenance is neglected on this part you will eventually have to fit an electronic ignition from it being worn out. If you can feel excessive side play on the cam, it is already worn out.

The auto advance Laverda used is no different than what Lucas made for any 1960's Triumph, BSA, Norton...........etc.
 
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I see the point 😺 with going electronic, however I know people who have wind-up wrist watches, a bit like points.
This thread could be sewn together with the BMW wiring and electronics one.
 
Wind up watches don't self-destruct... they eventually just stop working and cry out for TLC, especially if they haven't been maintained properly.

Badly adjusted/worn/knackered points can take half the engine out, turning retro-conservatism into a quite costly exercise.

I have rarely come across a points-equipped twin or multi engine (Laverda or otherwise, even 80's jap bikes can be a pita at times) that was straightforward to time. The wear and tear in the points, auto. advance mechanism and the mounting plates usually require one or more set of points to be set at an incorrect gap to attain even timing on all cylinders. Once this is achieved, it rarely lasts for long, like about a couple of hours of running, max. This may be quite OK for tootling around the block/to the pub/a leisurely Sunday morning jaunt, but use the bike in anger, you're looking for trouble. Tired and worn engines can stand more abuse than healthy ones with decent compression pressures, 5° ignition offset (not at all uncommon with points!) can make itself felt very quickly.

For top performance and reliability, the entire points system needs to be absolutely top-notch, something very, very rare these days. There's not much in the way of NOS on many shelves any more.

piet
 
I have an old forklift with an Nissan Industrial petrol motor that does a couple of hours a week if lucky. Points for it are readily available but the quality is absolute shite and they last 6 months if you are lucky.
 
Disclaimer:
I see valid "points" to both opinions, but to those promoting electronic ignitions, please advise which brands work the best and are easiest to install w/ good instructions and support, thank you. My goal in sorting this bike out is to make it a reliable runner. Thank you all once again- I've been learning much from this Forum.
 
Points on an SF tooling around at Paul's pace are fine but on an SFC I find it's critical that the ignition to be spot on for optimum running.
Probably a reason why Laverda built the Electronica.
Also points supply are no longer available and I don't want to fuck around modifying something to suit.
Set and forget
 
Tippie said:
I see the point 😺 with going electronic, however I know people who have wind-up wrist watches, a bit like points.
This thread could be sewn together with the BMW wiring and electronics one.
Click to expand...
I have several self winding and manual wind watches and they all need routine cleaning and service.
I’m wearing a plastic digital Swatch/Omega now and all it needs is a battery once in a while. And it keeps better time than the collectibles!
 
Ignitech, Sachse and MotoWitt are the most commonly discussed here. I have ignitech on my bikes, but it involved fabricating and modifying parts myself for the trigger assembly, especially as one bike has 90 deg crank (270 motor). I believe Redax has a ready to fit system available, but not 100% sure. Ignitech is programmable with a laptop, lots you can do. The others have preset advance curves to select from but they all work fine. Wolfgang in Canada is your nearest source, it would pay to give him a call and ask for options. I ran the points on my road SF until a few years ago, never a problem, same as many people. Workshops usually get the absolute worst of jobs in and I understand their scepticism to points. Previously for decades I used the electronic triggers and unit from a Suzuki with a modified Lav centrifugal advance from the points system, that was also set and forget, there are lots of possibilities.
 
...as you say Tippie, people used to ask me "what is a good VCR" how would i know, all i see/saw ( pun there..not its not, grin ) were 8-14 VCR repairs on my bench per day... better question would have been "what VCR do you not see on the repair bench" your workshop observance is insightful, man of the world, j.
 
My 73 SF (original points) had an intermittent fault on the left cylinder. I was on the road and no access to many tools. Cleaning up all the connections to and from the points, cleaning up the points and setting the gap took a few minutes and all was well for the 700 or so miles of the rest of my trip. Therefore I am minded to keep the points. I have found what look like the correct old Bosch points and also a set of new points intended for 1960s Mercedes. When i can I will offer them up to the Laverda points housing and see if they look correct. I will keep you updated.
 
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