ignition coil question

[TimWylie]

I have never really worked on a motorcycle before. Always do my own truck repairs. But I bought my first bike 2 years ago and its time to replace plugs and wires. I found out you cant replace the wires without replacing the ignition coils. I have a 1975 gl1000. I found on ebay Dynatek Performance Dyna Dual Output 3ohm ignition coil with wires. Says use with Honda gl1000 4 cyl bikes. Coil part # is: DC1-1 Wire part number: DW-200
Before I make the purchase I just want to confirm im buying the right part! Comes with two coils and the wires can be replaced with them instead of the original part. any help would be great! Dying to ride again!!! Thanks!!!

[aussiegold]

first thing to do, would be to check your coils and see if they test ok. also snip a whisker off each plug lead and test them as well. and then the caps.
no point buying new coils if yours are still serviceable. the original wires are ( i believe ) copper wire cored and will last a long long time. the coils will fail eventually i suppose.
of course, if you want to buy new coils, those are the ones for your bike. if you fit those coils with points , you still need the ballast resistor. if your bike has a dyna points replacement system, then the ballast can be done away with. have a read of randakkks blog on the subject . it's all there in one place. here is a link.
http://www.randakksblog.com/ballast-res ... procedure/ it's a rather long read but it contains good info.
good luck with it...

[TimWylie]

When I started this project I had no idea about the cables not being changeable. The cables and ignition coils are all original parts. Not in good shape. Im so new to working on this I have no idea about point systems or anything. I'll have a read on the link you sent. Thanks for the help!

[Fred Camper]

New coils are worth the investment many times when caught in the rain. Hairline cracks develop over 40 years and work fine until wet. So typically a good investment.

[TimWylie]

How do I know if my bike has the dyna point system so that I don't need a new ballast resistor? Sorry for my ignorance. Learning as I go from you wonderful people!

[Fred Camper]

Dynamic points use an electronic box but if you are not familiar it may be tough to find. Pull the cover off the ignition point cover on the rear of the left cylinder head.

If you see a pair of mechanical switches then you have points.

If you see two electronic pickup switches then you have an electronic unit and can follow the wires to find the control box and brand of electronic ignition.

[sfruechte]

I still have the original coil and wires on my 77 with 223,000 miles. I have replaced the plug caps which screw into the original copper core wires with a little left hand threaded copper screw. Copper is pretty hard to beat for longevity.

[BurnsYoFace34]

Does anyone know if we can use coils of the cb 750 800 or 900 or what interchangeable options are there

[Rambozo]

If you search here, you can find info on using Dodge Neon coils, if you have electronic ignition. If you still have points, I would say any wasted spark type coils, like a CB750 would work fine. The trick would be if they physically fit and the wires are long enough. I know some 750s had removable wires, while others are permanent with the coils.

[BurnsYoFace34]

Gotcha I still have points but I’m experiencing 1 cyclender with great fire then the other 3 cylinders have a weak fire so I was just wandering if there was any cheaper solutions to coils other than the dynas

[DenverWinger]

Often overlooked on these bikes with points are the ignition capacitors. Back when cars had points, when you bought a new set of points a new capacitor was included...

A failing capacitor can cause weak spark and cause the point contacts to burn out more quickly.

[BurnsYoFace34]

Where are the capacitors located what do they look like

[BurnsYoFace34]

Are you talking about the condenser that is next to the battery that the advanced timing wire runs to

[DenverWinger]

Should be two of them.