TOPIC:

New set of points and condensers from a local store will cost me $90 CAD total and will arrive by next week Friday.

Dyna - S DS2-2 from Z1 costs $265 CAD total after conversions and probably arrive around the same time.

Which would you do if you need to tune up your ignition system? I would need to replace my points 3 times for the electronic to be worth it, but parts are gonna be harder and harder to get over time. Already found it pretty hard after contacting 8 stores including Kawasaki dealers to finally find some. If the points were much cheaper, in the $50 bucks range I would definitely do that. But now I'm wondering if I should splurge for the electronic upgrade. Thoughts?

I’ve been using points and condensers since my bike was new (62,000+ miles). I always keep spares on hand, and I buy them when I see a good deal. The part numbers for the points are 21008-027 and 21008-028; the part number for the condenser is 21013-037. I believe these parts or their aftermarket twins will be available for MANY years to come.

The $90 price you quoted looks VERY high to me; if you look on eBay you’ll see what I mean. Ed

$90 CAD for points!
Robbery.

Points $7.50 USD each from Z1Enterprises.com plus shipping . If you choose US mail then you would have them in about a week.

I checked siriusconinc.com located in Southern Ontario and unfortunately they are out of stock on their ignition kit which contains a pair of points and condensers for $24 CAD + shipping..

Thanks for mentioning that store! I have been trying to find any parts store that carries the points but had no luck. I contacted them to see if they have any indication of stock coming in soon. That would definitely be the ideal solution. Yeah $90 is steep, I was expecting much less.

If you have a single phase charging system I'd stick with the points.
Steve

SWest wrote: If you have a single phase charging system I'd stick with the points.
Steve

His should be the first-year Kz650 which is 3-phase, with field coil.

After that they were 1-phase with permanent magnet for a couple years, then went to 3-phase with permanent magnet..

A pic of the alternator cover will help identify it.
Steve

The points cover?



Crappy pic but it's what I could find right now, cropped into the cover area. Found this online that it looks like:



EDIT: actually after looking at it again, the above pic has two bolt holes on the bottom where as mine has one on top, one on the bottom. I can't find any examples of that exact one after a quick image search...I can take a pic of it tonight.

See how the face of that alternator cover is smooth? The 1977 one will have 3 screws in a triangle pattern on the face. That makes it a 3-phase stator with a field coil.

Does that mean points or electronic is better in my case? I definitely understand that properly set points will work great but I'd still like to know my options for the future.

BTW luckily I was able to source some points and condensers for total $35 bucks CAD !!! Going to pick them up today, got lucky Hoping this store stocks them for a while, most of the other stores seemed to hint at points not getting restocked anytime soon.

A Dyna S should work on most Kz650's without any problem. Since yours is the early charging system, it should have no problem. The 1977 system is the most powerful when working properly, but it is also complicated and somewhat more expensive to get parts for.

Just to be clear, the Kz650B1 and Kz650C1 are both 1977 models.
B2/C2 was 1978
B3/C3 was 1979
etc.

lakshan wrote: Does that mean points or electronic is better in my case? .........

It depends. On cars, trucks, bikes, etc. that originally came with electronic ignition switching to points would not be good. On machines that came with points switching to electronic ignition can be good or bad depending on the luck of the draw.

Even though points gradually degrade over miles I have not read of any instances where points goes from working fine to not working at all and leave the rider stranded. Because they do tend to degrade over thousands of miles they do require periodic replacement to keep the bike running at full performance, but they really are quite reliable. With normal, occasional maintenance they work just fine, and they are not terribly expensive to replace. The tools required to properly install and set points are not expensive.

When set up correctly installing electronic ignition on a machine that came with points can be good in that electronic ignition does not require periodic maintenance. However, because electronic ignition systems generally fail hard if they do fail there is a risk of being stranded if the electronic ignition suffers a problem. I have read of several instances where this has happened. Also, switching from points to electronic ignition requires a fairly substantial outlay of cash.

Personally, if a vehicle came with points I would not replace them with electronic ignition, and if a vehicle came with electronic ignition I would not replace it with points. Ed