Stock CDI vs. Dyna

Hello everyone, I'm in the process of going through my harness. The fuse block was melted, & there's quite a bit of scotch locked wires tapped in from the previous owner, & some pretty poor connections through out.
I've ordered a manual so I'll have a schematic to work with. I'd like to re-wire it & keep it as clean & simple as possible.
I've already made my fuse block (converted to blades). I've got a few questions;

1; Would now be the time to convert the ignition system from CDI to Dyna? Is that even really necessary? If it's advised, is that something that can be done relatively easily later?
2: I'd like to get rid of the instrument cluster set up, & was looking for maybe a single gauge set up with just a tac or a speedo, and an oil light. I'm having a hard time finding a source. Any other suggestions would be welcome.

The bike is an 82Kz1100 A2 Shaft
Thanks

www.acewell-meter.com/
These people seem popular for a digital dash set up.

There are a lot of options out there. The only limitations are funds and mechanical aptitude. I use a Trail tech vapor.
Here is a picture of mine from my build thread (page 5). I have used this unit for 2 years before I started all the upgrades.

www.kzrider.com/forum/11-projects/592092...nix-fighter?start=80

www.trailtech.net/digital-gauges/vapor

Thanks for the input. I'm confident I've the aptitude, it's the time & money that hinder the process.
I do think Trail tech Vapor seems reasonably priced. I've also seen some on Dime City Cycles that have a more retro look to them.

I've been out of the riding scene for over 15yrs, so there's a lot of options I never knew I had.

The factory electronic igntiion is more efficient than the Dyna S. (It is not a CDI, even though it's often called that. It's actually a transistorized kettering ignition.)

If money is a factor, the Dyna S will cost you about $100 and that would require 3-ohm coils, which will set you back another $100 or $150. If the factory system is working, I would stick with it.

If the factory igniter goes out, you can build one for very cheap, and the parts are easy to get.

If your coils go out, then I'd get new 3 ohm coils, so in the future, you can convert to the Dyna S if you really want to. 3 ohm coils will work with both systems.

Thank you. That's good solid info.
As long as everything works when I'm done, I'm not going to worry about it until there's a problem.

Agreed with Lou, if you have to buy new old stock oem transistorised ignition and coils , then going for new dyna makes sense. Otherwise, In my opinion, the original factory ignition system is very good, and unless you are going for a fancy programmable ignition on a stage 3 tune then I can't see the benefit.

A certain quite well known UK tuning company who were very good with their own drag race projects were of the same opinion when I spoke to them about this.

New HT leads, coil terminals and replaced/cleaned up block connectors makes a big difference on a 30 year old system. I suspect a lot of 'improvements' are down to this alone. I have dyna ignition and coils( plus rpm limiter) on my tuned 550, works great thanks and no complaints at all - just not sure if any better than stock.

All right then, I'll stick to my original plan. Actually might be kind of a nice project once I get the schematic here.
It will be satisfying to have everything cleaned up. It's a mess in there now.

And I'm not going for super tuned machine. The bike is used for day trips & as a daily driver. So more important to me is reliability.

[strike]The Dyna S works perfectly with the stock coils.[/strike] I don't think it's an upgrade over the stock electronic ignition system Kawasaki used (which as mentioned, is NOT a CDI system). Ignitors are readily available and cheap in the secondary market so just pick up a spare if you are concern about it failing. Oh and speaking of coils again, it's an easy matter to chance the wires and plug caps to freshen up that part of the system. Z1 Enterprises sells all the pertinent components.

EDIT: I was wrong about the resistance of the stock coils. Thought they were higher.

Nessism wrote: The Dyna S works perfectly with the stock coils...

Dyna says the lower limit to coil resistance for the Dyna S is 3 ohms. Stock is 2.3 ohms.

They even put it in all caps.



Using a coil that is out of recommended spec may work, but it is stressing the electronics more than the manufacturer had intended. There are many threads on KZR with Dyna S problems. It would be a bad idea to stress it more than necessary.

Thanks everyone for the input. It seems as if it's not an "upgrade", and stock is reliable. I was asking mostly because as I'll have the harness out, would it be something easier to do now than later. And that does not appear to be the case regardless.

I ran into problems running the stock IC ignitor setup with my ELR clone. I am using a Koso RX1 tach and speedo. I was never able to get the Koso tach to work right with the stock IC ignitor setup. The tach needle would bounce all over the place and I tried everything to fix it. The tech dept. at Koso were also unable to fix the problem.
I tried filters, tapping into different signal sources, changed coils, wires, ignitor boxes, new pickup coils, ect. The solution came when a stock pickup coil burned out. I decided instead of putting another old ignition system in I swapped the whole thing out for a Dyna S. Problem solved. Now the tach is stable and the gauge works great.
As far as the stock setup being reliable, it wasn't for me. I went through several IC boxes, pickup coils and coils. They all ended up failing. The Dyna S however I have in all my bikes now, my KZ650 has had a Dyna S in it for about 30 years and I have not had any problem with it.