Banshee PMA setup with TCI?

So i've been searching the net looking for someone who has done a pma while retaining stock electronic ignition. the charging system on my bike is unpredictable and im thinking about going the banshee route except im balling on a budget and i dont want to do both pma and an aftermarket ignition system. i saw a thread by user "nj1639" in which he epoxied a rare earth magnet to a points ignition rotor enabling him to use it on a tci bike. the idea i have is to epoxy a rare earth magnet to the banshee flywheel and then make a custom mount for the pickup coil or even mounting the pickup to the "yamaha" alternator cover. im fairly new to xs's and what im basically asking is does this sound like it would work? i dont mind if the pickup coil protrudes from the side of the case as it wont be the ugliest thing about my "trashcan". if anyone has seen this or anything like it done or any advice for me on carrying this out i would really appreciate it

thanks - xsbird

i guess anything can be done although i haven't heard of anyone using a pma setup with tci. you'd have to get that magnet on the flywheel pretty precise to keep your timing right. custom mounting your pickup coil would likely leave it unprotected to the elements and of course look like sin.

could be an interesting project for someone but i think you would create much less of a headache for yourself by just testing and fixing what you got. especially if you can't swing the aftermarket iggy at the moment...

i know i would be better off fixing the original system but i just cant stand it. most of the time it works fine but sometimes lights will go dim while riding and i have to get as close to home as possible before the battery dies. i have a whopping $150 (lol) tax return and im looking to invest that in a pma. im pretty good with metal work and making my own brackets so i think it should be doable on that budget. i haven't heard of anyone doing pma with tci either and ive searched high and low but im sure there have been other people in the same boat as me

Its a bad idea. The PMA rotor magnets are likely quite strong and would mask the TCI pick-up from properly sensing the rare earth magnet.
Better and maybe cheaper, to repair your stock system. Do you know how to use a VOM? Have you measured the battery voltage at idle and at 3000 rpm? Have you removed and measured the length of the brushes?

Hey bird,
Epoxying the magnet on a non TCI rotor worked but not well......it could have been the polarization of the magnet or the degree from the woodruff keyslot to magnet placement, not sure. There has to be some fine tuning in the alignment but I don't have the need at this time. Epoxying a extra magnet on top of a TCI rotor is a no brainer, of course.

I'd suggest going through Curlys guide to charging issues and see if you can nail it down.. Check the ohms on your rotor to see if it's in spec, check your brushes and grounds. It might be something simple.
One of the first add ons to any new-to-me xs's is a voltmeter. Doesn't cost an arm and a leg and let's you know Right Now if you have a charging issue.

RG gets the "faster fingers" award.....lol

rotor magnet interference was a concern of mine but the banshee flywheel has its own separate magnet on it for the banshee pickup coil so i assume that interference wouldnt be an issue. i'll go through curly's guide and see if i can narrow down what exactly is causing me grief (hopefully something simple/cheap) but i would like to avoid spending what little money i have on the stock charging system as much as possible. what issues did you have with the epoxied magnet nj? thanks for the replies everyone this is my first post on the forum and i was worried that no one would respond im impressed so far

I'll break it down..............

Testing the rotor is a very simple matter...........so is checking a Stator............and the brushes.......(won't repeat the process as there are numerous threads in the Tech Menu + search feature).

If the rotor tests bad is is about $125 for a rewind, (recommended than buying an aftermarket rotor), Stator is a more expensive replacement. Brushes about $14.00. Replacing one part is cost prohibitive. No need to replace the Ignition system.

Replacing the charging system with a PMA means you will have to replace the ignition system as well.......If making up a PMA with second hand parts it will save some money but the new ignition is still an added cost.................A full Kit PMA and a Pamco is upwards to $600.

It never stops amazing me when people are cash strapped and still think, and argue, against fixing the Factory charging system and saying it is expensive to fix compared to a PMA and Pamco replacement.

On the rotor, I made a template from a magnet embedded TCI rotor to find placement for the magnet on a non magnet embedded points rotor.
I used the imprinted firing marks on the magnet embedded rotor to determine alignment and magnet position, made a paper template and epoxyed the magnet into place on the points rotor. I let her set up for a day and then put the rotor on and fired her up. She ran but ran rough like it was out of timing.
The possibilities are that the placement of the magnet should be aligned with the key slot and not the firing marks? Most likely and it should be compared. Could it be the polarity of the magnet, as in north or south, up facing the pickup? Not sure if the pickup is magnetized. It could be that I was off a couple of millimeters on the placement of the magnet. I didn't throw a timing light on to find out. Can it be made to work and work well? Yes, I think so but at this point the only way I'm going to know for sure is if rewinds are no longer available or I move to a maintenance free retirement village and all I have is time....lol

In your application I'd go for fixing what ya got.

i guess for now i'll try and fix what i have. but its still an interesting concept to me and i might experiment with it in the future. thanks for the help everyone!