Did you regret ditching your points ignition for something "more reliable?"

[TX650A Van Islander]

I'm really happy I made the switch to the Boyer. I followed Mailman's installation to ensure I had the best voltage quality directly from the battery via a relay and it has been great for at least 2000 miles or a few years. I would have to check the distance. That said, sometimes I worry that I should have a points system packed for a long trip but then I have other bikes for longer trips. I've always had a timing light but never a dwell meter. That would have been handy.

 

[Its been a long time]

I'm really happy I made the switch to the Boyer. I followed Mailman's installation to ensure I had the best voltage quality directly from the battery via a relay and it has been great for at least 2000 miles or a few years. I would have to check the distance. That said, sometimes I worry that I should have a points system packed for a long trip but then I have other bikes for longer trips. I've always had a timing light but never a dwell meter. That would have been handy.

That's an extremely important thing to remember. Whether you have points or electronic ignition, the spark at the plug is wholly related to the voltage supplied to the coil. I am wiring my ignition coils via a relay this week to get as close to battery voltage onto the coils as possible.

 

[CaptCardboard]

I'm very thankful for everyone's input.
I've got a bunch of goodies on order to dial in my points system. Timing light, a bitchen 70s Sears dwell meter, replacement points, and condenser. Considering the bike runs just fine right now I don't think I'll be replacing any parts, but it'll be nice to have the tools to know where I stand.
I also determined I have 78/79 BS38 carbs and ordered kits for those along with some Uni filters. Hopefully a good cleaning will make kick-starting in the morning a bit easier.

 

[5twins]

As I mentioned, a dwell meter is the only accurate way to gap used points. Used points develop pits on their mating surfaces and that's where the spark jumps between. Well, you can't measure between the pits with a feeler gauge. The gap you set is actually bigger because of this. If you don't have a dwell meter then it's best to set used points closer to the minimum gap spec.

 

[5twins]

And a little bit on how the dwell meter works ..... it doesn't measure the gap but rather how long the points are closed, "dwelling" in the closed position. For this reason, the reading you get is inversely related to the gap size. In other words, a larger reading indicates a smaller gap and a smaller reading indicates a larger gap. Now, the 650's dwell value is 93°± 5°, or 88° to 98°. But this is the two cylinder reading and your meter most likely won't have a 2 cyl. setting, so you'll need to do some math. To use the 4 cyl. scale, you'll need to divide the 2 cyl. value by 4, so you'll be looking for 22° to 24.5°. To get the largest in-spec gap, shoot for 22°