hovel
ol' stupid
An outfit called Rawhide Cycles sells an electronic ignition conversion for our 650's. It appears to be bone simple and leaves the stock coils in place. Does anyone have any knowledge/experience with it ?
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Electronic ignition
- Thread starter hovel
- Start date
Looks like a pretty basic hall effect rotor system. Let us know how it works.
Looks similar to a $120 tytronics, just say'n
http://www.tytronic.com/tytronic/products/7797124.html
http://www.tytronic.com/tytronic/products/7797124.html
hovel
ol' stupid
Yep, looks similar. The link took me to a weak Chinese web site with no real info. They sell on fleabay, no info there either.
@billy icon icon on here used them, work fine. They are pretty much plug n play. I put one in that died very quickly, company replaced it no charge with a newer version, but I went back to points on that bike and have not used the replacement Tytronics yet.
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I just installed the rawhide on my XS1, the instructions are pretty vague, but not so much that you can't figure it out. The reason I bought the rawhide ignition is because it uses the same sensors that Charlie's place uses on their electronic ignition systems. I have one of theirs in my CB350, and they are hands down the best alternative to points in those bikes. Very reliable.
Now the bad news. I installed it and set the timing with a test light, but the bike is not ready to start yet, still have some carburetor work to do, but I should be testing it out in the next couple of weeks.
Now the bad news. I installed it and set the timing with a test light, but the bike is not ready to start yet, still have some carburetor work to do, but I should be testing it out in the next couple of weeks.
Watching the video it seems like an easy install. The LED,s for timing are a cool idea.
Leo
Leo
Ok, so here is where my install of the rawhide system was tricky. I bought mine directly from rawhide cycles.
As you can see, there are 3 wires coming from the pickups. Now look at the same system from lowbrow customs.
There is a female pigtail which you need for connecting power to both coils.
I had to add a jumper to power both coils and the pickups. That being said, the system works well and the bike fired right up after the install.
I was interested in the tytronic system, but I have heard the pickups are not as reliable.
If you are thinking of the rawhide, just make sure to find out if it has the female jumper wire so you don't re-read the instructions 20 times trying to figure out why it doesn't make sense.
As you can see, there are 3 wires coming from the pickups. Now look at the same system from lowbrow customs.
There is a female pigtail which you need for connecting power to both coils.
I had to add a jumper to power both coils and the pickups. That being said, the system works well and the bike fired right up after the install.
I was interested in the tytronic system, but I have heard the pickups are not as reliable.
If you are thinking of the rawhide, just make sure to find out if it has the female jumper wire so you don't re-read the instructions 20 times trying to figure out why it doesn't make sense.
Hey man can you post a picture of your wiring. I'm running a duel output. For some reason I can't get the test light to go off on the right side pick up. Wondering if it my wiring or if I got a dud unit.
I don't have any good pictures, but I unplugged the points harness AND the condenser wires from the 3 way connector coming from the harness. On my bike they were orange and gray I believe. Plugged the blue and yellow wires from the rawhide into those empty connectors. I think I got them backwards on my first try. Then I unplugged the power wire from the harness going to one of the coils and plugged the black wire into that. If you have the pigtail wire, the wire you unplugged goes into that. If not you will have to do what i did by making a jumper to reconnect that wire.
If you have constant power at either the blue or yellow wire at the 3 way plugs while turning the engine over, make sure your connections are good from the rawhide at the 3 way plugs. Also check that the pickup isn't to far away from the magnetic rotor, they provide an Allen key for timing adjustments. Also be sure that plate is grounded, if the screws are left loose for timing adjustments ot won't work, it needs the ground to make a circuit. That's why they suggest if you use a timing light to check it, turn it off, make an adjustment, tighten the screws and try again.
If you have constant power at either the blue or yellow wire at the 3 way plugs while turning the engine over, make sure your connections are good from the rawhide at the 3 way plugs. Also check that the pickup isn't to far away from the magnetic rotor, they provide an Allen key for timing adjustments. Also be sure that plate is grounded, if the screws are left loose for timing adjustments ot won't work, it needs the ground to make a circuit. That's why they suggest if you use a timing light to check it, turn it off, make an adjustment, tighten the screws and try again.
Hi John! I recently purchased the Rawhide double coil ignition as well. However I am having issues getting it wired. So my XS650 is a chopper project that does not have the original wiring. I only have 2 new ignition coils with yellow and black wires. So my question is how do I wire the rawhide ignition to my 2 coils? I also have a power wire as well, but not sure where that would go either. Thanks!
@izacreyes This thread is a year old, and it doesn't look like Xs2-John has been on the forum in quite a long time. May I recommend creating an introduction post, tell us a little about yourself and your bike. I think the rest of us can probably help you out if you give us a little background on what your working on.
It's pretty easy, the blue wire from the rawhide system goes to the right coil Negative side, the yellow to the left coil negative side. connect the black wire from the rawhide female pigtail to the power from your ignition switch, and use the black male connector and connect it to both positive posts on your 2 coils. Your going to have to make a splitter wire to do this, or run a wire from one coil to the other so they are both fed by this wire. If for some reason it doesn't start, swap the left and right coil leads since this system does not fire both coils together. They are independent.
You're awesome! Thank you for the help John! One last question for my coils with a yellow and black wire hanging off, how do I tell which is negative or positive? Or does that not matter so long as I make color the negative or positive?
I connected the yellow wires from the coils to the yellow and blue ones from the rawhide harness, then black to black. It worked for me, but I do recall the instructions being wrong as far as left and right coil wires. I think I had to switch the blue and yellow to opposite coils. It could have been just my setup though. I would try it the way I first mentioned. Let us know how it works out!
Generally you do not need to be aware as to which is the positive and negative on the ignition coils. In high performance applications it is important because wiring the coil leads in one specific arrangement gives a better spark performance compared to the other..
Thank you for the advice. It worked out perfectly! Now I just make sure my battery is fully charged, chokes are on, and the bike fires right up first kick. Now for the fun part of getting to test ride it this weekend.
