Neon coil mounted in 83 1100

[sgwilly]

Yet another neon coil installation. Specifically in a stock 83 1100I setup.

Not wanting to spend the cash for either new Dyna coils or even 25 year old Dyna coils I opted for the neon coil pack route. I found mine on ebay - used '96 for $17 shipped. Other items purchased included new copper core spark plug wire (got a 25' roll a month or two ago), 4 coil end connectors and boots, a piece of 1/8" x 1.5" steel flat bar and 4 bolts. All told, maybe $35.

I kept my ballast resistor in place since I was getting comparable ohms readings on both the stock and neon coils. Dropping that out and you run the risk of burning up your CDI by putting too much voltage through it (or so I have read, being no electrical engineer by any means).

What did take some effort was to make a mount that fit this into the bike. Honestly, that's why I'm putting this up here as the basic conversion has been covered before. All I had to do was cut up some 1/8" x 1.5" flat bar into the right shape.

Here's what the stock mounting looks like.



Here's the neon coil pack.



Here's how I want it to fit (propped up on a bunch of tools)



Here's the mounting brackets made and installed with the original brackets. I'd like to say I put the flat bar into my computerized CNC machining tool at work but I can't. I just had a jigsaw, grinder, drill, vise and a big hammer. I never feel right about a job unless I can bring out the big hammer. I didn't get it exactly like I planned, but this isn't a NASA space launch either.





I had to bend the fabricated bracket bars to make the mount holes line up.



And then it's into the bike with the ballast mounted underneath.





Wiring was simple. The power wire from the ballast plugged onto the center terminal on the coil pack. The yellow wire plugged onto the forward terminal. The blue wire (with an extension) plugged into the rear terminal. I didn't have to cut anything.

With the coil mounted in this way, the orientation of the towers on the coil are directly corresponding to the cylinders (e.g. front left tower is front left cylinder, etc.). Don't pay attention to the raised numbers on the coil towers - they don't match up.



Happy to say it started right up. Quicker than usual too.

[CYBORG]

great write up. and very neat install

[KYpondman]

Good job, looks store bought!
Claude

[HandsomeSteve]

Nice, slick install. Thanks for sharing.

[dont know anything]

thanks my 1978 gl1000 roared to life last night with a coil from a neon. don't be upset guys but this gl1000 motor is on a 1994 john deere lawn mower frame. yes I am the guy in the neighborhood that owns all that weird stuff the kids talk about and his wife wishes he would sell but im not selling but always looking for my next project. don't worry I do have a running drivable 1978 Goldwing gl1000 for my weekend rider. thanks again for the tech advice thanks don't know anything

[tirejoe]

thanks my 1978 gl1000 roared to life last night with a coil from a neon. don't be upset guys but this gl1000 motor is on a 1994 john deere lawn mower frame. yes I am the guy in the neighborhood that owns all that weird stuff the kids talk about and his wife wishes he would sell but im not selling but always looking for my next project. don't worry I do have a running drivable 1978 Goldwing gl1000 for my weekend rider. thanks again for the tech advice thanks don't know anything

I have heard about the lawn mower, we need pictures. Welcome to NGW.

[evilratwing]

thanks my 1978 gl1000 roared to life last night with a coil from a neon. don't be upset guys but this gl1000 motor is on a 1994 john deere lawn mower frame. yes I am the guy in the neighborhood that owns all that weird stuff the kids talk about and his wife wishes he would sell but im not selling but always looking for my next project. don't worry I do have a running drivable 1978 Goldwing gl1000 for my weekend rider. thanks again for the tech advice thanks don't know anything

I have heard about the lawn mower, we need pictures. Welcome to NGW.

Sounds awesome. Yes, photos please.

[5speed]

holy thread resurrection Batman..
adding this to my subscription list for my up coming coil swap.

[JSBail]

I kept my ballast resistor in place since I was getting comparable ohms readings on both the stock and neon coils. Dropping that out and you run the risk of burning up your CDI by putting too much voltage through it (or so I have read, being no electrical engineer by any means).

Good point. When I did the Neon coil conversion on mine, I too was confused as to whether to keep the ballast resistor or not so I tried it both ways and mine seemed to like it better without it so I left it out however how that may effect the CDI is a good point to consider. I've had mine on a number of road trips since then with no problems and have now gotten to the point that I trust it but that could be only because I've been lucky.

[Rat]

Luck counts .... haven’t had any just lately tho' ....

Gord

[5speed]

got the coil swap completed and she fired right up.
Tks sgwilly for your "how to" post.

[Sidecar Bob]

I kept my ballast resistor in place since I was getting comparable ohms readings on both the stock and neon coils. Dropping that out and you run the risk of burning up your CDI by putting too much voltage through it (or so I have read, being no electrical engineer by any means).

Good point. When I did the Neon coil conversion on mine, I too was confused as to whether to keep the ballast resistor or not so I tried it both ways and mine seemed to like it better without it so I left it out however how that may effect the CDI is a good point to consider. I've had mine on a number of road trips since then with no problems and have now gotten to the point that I trust it but that could be only because I've been lucky.

The '83 doesn't have Capacitor Discharge Ignition (CDI). It has Transistor Amplifier Ignition (TI or TAI).