OEM Coils or NEON Coils?

[TNTbefree]

I'm looking at putting new coils in my 81 GL1100. Though I have looked at a bunch of posts about Neon coils, I am still not sure if I want to go that route.

From what I can gather, the Neon coils put out too much juice and a 3 ohm resistor may be needed? Is that true? Where would it go if it is needed?

I have seen the write ups, but they are kind of old and Helter Skelter on how to do the Neon Coil transplant.

How do you convert the spark plug wires to match the Neon coil so that I can keep the boots that are on it now?

Anyone care to update the info or compile a short "To-do" list on the Neon Coil swap?

Do you recommend using the Neon Coils in Goldwings?

Any Neon Coil swap Warnings?

Are there better options? OEM - Neon - What else?

[Sagebrush]

I put them on one of my 1100s and haven't looked back. Better (gas mileage) and starts instantly. In my case the plug wires were toast as well as the coils. So off to Tractor Supply to buy their 7mm plug wire kit. I also ordered new NKG plug caps but you don't have to if you don't need them. The Tractor supply wires are already made up on one end to attach to the Neon coils. You simply have to swap the plug caps once the wires are cut to length. You will end up with enough wire to make up two sets of Goldwing plug wires. I did wire the +12v to the coils through a relay just to keep any additional heat loads away from the stock wiring.

I was able to slide the sheaths surrounding the stock wires off the old plug wires using liberal amounts of WD-40 and patience and slip them onto the new wires to maintain that the stock look.

[robin1731]

Me personally I like to stay with motorcycle parts. If I'm using stock points or Dyna Ignition I use Dyna coils. Or you go with a full C5 setup.

[Toehead]

The GL1500 coils on my bike work pretty well.

[Wingman Williams]

The GL1500 coils on my bike work pretty well.

That's what a did, easy and I used Accel 7mm yellow plug wires. Did away with the resistor, and added Dyna S. Starts like a champ.

[TNTbefree]

So far, still not sure if I want to go with the Neon coil, but I do want to make some new wires. I am told that the 1981 GL1100 uses NGK XDO5F plug caps, four #2923 NGK spark plugs, and 7mm wire. How hard is it to make your own spark plug wires?

resistor_covers#1.png

[Toehead]

Very very easy (depending on your coils)
All you need to do is cut the wires to length. and install them into the coils and into the NGK caps.

[KYpondman]

If you want them to look original you can remove the sleeves and numbers from the original wires an put them on the new. That is a much bigger job but the results are worth it IMHO.
Claude

[ericheath]

Seems like there are a lot of folks who put Neon coils on 1100's with success. Something I read recently that I didn't know is that with adequate spark, resistor caps stretch the duration of the spark. ( I hope this isn't a "tires and oil" issue.) I think most that I have read, people remove the resistors in the caps for a stronger spark. A stronger spark isn't necessarily better. I am toying with trying the Neons on a 1000 with resistors in the plug caps and plenty of ballast resistor to protect the points.

[Whiskerfish]

Yes resistor plugs and resistor wires do have a lot to do with "Spark Shaping" and spark termination and as a result coil feedback. The coil feedback is what will eat up your points if the system is not balanced properly. You can do some shots in the dark based on what others have experienced but to actually engineer a system is challenging. Some really heavy math.

I Forget which system he is running but Puffy75 has like 100,000 miles on his points because he is using a low voltage/ low amperage system. So the contacts will basically never wear out. The springs may wear or the pivots might waller or something else might cause their failure but they should never experience the pitting/ material loss like normal points operating at 7-9 volts.

[rcmatt007]

( I hope this isn't a "tires and oil" issue.).

Is it this time that puppys go to heaven?

[mrtwowheel]

If you need wires and caps, here is a whole set. Excellent wire too, 7mm, silicone, can handle more than 600* F.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/7mm-Silicone-Sp ... 633846111?

[TNTbefree]

I have read that with the GL 1000 they use a ballast resistor but I have not seen or heard of people using one on the gl 1100. Is this to protect the point system on the Gl 1000? Or are they using them on the Gl 1100 too, just I am not seeing the mention of it? Basically, what I am asking is, am I going to need a ballast resistor on my 81 GL1100 too?

I went to the U Pull A Part junk yard and pulled the coil and got the wires today. Found out I could have gotten the coil cheaper at NAPA.

That ticked me off. That tool box got real heavy hauling it all the way to the rear of the yard to find the chrysler section.

[ericheath]

They are cheaper new. I did the same, but looked online before I went, but the junk yard wouldn't budge, wanted more than a new one. If you search here, I think Toehead recently posted the different coils for 1100's. I think 80-81 ran no resistor and 82-83 went with the resistor. I believe the coils had different ohms and the igniters or PG's were different as well. That said, I haven't heard of a failure on 1100's. I have heard of PG's dropping out. I been trying to get a handle on this for ten years and I'm afraid it's above my pay grade.

[82aspy]

I Forget which system he is running but Puffy75 has like 100,000 miles on his points because he is using a low voltage/ low amperage system. So the contacts will basically never wear out. The springs may wear or the pivots might waller or something else might cause their failure but they should never experience the pitting/ material loss like normal points operating at 7-9 volts.

hadda find out more about this, info i found was same points 50k, same coils for 100k,

the main point seemed to be that he ran his stock 1000 (dunno about the wires/caps) coil/points setup without a resistor,
http://ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php? ... on#p163504

http://ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=163069#p163069
then there was this post
http://ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=163209#p163209

Randakk's tech tips has an excellent article explaining the purpose of the ballast on the 1000's. He states that the purpose is to extend the life of ignition components,primarly the points.