SteveXFR Posted February 12 Posted February 12 The electronic ignition CDI unit in my 1982 GS500E (smaller, import GS550E) has failed. It's the same unit used on the GS550 and GS750 as well as the GS450 & GS250 twins of that age. They seem to be rare and expensive here in the UK. I found something online suggesting that the CDI from the 90's twin cylinder GS500 will work. Can anyone confirm? Quote
Swiss Toni Posted February 12 Posted February 12 (edited) Why replace a knackered, 40yr old unit, with another 30 odd year old item? There must be countless numbers of companies manufacturing new, up to date units. Electrex World, for one!Have a Google. Edited February 12 by Swiss Toni Quote
SteveXFR Posted February 12 Author Posted February 12 3 hours ago, Swiss Toni said: Why replace a knackered, 40yr old unit, with another 30 odd year old item? There must be countless numbers of companies manufacturing new, up to date units. Electrex World, for one!Have a Google. Electrex World don't have one, I did phone and ask. The only new ones I can find are around £400 while a used one from a 90's GS500 is £65. Quote
Wee Man Posted February 12 Posted February 12 Worth trying Ignitech https://www.ignitech.cz/en/vyrobky/tci/tci.htm They might be able to supply one that'll work for you. Quote
Suzukian Posted February 12 Posted February 12 Sad thing is that a Military Spec (Mil-Spec) capacitor has a life of 4000 hrs. That's why the military's throw laptops away after 4 or 5 years, they don't trust them. I'm not sure what to expect out of consumer grade components. I managed to pick up 3 CDI units for my '83 GS750ES for around $25 bucks a piece, in case mine blew. 40 years later, it's still going strong. Even the used ones have tripled in price. Some of these seem interchangeable, but the power curve isn't right, and the bikes won't feel the same. The GS1150 and GS750ES look and have the same plug, but they have different power curves. Quote
imago Posted February 12 Posted February 12 20 minutes ago, Suzukian said: Sad thing is that a Military Spec (Mil-Spec) capacitor has a life of 4000 hrs. That's why the military's throw laptops away after 4 or 5 years, they don't trust them. I'm not sure what to expect out of consumer grade components. I managed to pick up 3 CDI units for my '83 GS750ES for around $25 bucks a piece, in case mine blew. 40 years later, it's still going strong. Even the used ones have tripled in price. Some of these seem interchangeable, but the power curve isn't right, and the bikes won't feel the same. The GS1150 and GS750ES look and have the same plug, but they have different power curves. Probably worth mentioning at this point that they're not CDIs even though everyone calls them that. Suzuki GS/GSX are TCI so they don't use capacitors, the transistor just shuts off power to the primary coil. Solid state version of points basically. Quote
TonyGee Posted February 12 Posted February 12 2 hours ago, imago said: Probably worth mentioning at this point that they're not CDIs even though everyone calls them that. Suzuki GS/GSX are TCI so they don't use capacitors, the transistor just shuts off power to the primary coil. Solid state version of points basically. could be worse, some people call them ECU's 2 Quote
imago Posted February 12 Posted February 12 28 minutes ago, TonyGee said: could be worse, some people call them ECU's To be fair that's more accurate than CDI as it's electronic it controls the spark. Quote
TonyGee Posted February 12 Posted February 12 1 hour ago, imago said: To be fair that's more accurate than CDI as it's electronic it controls the spark. yeah true but we all know a CDI/TCI is a lot less basic than an ECU 1 Quote
Dezza Posted February 13 Posted February 13 There's a bloke in Belgium makes CDI/TCIs for various bikes. Probably worth a call to see if he could make a new direct replacement. https://www.hpi.be/cdi.php 2 Quote
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