Knuckle Magneto, Electrical, Generator Set-up

[Tuxedo7]

I have a near stock 1940 Knucklehead, converted to 12V. I have been having ignition and misfire issues that I believe are related to the crappy Chinese-made replica coil. I am also a little tired of worrying about the battery's charge, and have located a guy that will build a 12V generator undetectable within the 32E Generator. I would like some recommendations on the following.

I would like to convert to magneto ignition, elimate the battery, to get smoother/more dependable starting and running. I am looking at the Morris G5 which will not require ANY engine case/jug modification, and want to know if there are any issues I need to be aware of. I am not an electrical guy, but do do most of my "bolt on", maintenance and adjustment work. I know the coil, "timer", and battery could then go away, but what about the generator? I assume I still need that for lights/accessories, or would I simply re-reroute the wiring to address that? Also, I have heard that a battery elimnator (or even two?) will help the light dimming associated with magneto ignitions.

Finally, what performance issues can I expect? I understand the G5 will result in an easy start, but also understand, I think, that magnetos timing is fixed, and may result in less than optimal performance at all RPMs ... is that right?

Thanks in advance.

[Heretic]

most of the old morris mags I dealt with had a manual advance. You reached down, retarded them by hand, kicked the bike (sometimes many, many times), then reached back down and advanced it by hand (leaving it in the full advance position). Not really optimum for traffic, but OK on the back roads......back when people were running them, I built a number of handle bar advance units. Some from old triumph thumb actuated choke controls (triumphs still had ticklers but also chokes in the 70s) and some from bar internal throttle assemblies, modified and put in the left side grip. The ones I remember most, with set advance, were ARD single fire conversions, with a working rotor inside the mag..I had a broken kneecap because of one of those. it kicked back and stuck my knee into the lower corner of a chopper Z bar......

if your generator guy really can make something that will make good power, there used to be a kit to put electronic ignition inside a morris mag housing. My buddy in NY did this on a 1960 pan. it went from a struggle to start when cold, with the mag, to a one kick every time bike. I could not tell the difference in the mag, except that he did not have to mess with it when he started the bike. it certainly ran better though

[Tuxedo7]

Thanks for the practical info, Heretic, especially the electronic ignition conversion. I'll see what I can find on that. There are tons of these conversions for the old "timer", but haven't seen one for the mags ... maybe they are interchangeable? Anyway, my knuckle has the left handlebar manual advance stock, and I should be able to tie that into the mag so that I can change it on the fly. It sounds like the new G5 has an internal mechanism that "drops" resistance when kicked over more slowly that actually allows the mag to turn over really fast, thereby allowing easier kicks to generate more spark. That coupled with an electronic ignition would seem to do the trick, and eliminate a lot of the problematic stuff.

Thanks again.
Vic

[Heretic]

I will ask my buddy where he got the kit. it had the advance built in, so it was always right on the money when he came down on the kicker. because of precise timing, his bike just ran better, and it dropped his oil temp in town......

aside from losing the bragging rights of having all vintage stuff, there was no down side to the conversion