coils and plugs

[1st bike]

so i need new coils and plugs for my 1100 special. what do people think about the difference between the reg. and the green (high output) from mikesxs? is there really that big of a difference?

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there 1st,

The "regular" mikes XS coils ARE high output, at 35 Kv, they are over 2 times what the OEM Xs11 coils will put out. The Green are rated up to 45Kv or more IIRC, depending on whether they can actually get their full 12 up to 14 volts worth of power.

A few folks have reported problems, failures with their regular $35.00 Mikes Black Coils. I've had them on my 81 for a few years, but I don't put that many miles on mine, not a daily rider, so they haven't gotten the wear/mileage that others have, but they are plenty strong enough for a regular engine.

A few folks soldered their connectors to the regular black mikes coils, and IIRC, I read somewhere that they stated NOT to solder to the connectors, the heat can cause the inner wires to come loose INSIDE the coil, and lead to failure ! I've used press on clips, and have had no problems!

Others feel that you get what you pay for, and have opted for the $$ green higher output coils, but unless you're running a TURBO or such, IMHO they are a bit overkill, but it's their $$ to spend. So far no reports of failures on the green ones that have been installed by members, but it's not been a full year since they came out with them!

The price is right for the black ones, IMHO, and if installed correctly, should provide many years of high output performance. REmember, you'll need to BYPASS the ballast resistor when you install any of these 3 ohm aftermarket coils, vs. the 1.5 ohm OEM ones!
T.C.

[1st bike]

can i find the 1.5 ohm OEM ones? is it better to stick with the OEM so i don't screw something up or if i take it slow and think it through this is gonna work out okay for me? i don't want to cause any more trouble, the bike was running (kinda) when i got it, and it hasn't since, so I am just going through and trying to figure stuff out and get a daily ride out of this thing. not a ton of miles, but i want it to start when i want it to start and i want it to go! so should i look for the OEM's or, go with the black or the green?

[TopCatGr58]

The 1.5 ohm OEMs are hard to find, and will be 20+years old. Dyna sells 1.5 high output coils, but are quite $$$. The TCI just needs to see 3 ohms on the 12 volt line that it feeds to the coils, either with a 1.5 ohm coil and 1.5 ohm ballast resistor, or no ballast resistor and a 3 ohm coils.

When I put the black ones on mine, the bike started up much easier, like it wanted to ROAR to life. I also put on new solid core wires, and no resistor plug caps, and non-resistor plugs, but others suggest resistor plugs to help keep down RF interference for either your own radio/walkman/MP3 player as well as other vehicles near you.

The black 3 ohm mikes coils will provide you plenty of reliable spark power for a reasonable amount of $$ vs. Dyna, Accel, etc.!!

To Bypass the ballast resistor, you just unplug it from the BR and plug the two red/white wire ends into itself on the harness. Just make sure the wire ends are good, not corroded and such.
T.C.

[tomatao]

I put the black ones on my 79 SF. It was a piece of cake. Like TC said bypassing th BR was just a matter of plugging to ends together. The bike starts better and seems to have a bit more umph. I'm the same as TC though, my bike is not a daily ride so I can't comment on the durability.

I also put a set of these on my XJ. That was more of a pain because they didn't just bolt in. Like the instructions in the tech tips I had to make up a little bracket to get them to fit right. It was a bit more time consuming. That bike is still in progress of being refurbished so I haven't ridden it yet with the new coils.

[DiverRay]

I've used BOTH the "cheap" black coils, and the green coils. They BOTH WORK WELL. On the Standard model bikes, the blacks bolt up nicely. The green coils, I needed to move the horn to get clearance, and put in an angle bracket. The angle was just a 90 degree, 1/2" by 3/4" stainless steel bracket from Ace hardware. I also used button head allen's for the mounts.
The ballest resistor is a non issue. As everyone has said, just plug the two red/white wires together. You DO need to make sure they cannot touch ANYTHING!! IT WILL cause a LOT of problems! DAMHIKIJK

[xs11bobber]

You DO need to make sure they cannot touch ANYTHING!! IT WILL cause a LOT of problems! DAMHIKIJK

lol, how hard was that to figure out?

[egleaves]

Several people have said they needed to make minor modifications to mount the green coils, but I was able to get them to fit as a direct replacement on my '80 special. The wires end up being very close to the frame, but because of the angle at which they come out of the coil they easily cleared any obstacles.

[LuckyEddie]

Greetings,

I got a set of stock type coils from here: http://www.wemoto.com/bikes/Yamaha/X...Ignition_Coil/

I hope this is helpful.

[Athedra]

is there really that big of a difference?

A scooter is as fast as a snail, you chamge the normal chinese sparkplug to a NGK counterpart and you can rear wheel it by just jamming the throttle down.

Spark makes a huge difference on any motor. In short, the stronger and clearer your spark comes through, the less performance problems you will have.

I dont know if you guys can find it over there, but over here you pop into a boat outboard motor shop, and match up a set of "ring of fires", It doesnt have a little pip from where the spark goes to, but it spark a complete circle on the plug. You cannot flood or oil foul these plugs. They are a tad pricey, but well worth the effort. They have a 5 year guarenteed lifetime. So instead of replacing plugs every year when you do your service, you spend it now, and for the next five years you just wash them in fuel. I will go match up a set and post the number on here. The people making them is Johnson-marine. Might be available over there.