Long term implications of early adoption of technology

It's been over a decade since I sold my XS to my neighbor and good friend. I sold it for far, far less than what I had into it, and even less than blue book or what have you. I sold a strong running bike, with functional improvements. Some of those improvements were hard to accomplish due to the "high technology" of the XS. It works against those trying to make a running motorcycle. I refer primarily to the ignition system.

In 1978, the XS debuted with a fully electronic ignition. Vacuum advance. Slick.

Rivals had points and capacitors, which, frankly, suck. Mechanical advance. Suck.

But there were excellent bikes that had ****ty ancient ignition systems. The Kawasaki 1000, etc.

Over the years, multiple manufacturers have stepped up to the plate to provide a replacement for points and capacitors on these bikes. There's a market because the original systems sucked.

So, in 2021, the aftermarket solution is... a transistor based ignition module, a timing plate and Hall-effect "sensors".

The same technology the XS had in 1978.

But, since the XS already had this stuff and there aren't many XS's, nobody made an aftermarket kit. (?)

I was lucky to find NOS pickups from a dealer 170 miles away. I bought a couple extra ignition boxes to work with. Tested transistor outputs then replaced every single capacitor in the box.

Had a big fat spark at the right time through Accel coils.

I realized then if I had a KZ1000, I could have bought a kit off the shelf, swapped it, and be good-to-go.

So, cutting edge technology sold to a limited market has limited utility, and may actually hurt you in the long run.

I have 300 LaserDiscs that I've replaced with Blu-Ray. I can't bring myself to throw them away. Go figure.

Anyway...

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Long term implications of early adoption of technology

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