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The ignition stator coil has failed on my 3.5.
As a newbie to the Morini, what would be the best course action?

Rewind the coil and therefore retain originality and the ability to start even with a flat battery.

Replace with electronic ignition, which as I understand will no longer need the ignition stator coil but is dependant on the battery.

Any particular favourite ignition system? NLM, Sachse?

Many thanks,

Rewind. The Ducati system is OK.

The simplest solution, without a doubt is to either rewind the coil or get NLM to do it for you. First though, you need to be certain that the coil is at fault. There are details on the Dutch website for the rewind - wire gauge and number of turns, etc. They also have some advice on alternative ignition systems, but changing to a new system isn't without problems, as you'll see!

One small observation, if the ignition coil is faulty, you've absolutely nothing to lose by attempting a rewind - you can't make it worse! Good luck!

Joe.

Many thanks for the replies, its much appreciated.
The bike is currently at classic super bikes who are doing all the work as part of myself buying the bike from them. Chris, the boss, is one of the few dealers I would buy a bike from as I know he is fussy about what he sells. He has offered me the choise of a rewind or a Sachse ignition system. https://www.elektronik-sachse.de/shopsy ... -350-.html
My initial thoughts were to go with the Sachse system, but I am new to the Morini world and it's great to get advice from you old lags
This is the beast in question. http://www.classicsuperbikes.co.uk/cata ... port2.html

Id stick with the original system, just my 2p worth

Go for a rewind, it's easy enough (especially if the dealer will do it).
The only thing that is not cheap to replace is then the pick-up (though they are available from NLM, Tritsch and others). The transducers are cheap enough if you use the Vespa ones. Certainly cheaper than going to a more modern system - and it's well proven.

I think the Sachse uses the battery. The original is independent, battery is irrelevant. I rebuilt a Sport many years ago and on the first test ride the lights dimmed (yes, finished late and it was dark). The bike continued running. The problem was an earth, and the battery was not charging. This is the biggest advantage in my opinion.

i' would go for the sachse ignition any day.
all the ignition stuff on your bike is probably 30 years old, the coil is not the only part that can fail.
if you actually want to ride the thing fitting a modern ignition will help reliability.
keeping a battery charged is not exactly rocket science. so should be doable.
and you will need a battery for lights and brake lights anyway.
personally i am not a fan of the original ignition , the original design is 50 years old, electronics have improved quite a bit in the past 50 years.
i have had the ignition fail on all my morini's ( i'm at number seven now)

Despite what I said earlier, I tend to agree with huub. I didn't realise you aren't paying! Your pickup and "transducers" (CDI units) are celebrating their 40th birthday this year and although they seem to be pretty reliable, they won't last for ever and the Sachse system is brand new. Unmodified and at normal cruising speeds, the alternator is good for around 100W, maybe a little more, so it is adequate for lights on riding, even with the extra ignition load. Of course you can debate this endlessly and there is no "right" answer, but I think I'd go for the Sachse if someone else is paying!

Thank you all very much for the replies. A plan has been made . I'm going to get the coil rewound. As much as the new electronic ignition is very attractive, I would still have to pay the difference between a rewind and full replacement ignition (although classicsuperbikes would fit it all for free). It will be something I would look at in the future, but any surplus cash I have is now going on the wheels being repainted and fresh rubber as that's the only area that lets the bike down from an otherwise rather nice unmolested bike.

Hi,
Here's my 2p worth.
Your bike is essentially identical to mine, which I bought new in 1978.
In my time with the bike I have had one pick up fail (under warranty very early on), one 'transducer' (coil) fail and had one ignition bobbin rewind together with a remagnetising of the flywheel. It is now at 39 years old with approx 98,000 miles under its wheels. The single bad thing about the original ignition items is spare part availability - there are no new parts anymore. To me, the single biggest factor in the ignition (and all other electrical circuit items) reliability is the wire (cable) used to link all the bits together. It was poor quality when new and had minimal/non existent waterproofing at the connections which doesn't help things 40 years on. Fix/restore the loom and most issues will disappear.

I have recently changed to an NLM ignition system, not because the original was broken, but in order to get the correct timing on both cylinders, something that the original couldn't do/be adjusted for, but the downside has been it isn't as easy to start, nor to get idling properly, so is still a work in progress.

Good luck with your 'new' bike and enjoy it.

Regards,
George.

PS: Obviously it will depend upon how many miles you intend to do, but rearset footrests are available which will massively improve the riding position from the 'Italian Ape' contortionist original set-up.

Thanks George,
I did note that the 'new' electronic ignition allows accurate timing of both front and rear cylinders which has to be a good thing. It will be ridden for sure so in the future I will look at improving things including the ignition.
Good luck with your NLM set up and hopefully it will just be something simple to get her starting sweetly.
I liked the Sachse ignition as it also removes the transducers which can be substituted for standard ignition coils. It also has a feed for the tacho from the little black box to power the electronic tacho. Expensive to do, but once done.....
Is the NLM a complete ignition system or just component substitution for the pick up?
Cheers,
Phil.

Hi Phil,

Is the NLM a complete ignition system or just component substitution for the pick up?

With the NLM system, you can buy just the pick up part or the complete kit (and possibly the other parts individually too). The coils are now separate from the electrical circuitry, and look like they are a standard off the shelf coil, probably from one of the countless Chinese Honda 50 or CG125 copies. Worst thing about the kit is that the pick up 'stator' is no longer spigoted into the cam bearing/oil seal hole, so setting the trigger air gap is a real pain, and they use the dreadful blue/red/yellow style crimp on electrical connections (I have a deep dislike for these) which makes a nicely machined piece of kit look cheap and bodged.

As for the Sachse unit, lots to like about it, but to me an opportunity missed in that the alternator output is still only 100W.

Regards,
George.

Red, blue and yellow crimps are the devil's work for sure. I always change them for the crimped brass type. I agree about the alternator output, I would definitely use LED tail and indicator lamps to ease the pressure on it.