Before proceeding, there is a history with Mr. Targett that is relevant. I posted the ~20 installments of my thread on the restoration of a magneto over a period of four months at:
http://www.britbike.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=446733#Post446733
If you go to that thread you will find it is by far the most detailed description anywhere in print or on the web. As he is now doing here, Mr. Targett inserted himself into that thread to try to market his products. I replied to each of his posts politely, providing detailed explanations why the 10 cent capacitors he sells for $20 do not have the necessary specifications to survive long periods in the harsh electrical environment of a magneto, as well as why the remagnetization service he sells would leave magnetos with performance worse than if they were properly magnetized. You can go directly to my post describing the requirements on a capacitor at:
http://www.britbike.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=455839#Post455839
and the requirements on a magnetizer at:
http://www.britbike.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=460999#Post460999
Mr. Targett's responses to my thread became so sarcastic, mocking, and insulting, even going so far as to call me a liar, that the moderator interceded, removed his most outrageous posts, and locked the thread to keep him from continuing this behavior. I hope he does not repeat that disturbing behavior here. Inappropriate as it was there, it would be even more inappropriate here given that he is not even a member of the VOC.
The "Reply With Quote" button keeps acting like "Reply," so below I've used bold/italic to copy from Mr. Targett's post.
Have you actually tried one, Magnetoman?
I have not stepped out of a moving car because I have enough confidence in the laws of physics to know the negative consequences of doing so without actually having to do it. The same laws of physics are why I do not recommend using Mr. Targett's products. If you go to my magneto restoration thread you will see some of the extensive range of electrical test instrumentation I have brought to bear on this problem, and should be able to judge whether or not I have the technical expertise to make informed recommendations about these matters.
Over 1,600 have been sold. A single one of those had a problem after a couple of miles, but we have not heard of a single instance of any other problems with them.
No one has any way of verifying this claim. Also, I note that for a number of years less than a decade ago Independent Ignition Supplies sold a replacement capacitor with the claim "
Modern substitute, very high specification, zero failure." Despite this claim, they failed in service. Still, it took a number of years before enough motorcyclists complained about failures for the supplier to cease selling them.
Many customers can't believe how easily their machines now start.
Until it fails,
any capacitor of the appropriate capacitance will transform the behavior of a magneto having a bad capacitor. If someone can't believe how easy their bike starts with a new capacitor, they've forgotten how easy it used to start before their former one went bad.
The issue isn't whether replacing an old, failed capacitor with a new one will make a magneto work, it is how long that new capacitor will survive the high current pulses it will be subjected to. Any number of inappropriate replacement capacitors have been recommended and sold over the years, all of which eventually failed in service. These failures all could have been predicted based on the electrical specifications and physical properties of the capacitors.
And they are all taken by the fact that if there is a problem with their magneto, they can check the condenser in a few minutes, just like an old battery-coil system, without having to dismantle the magneto totally yet again
With a proper replacement capacitor the owner will not have to take the magneto apart for at least 40 years and/or 140,000 miles. And, whenever a magneto is taken apart, which must be done to install one of Mr. Targett's capacitors in the first place, it must be properly remagnetized if it is to regain full performance. Since the magneto has to be disassembled either way, my recommendation is to install a proper capacitor and then properly remagnetize it.
Feel free to scan through our testimonials page
Again, there is no way to independently verify such advertising material. And, again, the reason I do not recommend using Mr. Targett's 10 cent capacitors is the laws of physics, not unverifiable advertising. Or testimonials from people whose capacitors have not yet failed.
I have no financial stake in whether or not people believe what I have written is correct, or if they believe what Mr. Targett has written is correct. More than enough information is easily available on the links in this current thread for people to decide this for themselves. If Mr. Targett wishes to sell his products to members of the VOC, I urge him to take pay for an advertisement like other vendors do, rather than use this forum to tout his wares.