Pazon Smart Fire

[Rob H]

Dear All,

looking at replacing the old points system on the twin with a Pazon Smart fire system.

Would be interested in hearing from any forum members using this system on their thoughts in relation to:

easiest/cheapest way to purchase
ease of installation and set up
performance/issues in use

regs
Rob

 

[John Cone]

Rob
There has been so much discussion on this site about distributers verses electronic ignitions i've lost count. But what i will say is that more people have posted problems about electronics than have distributors. I am one of the old school that believe that there is nothing so simple than a condeser a set of points and a bog standard coil. It's something you can fix yourself on the side of the road should it need it. Why change, a spark is a spark does it matter if it comes from the latest gismo. I await to be shot down in flames.
John

 

[davidd]

Rob,

I have used the Pazon twin plug on a single in several races and it worked fine. If you plan to get a twin plug then it is a fine system. You should consider strobing the ignition to verify its readings and buying dyno time to set the timing properly the first time. If you are using a single plug ignition, then just set it as usual and I might consider strobing it once just for peace of mind. However, for a single plug ignition, I agree with John. Get another stock system, magneto or coil and put it on. Rebuild the mag and put it on the shelf. You should be set for life. If there are problems with a stock system there are many more solutions than are available for the electronic systems and most owners are much more familiar with stock systems if problems arise.

I purchased directly from Pazon in 2008 and the price seemed reasonable. Maybe the dollar has changed significantly, but the price now is 70% higher.

I installed it on my racer and the coil unit is small. I mounted the ECU under the seat where it would be away from the heat. All of this was easy on a racer, but I think it might be a little bit more difficult on a stock bike.

As I remember, timing was easy. I did not strobe it to check. It takes some careful checking to make certain that the technique that you are using is producing the resulting ingnition setting that you wish. I have found that the ignition setting can vary wildy based on your technique. It is best to strobe and verify the setting at least once so you can alter your technique to get the result you want.

I used this ignition as a back up to make sure that my primary ignition was funtioning properly. It turned out that the engine had a problem other than ignition. So, both igitions performed up to par.

David

 

[vibrac]

I am an owner of 3 BTH magneto systems which if you are racing or a user of the laughable devices called dynamos is the way to go. however my road Comet has one of NW's fine alternator conversions so I used a Boyer ignition system.it failed 1000 miles ago and again on Thursday (see elsewhere) I have 4 u/s boyer black boxes on my shelf so I thought it was time to try elsewhere so I contacted Paul Goff who is sending me a Pazon system at £100 it is warrented so I await its delivery and will keep you posted
I may be wrong but I belive Pazon is an off shoot of disgruntled boyer employees - often this means a better product (Shades of Montessa and Bultaco and for old computer men DEC and Data General)

 

[Howard]

I'm using Pazon Surefire from Kirby Rowbottom. Only done 2000 miles, but trouble free. Easy to set up, good value. It's not as sophisticated as the Smartfire, but then I'm not sophisticated either.

My only gripe, there is no way of knowing when it is actually firing, you can't use a light or buzzer like you can with a points system. I think the Smartfire has an LED indicator, which seems like a good improvement.

H

 

[Tom Gaynor]

I use magnetos on the Vincents, because they rarely go wrong, and if they do, getting the mag rebuilt solves ALL problems. No ancillaries except a plug and an HT lead...
But I have a Pazon system built in to the Lucas distributor body of my Sunbeam S7 by Kirby Rowbotham, and highly recommend both it, and KR as someone who knows what system best to use, why, and how to fit it.
Pazon is indeed disgruntled Boyer ex-employees, and the point of gruntlement was that Boyer systems default to full advance if the voltage drops below 10 volts. If, however one has a Norton Commando with electric starting, and the act of pushing the button draws the voltage down to 9 volts, as it does... Boyer refused to fix it, so they quit and fixed it themselves. Allegedly.

Dear All,

looking at replacing the old points system on the twin with a Pazon Smart fire system.

Would be interested in hearing from any forum members using this system on their thoughts in relation to:

easiest/cheapest way to purchase
ease of installation and set up
performance/issues in use

regs
Rob

 

[Rob H]

Thanks to all who responded, will look into it a bit more

regs
Rob

 

[Len Matthews]

Rob
There has been so much discussion on this site about distributers verses electronic ignitions i've lost count. But what i will say is that more people have posted problems about electronics than have distributors. I am one of the old school that believe that there is nothing so simple than a condeser a set of points and a bog standard coil. It's something you can fix yourself on the side of the road should it need it. Why change, a spark is a spark does it matter if it comes from the latest gismo. I await to be shot down in flames.
John

Indeed, you can fix it at the side of the road and I had to coming home from the Dutch some years ago. The tip of the moving contact had snapped off and thanks to a generous benefactor who gave me a spare set of Series D points the previous day, I was up and running again within ten minutes.

 

[Alan J]

Apart from keeping water out of my "mag" in France I'm with John Cone [hi, John] on this-I hope Chris and Tracey made it home with "a dodgy" Boyer!

 

[Tracey Tilley]

Pazon

We did make it home.

I have started a thread about the replacement.We are going down the Distributor route for now.

Pazon now costs 900+ NZ Dollars which is £500. Add the cost of carrying a spare box and it gets silly.

http://www.pazon.com/ignition/smart-fire-ignitions/

I bought one for my Triumph from his Ebay site. That was about £250.It is a good product.

Refurbishing our Mag and purchasing/carrying a spare is expensive and heavy.

It's a difficult choice either way.