joe hunt magneto

[customchop]

im thinking of putting a hunt mag on my triumph, looking for any info pros, cons. i will be buying a new one thanks

[H.B.H]

I just got my hands on a used one for 250.00!! I asked around and the fact that they are pretty much maintenence free sold me on it. Plus I hate the way batteries look on a brit bike.

[TEACH]

got one on my 67 one kick starter every time..

[bigdumbhead]

so... using a magneto means you don't need a battery= less wires cleaner look?

[blackbob]

the only wires on my Triumph are the HT cables

Joe Hunt Mags Rule, once set up it starts first time every time , runs great and just keeps goin - apart from that it looks cool as
well worth the dough i'm buying a new one for my Indian Stroker project

[humbug]

A mag on a trump rules. Just pay attention to the hex drive shaft. The shaft will strip out over time. Some times they break to. I've had both of those problems happen. I put mags on all my bikes who needs a battery
ryan

[scraper]

they do look pretty sick.

so how bout some quick questions for the non-mag dudes. how does it work? you dont need a battery so i suppose the mag also powers your lights/horn too? does it have a built it regulator so the lights stay bright at idle? do you still have to run the stator to anything? do you guys with mags run an ignition switch or just a kill button?

sorry about the question bomb but my bike has zero electronics so far & if a mag is a more reliable route & the cost difference is marginal if i dont have to buy new points, battery, coils, etc. ill most likely go that route. plus it looks pretty hot rod-ish & i dig that.

[scootermcrad]

I run one on my pre-unit and I love it! Do a search on here and you'll see some more info about Hunts on Trumps.

[wjjeeper]

I've got a Joe Hunt mag coming to me from Buck that will find its way on to my '69 500....
Parts are on back order so its taking forever to get here.

[Sporticus]

Has anyone ever holed a piston on a mag-fired bike because the engine was lugging and the mag couldn't retard? I've never seen it happen, but there's always someone in every crowd who warns about it. A lot of early bikes allow you to manually retard the timing with the left grip (or right on an Indian).

Should I ever worry about this in normal use?

[scootermcrad]

Originally Posted by Sporticus

Has anyone ever holed a piston on a mag-fired bike because the engine was lugging and the mag couldn't retard?

Should I ever worry about this in normal use?

In my opinion.... yes. Worry. The problem with the unit bikes running mags is they are set up on the exhaust cam instead of the timing gears. No Automatic Advance Unit (AAU) like a lot of the pre-unit motors had. I honestly am not sure how you guys are setting them up, but I guess if you could turn the mag itself you could get the timing closer to where it needs to be. I think Flyin' Dutchman said he runs his at 38-degrees BTDC (is that right Tilly or is it 28)... sorta' scary.

For those of you using Hunts (or others) that are set up directly to the exhaust cam, how are you able to set the timing where you need it? Is it all in the mount you use? My preunit set-up is way differnt obviously. I'm also able to run the AAU.

[Creepinogie]

I had an Edison Splitdorf magneto on my Indian Chief for years locked in full advance and never had any problems. The only reason I changed to a distributor was because finding rotors for it (the mag) was almost impossible. Now that I have a distributor, I rotate it to full advance after starting it. If your burining holes in pistons, you have alot more problems than advanced too far, probably running too lean too. Remember, Sportsters (the real ones) had magnetos on them for years from the factory.

If I could find a good Hunt mag for the Indian for cheap. I'd buy it. Maybe some of those old storys were from the sidecar days when bikes were under alot more stress. Especially Indians which used a shitty alloy in the early thru mid 40's for their pistons. And when they used shittier gas than they have now. Course, I'm not a Triumph guy so maybe what I'm saying is a load of crap when it comes to Triumphs.

You should be able to tell by how the bikes running when accelerating hard or going up a hill or carrying around that fat chick.

Go for the mag.
LL

Originally Posted by Sporticus

Has anyone ever holed a piston on a mag-fired bike because the engine was lugging and the mag couldn't retard? I've never seen it happen, but there's always someone in every crowd who warns about it. A lot of early bikes allow you to manually retard the timing with the left grip (or right on an Indian).

Should I ever worry about this in normal use?

[Faust]

Originally Posted by Creepinogie

You should be able to tell by how the bikes running when accelerating hard or going up a hill or carrying around that fat chick.

Go for the mag.
LL

I've had no prob's with my Hunt Mag fired Trump. Once you get the timing right you will know it. I have the problem of the shaft drive wearing out therefore retarding the timing. This left me with a hot running and poor performing machine.

[humbug]

The mag just controls the firing of your plugs. You still get your power off of your stator. I use a mitty max recitfier. Its does a more effecient job of turning ac to dc. The mag has a grounding post to kill the motor. I use a feeler guage with rubber on it right off the post. Just press the guage against the mag body and it will ground it out

Originally Posted by sojerscraper

they do look pretty sick.

so how bout some quick questions for the non-mag dudes. how does it work? you dont need a battery so i suppose the mag also powers your lights/horn too? does it have a built it regulator so the lights stay bright at idle? do you still have to run the stator to anything? do you guys with mags run an ignition switch or just a kill button?

sorry about the question bomb but my bike has zero electronics so far & if a mag is a more reliable route & the cost difference is marginal if i dont have to buy new points, battery, coils, etc. ill most likely go that route. plus it looks pretty hot rod-ish & i dig that.

[Englishman]

Originally Posted by sojerscraper

so how bout some quick questions for the non-mag dudes. how does it work? you dont need a battery so i suppose the mag also powers your lights/horn too? does it have a built it regulator so the lights stay bright at idle? do you still have to run the stator to anything? do you guys with mags run an ignition switch or just a kill button?

The magneto is a self-contained ignition unit. It generates it's own power, has a set of points and a cam for timing, and it also contains a coil to generate the spark. There is a post on the mag that will kill the ignition once grounded.

It does not produce power for the lights.
You need the regular alternator/rectifier/regulator set for that.

But, if every wire on the bike fell off, you could still ride it home

[scraper]

thanks for the scoop guys. do you have any type of ignition switch at all or could anyone just jump on your bike, kick it & go? i like the idea of having the simplest of simple but i dont want any fools taking off with my scoot. i was thinking of running a totally hidden on/off switch somewhere.

[Bugeye13]

I run a switch up under my tank. Also If i park it far away

I switch the wires. Scumbags are stupid!

Rob - Detroit bound.

[Oklahoma]

I'm having Buck at Goblin Millworx build me one for my T100R with a key switch integrated into the mag itself. I've had others this way on harleys and never had problems with it.

[RippoDippo]

I had Buck rebuild my Hunt. I had him install a retard bracket seen in pic!
How it all works? Hmmm? call me retard...
Anyone got a Instruction sheet can post?
Still to polish. It's for my PAn.