Vape 12v upgrade F plate ETZ 250. Opinions??

[JawasandMZs]

Hi, As you all know I'm a recent adherent to the to 2 stroke religion and have covered nearly 900miies on my rebuilt ETZ. It was doing 65mpg whilst running in. I doubt very much whether it'll keep this up much longer - it's just too much fun revving it between 5 and 6 grand!

Today's question concerns the charging and ignition system. It looks worryingly primitive and I've never encountered those strange things called points, condensor and distributor. I vaguely remember my old man's Ital having them and him moaning that they were an old fashioned item on a brand new car even in 1980!
Anyway, my question is the following: How reliable/maintainance intensive is the standard set-up? You can rip out the whole lot and install the same Vape system as found on my 2015 Jawa. New alternator, reg/rec, cdi unit, cdi pick-up and coil.
But at approx £240 it ain't cheap. (Albeit an absolute giveaway compared to Japanese gear) What are your views on this?
As you know Ive spent over two thousand on this beast and don't REGRET A PENNY. I'm out on it every day in the dark, cold, drizzle. I just don't care! You wouldn't get this from any other bike!

Ive ordered a 2nd hand front sprocket with 17 teeth replacing the overgeared 19. I will update you all on how I get on with this. I've resigned myself to these bikes having 4,000-5,000 rpm/50-60mph cruising speed which is in fact a really relaxing ride.

[Guesi]

You can install an electronic ignition. Then you don´t have to worry about the contact breakers anymore.
This is cheaper than changing the whole Alternator.
The MZ original Alternator is quite reliable, the only weak point is the Rotor with its Graphite Collectors.
You can change that if necessary to a rotor with copper collectors.
And the original alternator is charging more at low revs than the Vape does...

[dave47]

You should do the gap and timing 300miles after the engine rebuild, and at 3000mile intervals afterwards. Imo ei won't improve the performance if its in gwo.
Your choice of 17t instead of 18t, could be the best. I would be interested to know the result.

[Blurredman]

I have just a contactless ignition on my 251, but i've decided to keep points on my 250. As mentioned. Alternator itself is reliable, and actually I think the whole package is more servicable as each process of current is in individual items. If the regulator breaks- change it, if the rectifier breaks, change it.. If the stator breaks that's fine change it. In my years of owning these two, i've only just broken 1 mechanical regulator and that was within the last month. Good job I have spares!

They are old fashioned maybe.. But I suppose you can get home with dodgy points (or a spare set). You can't get home with electronic ignition if that breaks..

[Guesi]

They are old fashioned maybe.. But I suppose you can get home with dodgy points (or a spare set). You can't get home with electronic ignition if that breaks..

Thats what what our grandfathers always said.But nowadays we have cell phones.. So reparing a bike on the street does not happen very often. We all have friends who can pick us up after calling them (I hope so )

The good thing about electronic ignition is that you adjust it once in a life time.
Which results in an exact ignition timing all over the whole life...
This means optimal fuel consumption and optimal power.

So you don´t use jungle drums instead of a phone only because the phone might break

[DAVID THOMPSON]

had an r90s BMW with a Boyer system in the late 1970's
it had a custom faring that was a beast to remove so the Boyer was well loved
as a points adjust was no fun bike was down a whole day to get it done when it had points
dave

cell phones are a pain they always seem to fail when you need them to really work

[Guesi]

You cannot compare a Boyer from the 70s with actual ignmitions. These are much more reliable now.

And maybe you should let your old Nokia 6310 retire finally

[JawasandMZs]

Thanks everyone for responding to this question. In thirty+ years of riding popular Japanese bikes like GPZ500s, GS500s etc Ive never had any kind of electrical fault. I've had broken chains, blown fork seals, a faulty petrol tap and bikes that drive you mad by having designs that make changing the plugs an hour's work and a bike that I had to sell for peanuts because the seat base had rotted out and price of a replacement was totally stupid. (Oh, the wasted years before discovering Jawas and MZs!) But never an electrical fault.
I often ask for advice then decide to go against it and have just ordered the Vape kit and a wiring diagram. Will update you all on my progress.

[Puffs]

Following a biased and flawed moderator choice (someone posting aggressive personal attacks is rewarded, while my technical posts are removed - behind my back & without any justification!), I have withdrawn from this forum.

[JawasandMZs]

Puffs
You're never too late for the party and your contribution is very much appreciated. Even if the chance of the thirty year old components failing is minimal it's still risk I'd rather not take as next summer I'll be returning to the sunny roads of continental Europe. I did a Eurobike tour in 1988 on a 250 Superdream with 3 other riders of much faster bikes so we had to apply a 50 mph limit and everyone agreed that it vastly improved the experience as opposed to blamming along at 90 and Ive always wanted to do it again. We've done it by car a few times with rule that we're not allowed to speak to anyone in English. (I don't do "normal" holidays) I'm definitely not going to use a satnav either. Too easy. No hotels. No restaurants. Too touristy.
I will post pics of my odyssey.

I'm starting to get a bit excited now.

[Puffs]

Oh that sounds like a lovely trip. And yes, in a situation like that I too would prevent any unnecessary hassles. Bon voyage.