Many will think this heresy but the Dynatek ignition is not all that great. First, the standard or "S" model is nothing more than an aftermarket version of what Honda and other powersports OEMs put on their bikes starting in 1979. It is not more powerful, it is not more accurate, and it is not performance enhancing. In fact, there are a number of disadvantages with this ignition. First, unlike the factory Honda Kettering ignition this one will eventually fail and leave you in the lurch. Second, if purchased with the Dyna ignition coils you will in almost every instance be getting suppressive spark plug wires. These do not belong on a Honda. You don't want their added resistance and you don't want the crimps, especially the kind that fasten to non-metallic wire. Third, the replacement of the Kettering points cam with the Dynatek aluminum rotor is problematic on some Honda models, theoretically all of the vintage SOHC fours and non-theoretically but actually the SOHC CB750, on which it shortens the 750's advance curve. Add to these issues the deplorable way the ignition is installed (Scotchloks) and you are "in the hole" when choosing the Dyna over the stock ignition.

There are three advantages with the Dyna ignition, once it is installed correctly, with good connectors, metallic plug wires, and the advancer modified to accept the Dyna rotor. First, sure, the Dyna reduces maintenance. Compared with the Honda ignition's ability to go 20,000 miles this is not as significant as it might seem, but it is indeed a plus. Second, if you opt for the Dyna coils and choose and install them wisely, you can end up with a system whose energy makes up for many of the inevitable shortcomings of carburetion. Third, when fitting a Dyna S in place of one of Honda's TPI systems, for which no quality replacement transistor boxes now exist, you gain new transistors that are built into the Dyna timing module. This is in fact the only way to get new, long-lasting transistors on such Hondas as the CBX1000.

Speaking of the CBX1000, Dyna never made an ignition for this model. Those marketed for the CBX are in fact intended for the Kawasaki two-stroke triple. If you bolt a Dyna onto a CBX without modifying the backing plate, the result will be 10 degrees over-advanced ignition timing. This is not what you want on a hot-running engine like the CBX. The backing plate's slots must be widened to time the system properly.

Back to the 750 issue. The thickness of the Dyna rotor kicks the advancer's flyweights out partly already deployed. Once timed, it will be discovered that this partial deployment uses up some of the factory's advance curve, withthe result that the ignition does not reach full advance. This is fairly easily corrected, but it requires that the advancer's stop ears be machined. Don't try to bend them. The advance assembly is hardened steel and the ears will break, they won't bend.