Honda used a part on the GL1000 that came from the auto world, the ignition ballast resistor. Not too surprising, considering that Honda's auto division designed this engine. In fact, consider how many -600 center codes there are in the GL1000 engine's part numbers, a number that was at the time of the Wing's intro reserved for the company's car parts. And witness the pressed piston pins in this engine, another auto technology. Very revealing.

In cars the resistor is supposed to "ballast" voltage, that is, save it at low rpm where it isn't needed so that at high rpm where the ignition is voltage-starved there is surplus available. That's the theory anyway and the source of the part's name.

The way the resistor is used in the GL1000 however is different. It's nothing more than a voltage reducer. During starting, the resistor is temporarily bypassed by the start button, allowing the full 12 volts to the ignition coils. Then once running, the coils are fed through the resistor, receiving only 6-8 volts. All of this happens through simple wiring and the action of the start button.

It's a goofy system and typical of what happens when the two galaxies--powersports and automobile--collide as they did in the GL1000. It's a non-sensical part. And how folks approach it is equally ill-informed. Although certain "experts" warn against it, bypassing the ballast resistor has long been a tradition among career Honda mechanics. Together with the OEM high performance ignition coils, this results in very good ignition performance.