This is the bike before the Suzuki X7, the 90mph learner bike
The guts of the Vape kit. Ignition source and trigger coils on top, charging coils below
Now with the flywheel on
Vape give an ignition timing figure of 3.4mm BTDC. This tight-fitting brass rod (in a specially-made threaded sleeve) allows you to make a scalpel mark at TDC, then work back
Colin’s Suzuki GT250
Colin’s bike is a classic labout of love, restoring a bike he’s loved for many years.
He brought the GT along with no wiring at all, and a box containing a Vape charging/CDI ignition kit. Vape make these kits for almost any bike you might want to restore – even really rare stuff. So they are a great way to ditch antique charging systems and points ignition.
Colin had found an original left handlebar switch but it was unfortunately too damaged to restore. Instead I used his second choice, which works in the same way but looks less cool.
I used Suzuki colours for the wires, but also Vape colours for the ignition and charging. You can see on the diagram how the Vape system simplifies the wiring. The left handlebar switch doesn’t need two wires any more. These were used to switch in extra coils for lights.
The bike started first kick, but ran quite ragged. Colin is sorting out the carb settings and synchronisation. After that, it’s almost ready to rock.
The original sliding front brake switch had died (as usual). We replaced it with a hydraulic pressure switch
Regulator rectifier on the mudguard, ignition and tail light connections in front
The headlight looks quite messy but the cables sit round the edge of the headlamp shell, leaving space for the main bulb plug
