Mark’s Herald 250 Classic

Heralds are strange things. The factory doesn’t issue a manual, let alone a wiring diagram. Nor does anyone else.

This led to some serious head scratching when Mark brought the bike along: someone had messed around with the stock loom so much it was impossible to figure out how to make the ignition work.

After some fruitless experimentation, I emailed Jiri at Ignitech in the Czech Republic, and he built a CDI that used the stock Herald pickups and coil. Ignitech, eh? You gotta love ’em. They are so often the answer.

Mark plans to use the bike for messing about off road. So he only wanted electric start, battery charging and sparks. And a horn. So the wiring diagram is pretty simple.

Mark runs a car modifying shop so has the ability to build a battery box. That’s why the battery in the pics is held up with MDF and cable ties. I promise he’ll do something more secure before he starts sliding it around.

Note added late 2024: Mark sends a Whatsapp message: “Didn’t get to thank you. The bike has been to the South of France and back without any hassle. Many thanks!”