Restoration prices - I'm shocked!

Previously wrote:

Hi FolksJust been quoted to refurbish 16 H Magneto £300 - £450 and Dynamo £200 - £250im cobsmacked this restoration is going to be really expensive i had no idea thingswould cost as much ...are there any cheaper ways of getting round this.Cheers Billy

Billy- Nothing cheap in this hobby- perhaps you can undertake the the mag/dyno rebuild yourself-research & learn how to do the bearings, seals brushes etc. Wise to have an experienced shop with the right equipment do the windings though-this is beyond most (but not all) home capabilities. Take your time as this sort of thing is more about the journey than the destination. I've just finished a four year effort and and at the end I've found that the things I've learned to do myself because of the expense of having others do the work have often been the most rewarding. Go at it- make mistakes-have victories-( I almost said have triumphs but we all know Nortons are better).

Billy,

Those prices are way, way out. I've had magdyno's done which were a combined unit (i.e. the dynamo doesn't come off) for under £500 all in. Look on ebay for 'lucas dynamo' and see if there is a rebuild kit for yours. These cost around £130 but are not done for all models.

Regards the magneto there is no kit to do this yourself not that most could anyway.

Give Moathouse Magneto's (google them for details) a shout and see what he will charge for the job. He's done three of mine so far.

Restoration is never cheap; even a run of the mill bike can make your wallet scream.

Jim

Hi Billy, The magneto on my '54 Dominator 88 packed up recently. Like you, I was horrified at the cost (and the time it would take) to have the mag reconditioned. Providing it is only the electrics are not working, and the armature still rotates, you could convert to electronic ignition, using a "Thorspark" kit. The only drawback is that you need to keep the battery charged, so, your dynamo must work. See my post about "Thorspark" under Heavy Twins. All the best, John.

Previously wrote:

Hi FolksJust been quoted to refurbish 16 H Magneto £300 - £450 and Dynamo £200 - £250im cobsmacked this restoration is going to be really expensive i had no idea thingswould cost as much ...are there any cheaper ways of getting round this.Cheers Billy

Hi Billy,

I too was suprised at the costs (I am in the USA), so I rebuilt my own Dynamo with parts from Sean Hawker :

http://www.hawkerelectrical.co.uk/& everything went great, I even bought their electronic regulator that fits inside the old regulator box so no more troubles with that either.

As to the mag, I used to always send mine out for rebuild (black magic, potions & all that involved), untill recently. I discovered that a lot of mag failures are from the old capacitor (lucas gave them a 10 year shelf life). The lucas capacitors were paper & paste & eventually don't work so well. I found Brightspark Magnetos : http://www.brightsparkmagnetos.com/

They sell an awesome capacitor that is relocated near the points instead of buried in the back end of the mag. The website gives step by step instructions on how to do it & I found it quite easy. They also have drawings for free to download of the paper shims for the bearings, & also for the body shims. They even have drawings available to make your own bearing puller & slip ring puller if you need to do that. If you are not up to the task, they will do it for you. You will also want to have them re charge your magnets, as they loose power over the years.

Good luck, you will enjoy the journey !!!!!!

Skip Brolund

Prices vary dramatically. Check very carefully to see who charges VAT for mag rebuilds. My son had his 88 mag refurbished by one of the well-advertised restorers and by the time VAT was added he didn't get much change from £500. Not a happy bunny. Last weekend I collected 2 magnetos I had rebuilt - a BTH and an EIC - and the grand total came to £334.34. A very happy bunny!

Billy

Not sure where you are.

Try FTW in Sheffield. Did my mag/dyno for £350 although some years ago.

They advertise in OBM.

If you need contact details email me.

Ian Jayne

secretary@yorkshire.nortonownerclub.org.

Hi Billy

My dad works full time restoring mags and although I'm not on here to advertise his business(I am a fellow Norton owner as of this year), I know he charges considerably less than the prices you have mentioned. I think it is around 200 for a standard mag and a bit less for a dynamo with no VAT to add. He gets in a lot of mags that have been 'restored' elsewhere and then packed up very quickly so be careful where you go. With modern varnishes on the coil, a mag should be a 'fit and forget' part of the bike.

Have a look on his website www.themagnetoguys.co.uk. There's quite a bit of info on there about what is involved so might give you some ideas of what to ask if you ring round other places, alternatively give him a ring (01323 840203) and as a fellow motorcyclist I know he will be happy to give you some information on what is involved, and time scales for if you use him, he is very busy at the moment though and I think he is telling people 8-10 weeks.

I've heard some bad reports about electronic ignition, but then I guess me and my dad would be a bit biased on that, so it may be worth doing some more research if you decided to go down that route.

Hope this was of some help

Andy

Previously wrote:

Hi FolksJust been quoted to refurbish 16 H Magneto £300 - £450 and Dynamo £200 - £250im cobsmacked this restoration is going to be really expensive i had no idea thingswould cost as much ...are there any cheaper ways of getting round this.Cheers Billy

Hello Billy It's much easier to rebuild your own, they're not rocket science - all the replacement parts you can get from 'Independent Ignitions' in Devon. they're on the web - all you need is some good soldering equipment and a good digital multimeter and some testing wires. You can find the know how on 'you-tube' your ajd

Previously wrote:

Hi FolksJust been quoted to refurbish 16 H Magneto £300 - £450 and Dynamo £200 - £250im cobsmacked this restoration is going to be really expensive i had no idea thingswould cost as much ...are there any cheaper ways of getting round this.Cheers Billy

Hi Billy,I charge between £250 & £300 for a complete magneto rebuild and £200 for a complete dynamo rebuild.I am a armature winder by trade,have a fully equiped workshop for rewinding and testing and have been repairing magnetos, dynamos & rewinding coils for over 40 years.Cheers Paul Wolf Magneto & Dynamo Repairs 0117 9836702 or 07831446958.NOC Member

I'd go for the mag refurb - electronic is all very well but a properly working mag is pretty much fit-and-forget. And it looks better also. The electronic system won't be much cheaper than the refurbishment either. And where will you put the ignition switch, and the coils, on a 16H? And you'll be dependent on the generator - do you want that? Coil ignition only came in when alternators appeared - and no matter the state of the generator it won't be as reliable unless you fit a modern alternator as well. So the mag will be cheaper.