The Palace comes to the People’s Champ

This is the Palace from Brian Durk on Vimeo.

Give us a vote by visiting showclassmag.com, losermachine.com and adding the comment “vote” to our bike on the @Show_class_mag instagram account. We hope folks are feeling what we’re doing.

Thanks!

Peoples Champ – Generator Magneto

I always wanted to make a gen mounted magneto. Never for a fancy “show motor”… just for fun.
I made a cone mounted magneto a few months earlier which really gave me an understanding of some of the basics. I noticed that everyone this year was getting really turned on to the Wico design but when I researched it myself I realized 2 things that I WAS NOT down with. First, you need to alter the inside of the case byP= machining the idler gear boss casting and ultimately removing it. This edit to the case is just silly and shortsighted. Second, the price tag for the kit is $2k!!! I’m a normal person with a normal job who makes regular pay with 2 kids and a wife at home. $2k just ain’t happening. The other option is the Morris H5 which is super rad but again, at $1600, unfortunately I’ll have to pass.

I looked at the inside of my case and the gears and I looked at how the old Harley XR magnetos operated. They were gear driven. Well wouldn’t you know… the Morris design is gear driven too! I bought a shitty FM-XD mag from ebay and butted it up to the gen hole. Surprise, it’s a very close fit! Not perfect but close. More important, the FMXD has an impulse winding just like the H5.

After reviewing the case, the mag and the gears I had a good overview of the project.
1. A collar is required to mount the mag to the case.
2. The magneto needs to spin in reverse.
3. The impulse winding needs to be reversed.
4. A gear set is needed to adapt the idler gear to the magneto.
5. The magneto must spin at exact 1:1 ration with the cam.
6. A fresh FM-XD magneto must be converted to a dual fire coil.

More to come on this in my next blog post.