Weird 850 GT Condensor Setup

[Jim Malm]

I picked up a '72 850 GT last fall and have been getting it tidied up for the spring riding season. In the process of cleaning it up and getting it running, I discovered an odd condensor setup on the bike. The regular condensor has been replaced with a much larger (3-4x) unit that is electrically connected to what resembles a foil wrapped candy bar that's zip-tied to the distributor shaft. The bike seems to run okay with this system, but the bigger condensor can interferes with getting to the adjustment screw when timing the bike. Have any of you out there in Wild Guzzi Land seen this system before and know what it is and why it might be better than a stock condensor?

Thanks,

Jim

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Never seen anything like that (and I have seen some real bodge jobs). I'd remove all of the non-original junk and install an original type condenser in the stock location.

[Vasco DG]

Sounds like some genius decided that rather than spending three bucks on a .2-.22 microfarad condenser from Wottalottacrap Auto they'd save themselves the money, (And the few cents for gas to drive to the shop!) and cobble something horrible together out of the assortment of Radio Shack munt they had left over from when they built the Orgone Accumulator for their car that they'd read about that promised to get them two miles to the gallon better fuel economy! Only if you wore a tinfoil hat mind!

Pete

[Jim Malm]

Thanks for the replies. As a folllow-up, I think that what was installed there was an auto-type coil requiring a resistor, a ballast resistor to go with it, and an auto-type (Fiat?) condenser. I communicated with the PO and he said that the bike once had a radio and that he might have installed that setup to reduce ignition noise on the radio. That would have had to have been one loud radio given the noise this bike makes. I'm back to the stock setup and the bike runs, which I consider a good sign.

Thanks again for the comments.

Jim

[mtiberio]

electrically there is no reason why the condensor cant be mounted between the coil and ground.

[nc43bsa]

Mine are mounted below the coils next to the relays.