Does the V-Max have a "wasted spark" ignition?

[Birdoprey]

From some searching, i "believe" i recall some mentioning that the V-Max uses a wasted spark ignition? I also ran across some mentioning that the front coils/wires are "swapped"(the left side coil feeds the right front cyl, vice/versa for the right side coil). They also mentioned that if they were wired wrong(on front cyl), then the bike would miss and pop.

If it does uses a wasted spark, then it should'nt matter how the front two were wired, correct? Or am i missing something? I've messed with many inline 4 motors(most of which use a wasted spark ignition setup), and it does not matter how its wired as long as one coil feeds 1-4 and the other feeds 2-3. Dunno why using 4 seperate coils would be used unless each cyl is fired independantly?

 

[maleko89]

It is a wasted spark ignition and it will run like pooh if you swap the coil leads up front. Each cylinder is fired independantly. '85-'89 models have two p/u coils...oen for rear and other for front cylinders. Late models have 1 coil to signal all four ignition coils.

 

[Birdoprey]

It is a wasted spark ignition and it will run like pooh if you swap the coil leads up front. Each cylinder is fired independantly. '85-'89 models have two p/u coils...oen for rear and other for front cylinders. Late models have 1 coil to signal all four ignition coils.

So it fires each coil independantly but it fires each coil twice per power cycle? Boy, that truly is a "waste"...

 

[maleko89]

Correct. So, each cylinder fires twice per 720 degrees. Once for power stroke and other for exhaust stroke. Not sure how you could avoid this since flywheel magnets trigger ignition every 360 degrees. The ignitor isn't that smart.

 

[Birdoprey]

No problem, just wanted to know. I just swapped the stk ignition coils/wires/caps for a COP(Coil on plug) setup. I had the front two backwards at first and it did'nt run so well. Got them correct and it seems to run better than with original coils/wires. Cold start is definately better than before. The COP have a noticably hotter spark than the stock coils/wires. Very easy to do and very cheap too. Very sano...

 

[maleko89]

COP's from what vehicle? Did you use existing 2-pin plugs to fire the plugs?

 

[Birdoprey]

Check out the thread i started in the Electrical section. Coil sticks from Hayabusa. Just added female spade connectors and plugged into factory coil connectors. Very simple. I've posted pic's and i also have a small video of startup and a little reving. Don't know how to post though. Its a MOV format(from my camera).