New PVL twin outlet coils

I dropped by Sprint yesterday for some new ignition coils. When hot, the bike had been stalling at traffic lights, idling very unevenly after a run. The bike ran perfectly well for the first five miles or so. But then things would deteriorate so the stalling was definitely related to how warm the engine was, or else how long it had been working. The problem had been coming on earlier and earlier over the past week so I decided I wouldn't risk it becoming a permanent feature.

I was convinced it wasn't a fueling problem, after all the work I'd done on the tank, and the carbs, and the fuel pipes ... ! Starting from cold was OK - firing after maybe four or five spins of the engine on the starter.That's why I thought it was time to revisit the ignition system to look for an explanation. I'd previously had a problem with my Daytona cutting out when warm and that was due to electrical breakdown of the ignition pickup coil when the engine was hot. It had always started perfectly from cold and, after cutting out, would re-start from cold. In that case though, it was total failure with the engine stopping completely while riding at normal speeds.

With my Trophy, it was different because it would run reasonably well at normal speeds though would cough occasionally accelerating from low revs. I'd read about similar problems on some internet forums. They pointed to failing ignition coils as the potential cause.

On my Trophy, these are a pair of twin-outlet resin-encapsulated units manufactured by PVL in Germany. The PVL coils on my bike were the originals. I know because PVL stamp the production date just above the low-tension connections on their coils. Mine read 0491 - April 1991.

So that means they are 22 years and one month old. That's old enough to justify retiring them. The coils I bought from Sprint were marked 1112 and 0313 - November 2012 and March 2013. I was somehow amazed to see that their construction appeared to be identical in every way to the originals - same cases, same potting, same terminals.The only difference is the white print on the body, with the code 356 100. The PVL website lists that code as "High performance double Ignition Coil 2/4-cylinder Triumph, BMW", 1.1Ohm primary winding, secondary 7,66kOhm. My old analogue multimeter sort of agreed with this, given that the needle waves about quite a lot without ever seeming to settle. I noticed that the secondary windings on the old coils were reading about 10kOhm - higher than the new ones anyway. This measurement doesn't mean much though because the bike was cold when I measured the resistances and the problem only surfaces when hot.

I smiled to see 'Made in W Germany' still moulded into the plastic cases. It was hard to believe so much time could have passed with absolutely no evidence of design change. Of course, changes could be hidden inside.

I've been for one ten-mile run with the new coils so far and already the difference is noticeable. No more coughing on the throttle at low revs. Whilst idling on its centre stand after the ride, I got the bike hot enough or the fan to cut in. Whereas it would have been stumbling badly yesterday, there was just a hit of lumpiness. I was able to turn the idle speed right down to an indicated 500 rpm without the bike stalling. I must have left it running like that for a minute just to see before turning it back up to its regular 1000 rpm idle speed.