I'm breaking my promise to myself not to post more than once in this thread.....
But ... regular readers will know that Ian's opinion is about a thousand times more valuable than my syphilitic rantings, because it is based on a much greater depth of experience. Nothing I ever say should be interpreted as a criticism of anything Ian says.
I'm just an enthusiastic amateur. Ian can rebuild an entire engine blindfolded with one hand, while at the same time solving the Times crossword puzzle. If I was going to rebuild a mag, I would ask Ian who to take it to.
In my defense, I live 3,000 miles from the closest Brit cycle mechanic and a bit further away from a good mag rebuilder. For me, working in isolation, the Thorspark is a logical option. Without advice from people like Ian, I'd be walking to work most days.
So, if you're new to this most wondrous forum, best advice I can give you is to ignore me and listen to Ian.:heart_eyes:
Thanks for your replies (more are welcome of course). I can't emphasize how much I appreciate having this website as a resource. Really.
Mark, I'm actually much more likely to visit relatives in the UK and Netherlands than I am to drive 9 hours to Ottawa but thanks anyway. We used to have three shops that repaired old brit bikes in my area but they've all closed.
I'm not new to Lucas, Smiths and BSA. I've owned a '74 Midget, a '65 BSA Lightning and still have a '54 Ariel 650 twin with the A10 engine. And as a small plane pilot I appreciate of the reliability of magnetos, even if all the electrics are toasted the engine will keep running at 4,000 ft. But this M20 I'm working on won't be my daily rider and I'm never going to be more than 40 mins from home on it let alone 8 hours. I have other bikes for that- a '67 Velo-Solex, '69 Honda Cub and a '05 Genuine Stella 2T. Ok, I'm not going 8 hours away on those either, heh.
Cas, thanks for the honest appraisal of your experience with Thorspark. I didn't want to rely solely on their own hype. It's great to get an independent customer's opinion.
Ian, I appreciate your input. If I had a good shop within an hour or two drive I'd take them the mag and wait.
[edit] Cas, I've been lurking here for a bit and Ian's expertise has already answered questions for me that others have asked. Like I said, it's wonderful to have such depth of knowledge here.
