MSD V-Series Ignition
for Harleys
Story by Buck Manning
A frequent topic of talk shows, self-help books, and blowhard self-righteous life gurus is how to add spice to a relationship when the spark starts to diminish. The same thing could be said for older Harleys that just don’t have the spark they once did. With the renewed interest in resurrecting H-Ds that have been busy holding up garages or updating now-decades-old running components for more reliability, power, and ease of starting, the stock H-D ignition system is a prime choice to begin with. But where do you begin?
Obviously you could head to your local H-D parts counter and replace what you have with the same, but that’s kinda a sideways move and not very spicy. Remember, you want to add spark to the old girl and here’s where the aftermarket can shine. The only problem now is where to aim your money gun. It’s a safe bet to go with a company that specializes in ignitions like MSD Ignition, headquartered here in lovely El Paso. They’ve been kicking ass in every form of racing since 1970 when a couple of rocket scientists from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico decided to put their talents into making the then-new capacitive discharge ignitions perform better. Nowadays, it’s a matter of course to see the MSD sticker on vehicles from dragsters to NASCAR to dirt trackers indicating it as the ignition of choice for professionals who can’t take chances. It’s not all about cars, though, and you can update and upgrade your carbureted 1970-1999 Shovelhead and Big Twin or 1971-1997 Sporty with their V-Series nosecone ignition.
I spoke with knowledgeable and (more importantly for some of us less technical) affable Bret Kugler, MSD technician and Marketing and Sales guy, about the V-Series. “It’s mainly for stock bikes to give more spark energy plus some adjustability as far as timing and it also gives you an adjustable rev limiter,” he said. ”It’ll get better power throughout the whole RPM range plus you get selectable VOES curves as well.” In case you’re wondering what the hell a VOES curve is, let Bret explain, “It’s actually a vacuum advance switch like on a car. You can set it from 5-to 9.5-degrees of retard [in .5-degree increments] so it gives you improved gas mileage.” According to MSD’s excellent website (www.msdignition.com), the curve will be altered from 400 to 3500 RPM at which point it will return to the standard advance curve. Additional advance under low manifold pressure improves idle and fuel economy. When under heavy acceleration and with engine vacuum low, the switch opens, causing the V-Series to follow a slower advance curve reducing detonation under heavy loads. Sounds like a good thing to me.
The V-Series ignition (PN 4226 $244.90) is adaptable for either single or dual fire mode and has an output to connect a tach. As far as settings for timing and VOES go, Bret said, “ We’ve actually run them on a dyno so our curves are preset. It’s just whatever performs best for you depending on your altitude and everything. All the different factors are included in that and come with the instructions.” Personally, I can tell you from past experience that if you have any problems or questions, the MSD tech line human beings (915-855-7123) are a pleasure to deal with.
Installation is relatively easy for anyone familiar with tools and MSD has clear and thorough instructions included that covers everything from removing the old ignition to setting timing on the new one. If your bike still has rivets holding the nosecone on, you’ll have to drill those out before installing the bolt-in unit. MSD does provide self-tapping screws to replace the drilled-out rivets, so it’s a no-brainer to reattach the nose cone. By the way, if you’re still living in the 19th century and are running a points ignition (I have a dwell meter somewhere, but I don’t have a guess), this is an especially great upgrade ”For older Harleys with points, this ignition will work in it as well. But you have to remove all that stuff and put an H-D timing cup in first,” said Bret. Oh, if you have a distributor on your bike, you’re sh*t out of luck.
With the ignition in place, you should consider replacing that old coil also. MSD offers a Dual Output Single Fire Blaster coil (PN 42953 $131.40) that ups the ante and makes starting easier too. “The single fire gives you a hotter spark, a more efficient spark compared to a dual fire right across the whole range,” said Bret. Obviously at this point, a set of fresh spark plug wires would do wonders too. “You can get MSD application-specific wires [roughly $20-$25 a set depending on model] or we have universal wires,” said Bret. At this point, you might as well throw in a set of fresh plugs too. Surprisingly, you’ll have to look elsewhere than MSD for those.
With the unfortunate recent demise of Crane Cams and their ubiquitous HI-4 ignition system no longer being produced, MSD’s V-Series ignition is a great alternative for you Shovel and Evo lovers seeking more spark in your life. For any other additional type of spark you might be looking for, tune in Dr. Phil or Oprah. I’ve got nothing for you.