Dizzy cap

Hi guys
I'm going to have my '87 (my DA) RRC serviced in the spring & having owned it for 14 years thought I'd treat it to a new dizzy cap, rotor arm, leads, plugs & coil.

I realise the importance of using quality ignition components for the RV8 & browsing the 'net I find 'genuine' caps at £46 & Lucas @ £30 with one outlet offering a complete Lucas set (cap/leads & plugs) for £69 ... which would leave me to source just the coil & rotor.

As the RV8 uses Lucas ignition components I have to question the difference between 'genuine' & Lucas
Any thoughts guys?

Had to fit a pattern dizzy cap to mine some years ago - the sprung carbon brush from the king lead on the cap to the centre of the rotor arm had broken up & I could only find a pattern one in deepest darkest Cornwall.
Immediate misfire on LPG at speed & the same on petrol in wet weather.
Comparing the pattern to the genuine showed a lot of baffles in the genuine weren't present in the pattern.
The outlet contacts to each plug lead in the pattern were fully exposed, those in the genuine were fully shrouded with only the face towards the rotor arm exposed.
When I got home sourced & fitted a new carbon brush to the original & normal service resumed - been fine ever since.

ETA. When you pull the old rotor arm off you MUST press down on the 8-pointed star thing underneath it (the reluctor) or there is a very high chance you will disengage the springs & weights of the auto advance/retard mechanism in the bottom of the dizzy bowl. Rotor arm will then flop about & it won't run.
Not mentioned in any workshop manual.
Not difficult to reconnect, albeit fiddly, & if you pack plenty of cloth around the dizzy to stop any part disappearing into the engine bay you don't have to remove the dizzy. Guess how I know.

Don't use the type of rotor arm which has the metal strip riveted to the arm.

Thanks for the reply & advice Ratae.
Still curious as to the difference between caps described as 'genuine' & Lucas
I had a Nissens radiator fitted last week, a genuine (that word again) rad. is listed at something like £900 !
Seeing as Classic production ended in 1996 we have to question where LR now source their OEM parts ? No prizes for a correct answer

Pics off the internet. Amazing how difficult it is to find pics of the inside of a dizzy cap!
This one looks like the pattern cap (Facet branded, I've just had a look at it) I had issues with:


This black one looks like the one that I haven't had any issues with since replacing the carbon brush & its spring & is on the vehicle. You can see 4 extra bits in the centre & each lead pickup is plastic covered apart from the front. (I also have a spare in a LR box which looks exactly the same) Neither of these have any name or numbers moulded into the plastic :


As to who made/makes them & puts them in the various branded boxes it's probably anybody's guess!

I have found the caps and rotors from SimonBBC (Powerspark) https://simonbbc.com/categories/distributor-caps.html work very well and are as good as Genuine/Lucas. The 35D red rotor arms don't have a rivet, the conductor and body are moulded together for strength and more durability.
No connection to simonbbc, just a happy customer.

norseman said:

Still curious as to the difference between caps described as 'genuine' & Lucas

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I believe LR used Lucas but in their own packaging and Lucas are also 'genuine'!
The Powerspark ones state "This is a brand new, Non Genuine Lucas item made by Powerspark".
Nevertheless they work fine on mine just as the original cap & arm from LR; I have tried cheap copies and have had issues.

Thanks for all the replies guys, gives me something to go on

Think Lucas stuff is all made in china, so very much doubt would be oem and certainly no guarantee it would be any good, used power spark in the past without problems but unsure where things are sourced from

Lucas was a very old British company based in Birmingham producing a range of electrical items for various British car & motorbike manufacturers.
A certain reputation for quality & reliability & in my teens (early 1970's) when a lot of us were still riding British bikes of various makes & ages the term 'Joe Lucas, Prince of Darkness' was well known

Interesting entry on wikipedia Lucas Industries - Wikipedia

Ratae said:

Lucas was a very old British company based in Birmingham producing a range of electrical items for various British car & motorbike manufacturers.
A certain reputation for quality & reliability & in my teens (early 1970's) when a lot of us were still riding British bikes of various makes & ages the term 'Joe Lucas, Prince of Darkness' was well known

Interesting entry on wikipedia Lucas Industries - Wikipedia

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Too true, Lucas was well know as Prince of Darkness, helped the British car and motorcycle industry gain a well earned reputation for unreliability.
I doubt Lucas branded parts made in China can be much worse, and are possibly better..

Convert to distributorless ignition ?

pwood999 said:

Convert to distributorless ignition ?

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Prefer to keep things original wherever practical & usually succeed,

Ratae said:

Lucas was a very old British company based in Birmingham producing a range of electrical items for various British car & motorbike manufacturers.
A certain reputation for quality & reliability & in my teens (early 1970's) when a lot of us were still riding British bikes of various makes & ages the term 'Joe Lucas, Prince of Darkness' was well known

Click to expand...

'Oh yes the Lucas light switch, 3 positions ... dim, flicker & off