Spitfire multispark

[Gecko]

I was intrigued by one of the trade stands I saw at the Brussels bike show yesterday. They were selling a product called 'SPITFIRE MULTI-SPARK'. The theory behind this product is that by adding a multispark unit mid way along your HT leads, one on each HT lead, sparking efficiency is greatly improved. They showed a demo of a normal spark plug sparking just once . All perfectly fine and normal. By firing it through their multispark unit the spark appeared to fire about 5 times in a fraction of a second thus they claim, giving an improved spark , improved vapour burning giving a smoother and more efficient engine with power gain to boot.
They say their units can be fitted to any HT lead and they offer a 10 year 100,000 mile guarantee or 60 day no quibble money back gaurantee.

Knowing that B*W have tried to cure the infamous surging by introducing the twin spark engines I got to wondering if this multispark unit is going to be a possible answer to the age old surging problem on my and other GSs. I have changed from the OEM spark plugs an noticed an improvement with the surging anyway but it's still there at around 3000rpm.

I haven't been able to find anything about them on the internet so I was wondering if anyone has come across this product anywhere else. They have exhibited at the BMF show apparently. They are an English company called 'Formula Power' in Horsham run by Mr A.Graham.
If it does what they claim for all of GBP 20 I would think it's maybe worth a try but could this multispark have any detrimental effects on my electronic engine management system or any other parts of the bike ? Of course they say it won't but what is the verdict of the masses ? Anyone have any thoughts ?

 

[littleredrooster]

OK, call me sceptical, but.....it is the same principle as the soldiers' button trick, which could be used to clear an oiled plug during the war. The idea is that if you put an air-gap into the HT lead, the voltage has to build sufficiently to first of all jump the air-gap. This results in a more sudden build-up of voltage at the plug and a better spark. However.....

1. The way this is demonstrated is with an antiquated ignition setup with points and coil which (to my eye) produces a crap spark anyway. Anything could improve on this! Modern electronic igniters don't have the gradual build-up of voltage that the old coil set-up had, rather a sudden pulse of a carefully measured voltage.

2. It has the effect of massively increasing the resistance in the HT circuit, with potentially damaging results.

3. What you see demonstrated in atmospheric conditions is nothing like what happens to a spark plug with 160 - 200 psi of hot, turbulent gas around it.

Snake oil.....? I would be interested if you did buy one and let us all know the results!!!

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

ok. so the first spark occurs

the mixture ignites

then what ??

four wasted sparks ?

i'd need convincing

Phil

 

[roadrider]

I haven't been able to find anything about them on the internet so I was wondering if anyone has come across this product anywhere else. They have exhibited at the BMF show apparently. They are an English company called 'Formula Power' in Horsham run by Mr A.Graham.

Gecko, This firm usually go to all the major bike events in the UK doing their demo's. The've been around for a long time
John

 

[Gecko]

I'm a natural born sceptic so snake oil , hocus pocus , smoke and mirrors all came to my mind when I saw this but it does intrigue me . I don't want to be the one to be posting an "I've just blown up my bike ' thread by being the first to prove they don't work. As they have been around at various bike shows I was hoping someone may have some first hand experience before I decide if I want to part with my hard earned dosh

 

[Rob Farmer]

I've seen these guys around for years at the classic bike events and a friend who has one of those Mogan like 2 CV trikes says it makes an improvement to the 2 CV engine...not that thats much to go on.

Who's going to be the first guinea pig?

 

[Finbarr]

Split Fires...

No disrespect meant - but I think you'll find they're called "SplitFire" as in "seperate fires" as opposed to the name of the beer or WWII fighter aircraft.

I bought a set of these for my old GSXR-1100 as it was having ignition problems - didn't make a whole bunch of difference. New coils did though!

I think much of what LittleRedRooster said has merit - I was skeptical too, but they were cheap, simple to fit and I was running out of options to fix the GSX-R.

I think you'd have problems fitting them to a GS due to the narrow-guage HT leads used. The SplitFire uses a self tapping screw to screw in to the end of the HT lead. Also, As the electronic ignition doesn't suffer the same limitations as mechanical timing points I doubt very much whether these will help - I suspect that the on-board Moronic may in fact see the break in the circuit and flag some kind of fault (wild guesses and imaginative speculation come at no extra cost with this post!).

Suck it and see - but don't expect miracles...

Cheers,
Finbarr.

 

[Colt]

Gecko,worn out those autolites already?

 

[Gecko]

Gecko,worn out those autolites already?

I've not fitted them yet. Just before you sent them to me the bike had been serviced and I put in new Bosch single electrode plugs. I am about to service it again so the autolites are going in very soon. They have been enjoying the winter wrapped up in cotton wool ahead of their debut in my bike

 

[Swesty]

I used to sell them as an agent for their company. From my own trials they work well on old landrovers, 2CV's but not on Laverda triples. I have some still in a cupboard if anyone would like to evaluate them. I may, if enough interest negotiate for a limited supply at favorable rates.

E mail me if interested

 

[Paul Young]

I fitted somthing sounding like this to my old R80GS. I think they were called "Powerballs" or something like that & they were demonstrated at the NEC show some years ago. I was soooo sceptical that I demanded to be allowed to check the rig he was using to demonstrate it. Yes, it was a simple set up, but that was the beauty. You couldn't see any possible way of cheating, yet there was clearly an improvement in the quality of spark being generated. For £20 for a pair, I was prepared to waste my money so I fitted a pair & was actually v. impressed with the difference. The main problem was that they were designed for cars or to be buried within the under-tank area of a bike. On the airhead, they were out in the wind & rain on the HT leads to the plugs so water caused problems until I smeared silicon sealant around them.

Now I've got an 1150, I've neither felt the need nor seen them for sale. Still absolutely no idea how they worked, but they rattled like several metal discs held loosely together.