Zeeltronic Review - RD350

[38special]

Thought I'd post my experience with the Zeeltronic programmable ignition on my 75 RD350 (with Vape, of course).  It wasn't hard to figure out, but I learned some things along the way I thought might help others.  Curious about anything others have to add or correct here:

Concept:
The Zeeltronic CDI intercepts the signal from the stator pickup and delays it before sending it out to the coil.  It can only provide as much advance as you set mechanically at the flywheel.  So you are setting your static advance to quite a high setting (as much or more than you anticipate ever needing), and then behind the scenes the Zeeltronic is retarding it to your curve. This makes total obvious sense, but I guess I never thought about it before.

Wiring:
It basically splices into the Vape Yellow wire, and gets switched power:  Red to switched power (I spliced into the Vape relay), Black to ground, Zeeltronic Brown in from stator Yellow, Zeeltronic Yellow out to coil Yellow.  There is also a resistor that gets spliced in.

Mapping:
My mildly modded '75 RD350 with Wicked chambers was kindof flat below 6,000 RPM and I was looking to improve that with some ignition advance.  The jetting was well sorted and as good as it could get.  I was running slightly retarded timing from stock at 1.8mm, which is 19* BTDC.  I made a curve maxing out at 24.5* from 5,000-6,000, 17* at idle, and down to 15* at 10,000.  Again, this is compared to a flat 19* (1.8mm) across the board.

How it worked:
It made a BIG difference.  Where before I might have to downshift, now I can roll on the throttle and it picks right up.  It made the bike totally fine for lower-rpm backroad cruising.  Before, I was running the stock pipes for casual rides but now I don't need to.  Most unexpectedly, my fuel mileage went up by 10 mpg with the Wicked pipes, to the same as I had been getting with the stockers (37 mpg on premix).

Other notes:
I purchased from Economy Cycle and it came with RD400 maps loaded. Not far from where I landed for my 350, but I did not use them.  Mapping is easy, and it's cool how you can run the bike with the programmer attached and see the timing advance in real-time.

(this post was 100% human-written - no AI)

[1976RD400C]

Cool, sounds good. I notice the mid RPM range picks up power having an advanced spark. You can also check your tach looking at the programmer, my RZ seems to be very accurate. Also use the rev limiter for those missed shifts. 

[Striker1423]

One of these has been on my radar for a while now. But, the Suzuki kinda took over for a while. I think it's time to give the Yamaha some love. She needs a top end first.

[m in sc]

yeah they are great. another plus is you can be very inaccurate sticking the rotor on and dial in the static timing with a push of a button.

[rodneya]

I had to buy a new dial gauge as my old one did not have enough throw to set the static timing.

Kinda ironic as I love my 73 Rd because it doesnt have any fancy electronics like clutch or side stand switches, tipover sensors, and now I have to plug it into my laptop to change the timing.

[85RZwade]

This site is giving me a bad case of the wants lately.

[m in sc]

[m in sc]