HT Leads. Copper V Silicon

Being "Old Skool" I have always used 7mm Copper Core HT Lead in the past on my 1300's & to date & never had cause to change, but have noticed on more & more classic / vintage forums that more people have switched to 7mm Silicon Core HT Lead & are recommending it.

I have AW82 Coils (with replaceable leads) & run standard NGK Plug Caps.

Has anyone with the same set up switched to Silicon Leads?

If so, I am interested hear of your results & findings............but only if you have ACTUALLY FITTED & RAN A 1300 with them, as opinions otherwise dont really convince me.

Thanks

Pete F

When my kz had gm coils in it last year those coils were fitted with the silicone type leads. One of the main reasons I ditched those leads is due to the impermanence of them. When I drove the bike with them I could get the bike to run but only if I initially jumped it with a car battery. Then once the thing heated up it would shut off without notice and refuse to start again without a car battery as if it still had old/cracked coils. I didn't like that setup at all...

Time will tell once I'm all up and running this year if my new coils and leads give me what I need . I'm still stripping the side covers right now for a coat of black engine paint.

Pete,
Ive got the lot on my Z1300
AW82 coils, silicon, carbon core HT leads, and NGK plug caps.
ive never ran it any other format so cant compare but it starts and runs lovely.

ive had silicon HT leads on my Z1000J for as long as i can remember and never had a problem with that either

Ian

Thanks lads.............that was the feedback I was looking for !

Silicone leads here too, albeit with Dyna coils. No probs
Aren't the silicone ones supposed to last longer?

I believe the silicone usually refers to the insulation around the actual conducting core. What I was referring to in my case were graphite core wires that were in my bike when I bought them. These are typically used in cars as opposed to copper wires because the copper wires that are typically used in bikes like ours produce RFI (radio frequency interference) and EMI (electromagnetic interference) that will cause all kinds of issues for electronic fuel injection systems. That is one of the reasons that they are typically used on cars today. A major downside to these wires is they can introduce resistance in some types of the wires and they require replacement as part of your vehicle's maintenence schedule whereas copper wires can last the life of the vehicle and offer virtually no ohm resistance. In my humble opinion, if your bike is still carbureted, has no stereo that the RFI can mess with (you can sometimes hear buzzing through the speakers), and retains a points style ignition system there's no reason to use anything other than copper as a core for your wires as opposed to graphite. There's a wealth of info out there comparing these types of wires. One source I like is: www.magnecor.com/magnecor1/truth.htm

As an added bonus copper core wires for bikes like ours can be obtained much cheaper and function the same as anything else you could possibly get.

Here's an excerpt from the website
"Solid metal (copper, tin-plated copper and/or stainless steel) conductor wires are still used in racing on carbureted engines, but can cause all sorts of running problems if used on vehicles with electronic ignition, fuel injection and engine management systems, particularly if vehicle is driven on the street — and damage to some original equipment and modern aftermarket electronic ignition and engine management systems can occur. Solid metal conductor wires cannot be suppressed to overcome EMI or RFI without the addition of current-reducing resistors at both ends of wires."

Hopefully this is all the info you need to make an informed decision