Trail Rider Magazine

May 2024 35 Having been down this road countless mes, my first order of business was pulling the seat to in- spect the airbox for rodents. What I found was an airbox packed ght with mouse nests literally to the brim of the airbox and pushing against the seat bo om. Being highly allergic to mice, this chore is my least favorite part of dealing with vintage bikes. Incredibly the vile bastards did not make their way past the carb slide and distribute their mess into the engine. Finding the top end was free with great compression was a huge bonus. At this point, we decided to perform a simple cosme c resurrec on and do our best to enjoy the once proud GS 440 the best we can. With the bike stripped of its bodywork and now squeaky clean, we began to assess the situa on. With inten ons of riding and racing this bike, we decided to upgrade and replace the original Bosch igni on system with a modern unit. With a recom- menda on from my buddy, race compe tor, and Maico aficionado, Tony Yannitelli, we shot an email to Electrex World, a UK-based company that is known for its simple, reliable, and reasonably priced igni on systems for vintage and modern motorcycles. The installa on process was a breeze, we removed all exis ng wiring, CDI/coil, flywheel, and stator. We then mounted the Electrex World stator in the center of the slo ed adjustment holes. With a Mo on Pro dial indicator, the piston was set on top dead center and the flywheel installed with the 21-degree mark lines up with the mark on the stator. Other than moun ng the supplied coil and CDI box onto the ex- is ng frame mounts and installing the kill bu on, the installa on was complete. The stator harness allows for plenty of installa on moun ng op ons and once wire ed in place, our efforts were rewarded with a big fat blue spark. Vile rodents packed the airbox Vile rodents packed the airbox Filthy but good bones Filthy but good bones Stator installa on was simple and straigh orward Stator installa on was simple and straigh orward

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