When electrical equipment is thought of for British motorcycles, particularly 1950 and 60s, Lucas would at the top of that list. Then Miller. Very little thought seems to be given to Wipac, perhaps because to a lot of people Wipac is thought of more for agricultural applications, especially their magnetos which are built down to a price for slow revving tractors, harvesters, stationary engines etc. I looked at using a Wipac single cylinder rotating magnet magneto for a motorcycle once but clearly it wasn’t as good as the Lucas SR1 magneto so abandoned the idea when closer inspection revealed that it had bronze bushes on the main armature shaft instead of bearings. It did not inspire confidence.
So when I was searching for some lost adult male magazines in the dark corners of my library I came across some Wipac electrical motorcycle service sheets that perhaps owners out there might find interesting.
Covering off electrical components and wiring diagrams the manual includes the following models – Ariel Colt Model L.H. . . . . BSA C10L from 1955 . . . . BSA Bantam D1 . . . . BSA Bantam and Bantamajor D1 and D3, AC and DC versions . . . . Piatti Scooter with AC Lighting . . . . Francis Barnett 250cc Cruiser 80 . . . . James 250cc Commodore – DC Circuit . . . . Dunkley Whippet 60 Scooterette . . . . Matchless G2 and AJS Model 14 250cc OHV . . . . And Excelsior “Talisman” Twin Wiring Diagram.
Interestingly the early Wipac headlight for the BSA Bantam D1 has the headlight switch inside the headlight and was operated by a Bowden cable and slide lever on the handlebars. It was also used on the Excelsior Autobyk.
Click on the advertisement below to see a bumper packed edition of electrical delight.
It is a 32 page publication, being a 5.6M PDF.
Still didn’t find those lost magazines though.