Triumph zenor diode question.?

Question

Q-Ball got his '69 Bonnie out of hock yesterday and after a bit of fiddling we got it running and we went riding tonight. At 70 MPH the Bonnie's lights blow out. Q-Ball says the bike has demons called Zenor Diodes in it. I say Lucas is the Prince of Darkness. Who's right? Q-Ball wears a wreath of garlic around his neck. It doesn't help but it does make him smell better.

Answer 1

Don't worry Q-ball, the only deamon you got is you !  Triumph zeners got the easyest job !   It's only job is to drain off the overcharge so it does not cook your battery.  ( Usally when bike is run at above the leagle speed limit for a long time)   Lucas is known for bad switches, connectors,turn sig flashers but all else "OK"  the zener on my 73 bonneville is still the factory installed one. Oh, yeah, zeners dont like it if you install the battery polarity backwards even for a flash second.  Riding,owning and working on triumphs for my 50th year now !

Answer 2

those old trumpets dont have a voltage regulator. instead they use the zenor diode.And all the electrics including that thing are lucas the prince of darkness. Positive ground system too. What ya wanna do is get a mighty max battery eliminator and bosch electronic ignition.you also wanna get rid of the amal carb and put a mikuni in its place. Then ya wont have any problems.Or just find an old 650 yamaha vertical twin.