When you’ve spent the sort of money required to get your bike to the tuned state Fatalistic Attitude’s at, too many people believe they’ve done all that is required for the engine to be the mind blowing power plant they’ve always dreamed of, and stop. It can’t be denied that the idea of spending even more money at this stage really doesn’t appeal - either to your bank manager, your other half or your local pub landlord for that matter - but, unfortunately, there’s one more thing that really needs to be brought up to spec: the ignition system.

Standard Japanese ignition systems are pretty good considering how relatively cheap these machines are when you also take into account the performance you get for your cash. But, those same systems are not great. They’re designed to produce enough of a spark for the standard motor and not a lot else. If you tune your engine then you have to sort out the ignition, too - unless you like to waste money, anyway.

Y’see, the standard coils fitted to your bike kick out approximately 16,000 volts which, yes, is more than capable of throwing you clean across your workshop if you’re stupid enough to let it. Yet, 16,000 volts isn’t really enough, especially on a tuned motor. This is why you’ll always see aftermarket coils, such as the Dyna coils fitted to Fatalistic Attitude, on all those machines that you wish you owned. And the reason all those adrenaline junkies have fitted Dyna coils is because they kick out a very impressive 36,000 volts - now that’s more like it. For just eighty quid, they’re one of the best things you’ll ever buy for your bike, even if it’s completely standard.

But that’s still not the end. If you’re going to also use nitrous oxide then you need to be able to have complete control of your ignition timing. Although nitrous is, without a shadow of a doubt, the cheapest, most addictive power enhancer known to speed freaks the world over, it does require different ignition timing when compared to a completely normally aspirated engine. Due to the dramatically increased ferocity of the combustion process, the ignition has to be retarded to stop the pistons being simply blown to smithereens. When I say ‘retarded’ what I mean is that the ignition spark occurs when the piston is lower in the cylinder.

There are two ways to overcome this problem. The first is to move the timing plate located on the end of the crank. This works perfectly but is a laborious, time consuming job that less experienced racers can easily cock up. Using this method also means your timing is retarded even when you’re not using the gas - and this means less power. A far better solution is to use something like the Dyna 2000 which allows you to choose a number of different power curves for a normally aspirated engine and also allows you to set it up so that, when you hit the giggle-gas button, your ignition is automatically retarded thus giving you maximum power in both normally aspirated and forced induction modes as well as stopping your beautiful horse power monster from turning itself into the most expensive ornament you’ve ever owned.

Again, like the coils, well worth the relatively small amount of money they cost to buy.