Points and condenser?

How long are they good for? My kz has points and ive been unable to convert due to lack of availablity. Ive never had a bike with points. How long are they good for? How do i know they are bad?

I have points on my DS7. I ran them for almost a year before they got fouled enough to make the bike run like shit. Now I check (clean with some fine sandpaper and regap) them about every two-three months, and have had no trouble for just over a year now. They look to have plenty of life left in them, but I do have a spare set handy for when they do fail to fire

for points to last long do not use sandpaper as some like alum oxide,silicon carbide,emery can become imbeded in the contact and cause excessive arcing and wear..use a points file or c.b.points flex stone (hard to find but available)...the other thing is to keep any oil (from leaky seal) off of them and have a good capacitor for less arcing..
joe@ vcycle

Points files are cheap, and so are points. If you are eating them quickly check your condensers you should have little to NO spark at the points.

I've been on the same set of points for at least 2k miles and haven't touched them other than to check them.

As a side note/thought I'll post this little bit of goodness for those that like to tinker like me. I'm happy to FARK with stuff......

http://www.motorcycleproject.com/motorcycle/text/sohcign.html

Not gonna say anything other than to read it........

thanks guys. So I guess it wouldnt be that much different than a car needing a cap and rotor. The bike has developed an occasional hiccup at idle that seems like it loses spark for one revolution. Maybe its time to check the gap. probably has 600 miles on them since they were set up last by a friend.

Just find an electronic ignition for similar bike and make a new back plate.
I've done it several times