I believe the 86 is the different one. I know that the 86 has to have a hot battery for the CDI to fire
Hmmmm.. The 89 I have was bought by a friend. The prior owner said it didn't have spark.All of the TRX350 Fourtrax models (ALL 1986 350s + 87 TRX350 only) use the same AC-CDI ignition/electrical system, so all parts interchange among those.
In 87 Honda offered both the TRX350 Fourtrax AND the 1st year TRX350D Foreman. Parts will not interchange between those two models. The 1st year TRX350D Foreman was one of a kind.
88 and up 350s were all TRX350D Foremans (The TRX350 Fourtrax ended production in 87) and all parts interchange from 88 up.
So there were three ignition/electrical systems versions in total:
1) 86 & 87 TRX350 Fourtrax
2) 87 TRX350D Foreman
3) 88 and up TRX350D Foreman
An 88 (DC-CDI) ignition switch will not interchange on any 86 or 87 bike. All 86 bikes have AC-CDI (no battery required for ignition, just kick it and it will spark) so shutting the ignition switch off (or the Kill switch!) on the 86 & 87 TRX350 grounds the ignition out. The opposite is true (turning a switch off opens the circuit) for all TRX350D DC-CDI ignitions.
Its not that confusing as long as you pay attention to the actual model number.... whether its a TRX350 (which were offered for only two years) or a TRX350D.
Also to answer your question about ID-ing an 87 Foreman CDI...? It was one of a kind... made by Shindengen and says so on the casing. I can take some pics if you'd like?
I'm not sure about that... Shindengen might have made all of the CDIs for the Foremans from 87 up...? I'd assume that the CDI that was in the 89 is correct and just do a basic diagnosis on the rest of that ignition system. A bad ignition switch or a bad kill switch were the most common parts to die on those. Sometimes the main 30 amp fuse blows too.Hmmmm.. The 89 I have was bought by a friend. The prior owner said it didn't have spark.
I pulled the rear end and put it in his 300, and he said to keep/part the rest.
I looked at the CDI on it and it said Shindengen.....wonder if a prior owner put the wrong CDI on it and that's why it won't fire.
I'm sure we can work something out.Sounds like a good plan! If you can get two good running bikes out of those you might make your money back (with a profit?) quicker and still have a bunch of valuable parts left that might sell slower... but they'd all sell eventually. That is, unless you (or your wife) become a tank resto/collecto fan...
If you end up with any loose motor parts that you wanna get rid of when the smoke has cleared, let me know. I'll be scrounging for spare valve train parts and/or a head for sure, at some point.