1980's Suzuki moped CDI problems

DB93 · L Plate Warrior Joined: 10 Mar 2025 Karma :

Hi everyone

Looking for some advice/ help. I'm not a motorbike person at all but armed with a CBT and a late night facebook marketplace session I am now the owner of a 1983 Suzuki CS125 moped. I fancied a project that doesn't have 4 wheels and figured this would be a great for a summer runaround.

Most of the moped is complete apart from the hardest/ most expensive to find replacement part - the CDI. The prices for a replacement range from £300-£500 and I only paid 100 for the bike so don't want to go down that avenue.

All of the other 80's Suzuki 125 CDI units are much cheaper on ebay so my question is; is it likely I could find a replacement off another model and would it work? If the pins/ wiring are the same would it be enough to get the engine started? There's also full ignition sets from China which say compatible with Suzuki 125 4-strokes. I know my way around a wiring loom and happy to chop and solder if required but my knowledge of how these CDI units work is pretty slim.

Any advice for non-motorbike-technically-minded-person? Confused

Thank you!

WD Forte · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Jun 2010 Karma :

It's a scooter not a moped !
Mo/Ped = Motor/pedals OK?

just stick a GY6 ignition module in there
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bikers smell of wee

stinkwheel · Bovine Proctologist Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :

Agreed, if you don't need an ignition advance, those GY6 ones seem perfectly fine and are very cheap.

I threw an entire GY6 charging and ignition system in my little Russian bike and it works fantastically, cost me £30 for the whole lot (stator, rotor, CDI, reg/rec, ignition coil, HT lead and plug cap).

Obviously retro-fitting that lot is a bit more complex in terms of stator backing plate and rotor fitment/alignment and would almost certainly need parts to be fabricated. All 12v now, lights work fine. Spark seems super reliable.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.