Pete,
Thanks for the update! It is kind of curious though that the engines kickback worse with the Atoms, as one of their features is supposed to be less of it.
A big problem we would see with the Rotax 185's was ignition failure due to crappy capacitors, not so much the points. But when the capacitors (condensers in motorhead speak) start going bad, they cause the points to pit. If that doesn't actually kill the ignition, it does cause a change in timing and a poor spark. A completely failed capacitor will just about totally kill the spark. I can't tell you how many times I've been told that someone's engine has spark but just won't start. When we check it out, we find the spark is present but very weak. A pitiful weak spark is not enough to start one of these engines! They need a nice fat one to do the job.
The CDI units from Wildfire may be wonderful, and help keep the internals cleaner and the engine running in tune longer, but the price is too dear for many of us. At less than $25 each, the Atom modules seem like a nice compromise. I just want to get rid of the potential point and cap problems. I've had wonderful reliability with the Atoms over the years, and feel that they should potentially be very reliable on the old Rotaxes.
Chappy