ELECTRICAL SYSTEM UPGRADE CONCLUSION

I love this stage of the game. It’s just like building a new bike. Everything is clean or refurbished, it’s all so clean that I don’t even bother to change my clothes before working

I got all my supplies out and prepared to make a new wiring harness extension so I could plug my new voltage regulator directly into the harness.
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All the wiring extensions were soldered.
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And here is the finished bundle.
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I got the regulator plugged in and then installed my new replacement brake switch. I broke the other one while tightening it with a wrench. It wouldn’t tighten securely, it kept slipping off, then I realized why. It doesn’t fit through a hole, it’s more of a forked slot. The two prongs were not aligned , once I straightened it, the switch tightened up perfectly with just my fingers.
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With all the new components now mounted , I could tidy up the wires.
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All of this was replaced. Starter solenoid, voltage regulator, main line fuse, rectifier, and front and rear brake switch.
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Then I moved up front to my head lamp shell and started arranging the wires and making connections. What a spaghetti monster!
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Head light is in! Yay! My bike has a face now.
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The horn was installed next and plugged in.
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So right now, all the electrical system, with the exception of the ignition is installed and wired up, ready to go.
I went ahead and zip tied the wiring in place on the frame and handlebars. The purists might squawk at the use of zip ties over factory style ties, but meh, I’m really not that fussy.
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Still lots more to do. I’ll be posting more in a few minutes with some odd and ends.
Later!
Bob


G'day B-O-B,

Never thought of putting the wires to be soldered in those tiny clamps.

You are the Doctor Doolittle of XS650................go you good thing

GW
 
MM,
Q: "Why is there a motorcycle in your livingroom?" :shrug:
A: Because the space at the Smithsonian wasn't ready yet. :doh:
...not that you'd really consider that, would you? You want to ride it, after all of your hard work, right?
Unless maybe you were going to ride it to the Smithsonian! :laughing:
By gosh, that bike is looking spectacular! :thumbsup: And so shiny, you need eyeware to approach it! :cool:
 
Bikes can end up in living spaces as art objects when the collection gets so large you don't know where to put them anymore.
And you love them so much that selling just isn't an option.
Warning no XS650 Content below!!
Here are some pictures that I guess would prove that point. And note that this is just a small sampling of what this guy has, some pictures are in his house and others out in the old 2 or was it 3 story barn/workshop!

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As those pictures were taken back in 2004 I don't know if the collection is still there but it was impressive the assortment he had sitting around. I was there on a ride with a sidecar club.

Most of the sidecars there were fairly high dollar Hondas and others we were there with my 1988 Sportster/sidecar outfit. As we were getting ready to leave the guy with the collection walked over to my outfit and said something like, "Oh I didn't know there was a real motorcycle outfit here!"

By the way this guy had a wife too. And as I recall every bit as attractive as any of the bikes!
 
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I’m not working in the garage today, but the mailman just dropped off the battery and I wanted to show you. This came from eBay seller Caltric. $43 and free shipping, 200 CCA, which I thought was pretty impressive.
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Here it is with the NOS insulating band to go around the middle of the battery and the used rubber battery tray that I reconditioned.
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“ Houston we have power.”

“Mailman, Houston. We'll have to get some AC up so you can get a ball reading. Close your BUS TIE INVERTER circuit breakers, all four of them on panel 11. Close your AC BUS VOLT circuit breaker on panel 11. On panel 16, INVERTER 2, CLOSE. Select inverter 2. Over.”

“Okay, Houston. Do you want us to proceed right on down the line with the RCScheck-out and Activation 37 now?”

“Okay, Mailman. Negative on the activation on page 37. Go on to your RCSpressurize and then get your TCA breakers in and go to PGNS attitude hold.”

( Sorry, I was just reading transcripts from the Apollo 13 emergency. Did you know you can read the entire transcriptions online? Pretty cool. Those guys were amazing.)
https://apollo13.spacelog.org/page/02:07:55:19/
 
forty three bucks for an AGM for a 650 ? gotta order one pronto before the guy changes his mind.:thumbsup:

edit: after searching for batteries, I found several AGMs between $30-40. Good reviews also. I can wait until Spring.:)
 
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I just had to add one more note about eBay seller Caltric. When I received my battery the box it was shipped in was damaged pretty badly. Inside the box the battery was only insulated with a thick foam wrap that was damaged also, the battery sustained a nicked corner. I contacted Caltric and sent them a number of photos and I told them that I thought they could better protect their batteries with styrofoam panels and perhaps even a thicker box. I told them I had examined the battery and aside from the nicked edge it didn’t appear damaged and I didn’t want anything from them, I was just wanting to give them some constructive feedback. Without hesitation they apologized and said they would send me another battery ASAP. I think that’s pretty good service and I just wanted to pass that along.
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The way you hold your wires for soldering is pretty nifty and there's actually a tool made for that called "helping hands". HF sells them along with many other places .....

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https://www.harborfreight.com/helping-hands-60501.html

Like you, I've covered the jaws of the alligator clips with shrink wrap so they don't "bite" into the heated wire insulation. The clips do act as sort of a heat sink for the wires but they also sell actual little heat sink clips. I add a couple of these to the wires as well .....

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qNaBC3T.jpg
 
The way you hold your wires for soldering is pretty nifty and there's actually a tool made for that called "helping hands". HF sells them along with many other places .....

EzA0Uty.jpg


https://www.harborfreight.com/helping-hands-60501.html

Like you, I've covered the jaws of the alligator clips with shrink wrap so they don't "bite" into the heated wire insulation. The clips do act as sort of a heat sink for the wires but they also sell actual little heat sink clips. I add a couple of these to the wires as well .....

83XVcmd.jpg


qNaBC3T.jpg

Hey that’s pretty cool! I’m going to have to get me one of those! Thanks for the link!
 
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If you want to get REALLY fancy, find you some anti-wicking tweezers!

While I was stationed at Naval Base Charleston, I attended Miniature (IC's, discrete component circuit boards) Soldering School and Micro-Miniature (internal run repair in multi-layer boards) School. Micro Mininiature involved working under a 70X stereo microscope, excavating down through the board with dental tools, repairing internal copper conductors, and layering your way back out filling with epoxy between layers.

Great Fun! No way I could do that today with my eyes and twitchy hands.

Also taught Shipboard (basic) Soldering and one of the requirements was to tin a piece of #22 stranded and the standard was the solder had to be at least 1/16th from the insulation and not closer than 1/32nd. Only way to do it was with the tweezers mentioned. Had a lot of sailors on Day One swear it couldn't be done. I'd do it under an overhead projector while they watched and then had them keep at it until they figured it out before they moved on to the next step.
 
Ok, just a mini update.
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After multiple Dr. visits this week and some really crappy weather, I finally got back out in the garage today.
I wish I had gotten more done, but well.....what the hell, I’m in no rush.

The first thing I did was to check all of my sump bolts and drain plugs to make sure they were tightened. Then I filled the crankcase with oil.
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Then I adjusted the cam chain and started adjusting my valves. These are my new Yamaha Virago adjusters with the Allen head tops. They’re a little on the short side, but just long enough and the Allen heads make for nice easy adjustments.
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Valves all set, so I soaked my gaskets in motor oil and then got my inspection covers installed.
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I also got my kick starter out of storage, it was clean looking but the swivel was so gummed up it would hardly turn, so took it apart and cleaned it up and greased it and then bolted it on.
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After that I kinda got bogged down , messing around with details. I had my tank on for just a few minutes, checking clearances under the tunnel. Didn’t take any photos though, you’re gonna have to wait!
I’ll get my momentum back up here soon......hopefully. o_O

Later!
Bob
 
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