1980 SG Back From The Dead – AKA Dad’s bike

[Mike G]

Thanks Leo, you are right it's my version of therapy.

I also got a Taylor Winfield (he worked for them in the 60's) Zippo, so we have something in common. Of course I had to put a new flint in it, tweak the top and hinge so it closed and worked properly. It's my version of the eternal flame.

 

[madmax-im]

Great work Mike..i just began reading this thread..but had to stop and comment on the bare aluminum rims..They look great.. i had a 1981 Yamaha XS1100 that had the black painted rims media blasted down to the bare aluminum. The PO did it and it was left uncoated with anything..they looked awesome for years ...

 

[Mike G]

Thanks madmax, I appreciate the kudos.

I saw a picture of a bike with the bare rims (forget where) and knew I had to do it too. I used aircraft stripper and a variety of wire brushes. In hindsight blasting (or almost any other method) would have been better. Compared to most paints that rim paint is tough stuff!

That 1100 looks sharp! My friend's dad had one back in the day, always liked it.

 

[madmax-im]

I have never cared for the black painted rims..they show dirt so easily...

 

[MaxPete]

Great work Mike..i just began reading this thread..but had to stop and comment on the bare aluminum rims..They look great.. i had a 1981 Yamaha XS1100 that had the black painted rims media blasted down to the bare aluminum. The PO did it and it was left uncoated with anything..they looked awesome for years ...

Snazzy looking bike MadMax-im but I simply have to ask....what is holding that bike up?

Are you wearing your invisible suit again young man???

 

[madmax-im]

ha ha..my apologies for sidetracking this thread..something i need to work on..Its on the sidestand but on that bike it was a tad short so I raised it with a block of wood under it..

 

[Mike G]

I got the new (used) rotor installed last night.

and the bike mostly put back together, should finish it up tonight. I also forgot to mention the turn signal issue seems to have fixed itself. I checked all the wires and they were all in good condition and I was about to take the switch apart again but seems to be working fine now. My current theory is that using the switch improved the contact but we'll see if it returns. I haven't had a bike with self cancelling turn signals since the late 80's and I forgot this one even had them until I noticed them turning off by themselves so that works as well.

 

[5twins]

I've found that self canceling feature to be hit and miss, sometimes working sometimes not.

 

[Mike G]

Got everything back together last night and I've gone from one extreme to the other, that is from no charging to overcharging. At idle it's now making 13+ volts at the battery and 15+ at 2500 RPM so either I have a bad regulator or wiring problems. I read some threads on overcharging and it sounds like the green wire grounding is a possibility so more troubleshooting this weekend.

 

[Mike G]

Green wire shows 6 mega ohms to ground so that leaves the voltage regulator unless I’m missing something.(entirely possible) I found two used regulators/rectifiers in dad’s stash and in case those are bad I ordered one of the Fiat regulators off eBay.

She’s gonna fight me every step of the way but I think I got her worried now.

I swear I just heard a very faint, almost imperceptible, metallic snicker come from the basement.

 

[Jim]

and in case those are bad I ordered one of the Fiat regulators off eBay.

Did you get the "A" type regulator? A VR-794 or similar?

 

[Mike G]

Yep, a Wells VR794. Never used Wells before, hope they’re decent.

 

[Jim]

My resto is also an 80SG. Here's my reg/rec mod. Comment #1743

 

[650Skull]

here is a list of A type that 5twins posted..........the Fiat one can be got very cheap on ebay
http://www.xs650.com/threads/type-a-regulators.48296/

 

[Mike G]

I checked all the wiring again and didn't find anything wrong. I then tried both of the spares from dad's parts bins and got the same results, full charge. That makes three used factory units with good rectifiers and bad regulators, apparently the stock units fail shorted (at least these three) and provide full charge. I would have preferred they failed open as that wouldn't fry the rotor and overcharge the battery but so be it. I'm glad I ordered the Fiat unit as it showed up just when I needed it. I jury rigged it into the harness to make sure it worked and got 14.6 volts so time to put it in for real. I had already removed the RLU which made a very nice spot to mount the VR. I mounted it to a piece of 1/8" x 2" aluminum and made up a jumper from the battery ground wire to the plate. Since the original VR was toast I cut the wires close to the unit which provided almost the perfect length of wire to reach the VR so I didn't have to mess with the Reg\Rec plug. A couple of NAPA fully insulated blade connectors and all is good, 13 volts at idle and a rock steady 14.8 anything above idle.

Looks good to me...

 

[MaxPete]

That is a nice tidy installation Mike - you're doing a fine job on your Dad's bike!

 

[Mike G]

...also checked the timing while I was in there to make sure the advance is working correctly which it is.

I replaced the original headlight with the H6024 halogen from Walmart, MUCH brighter!

I don't have anything left on my list of things to do and unless something crops up, I think (hope), it's ready to be a daily rider. Fingers crossed.

 

[Mike G]

Thanks Pete!

 

[Jim]

Nice work.

 

[Mike G]

I had a weird one this week. Went to start up the bike to ride to work in the morning and the bike started fine and the charging system is working perfect but I had no headlight, none, no low beam or high beam but the high beam indicator was on when the headlight switch was on high or low. I would have expected if one burnt out the other would still work. What the hell!

Turns out the Walmart H6024 I just put in went bad in 20 miles. When I checked the resistance between all three terminals it was clear the ground had broken internally. The reason the high beam indicator was on is it was being backfed through the filaments and through the indicator bulb to ground. Anybody care to guess which Asian country the Sylvania bulb was manufactured in? I found an old US made GE H6024 in my old parts so at least I have a headlight, we’ll see how long this one lasts.