One question I have is regarding the wiring for the solenoid. It doesn’t match my factory colors and there were no wiring instructions in the box. Is it wired like a simple switch? Where it doesn’t matter which wire is hooked up where?
Yup... should be plug and play.... male to female.
 
- - - Oh and remember my scrungy horn?
View attachment 134487 - - -
Bob
Hi Bob,
although shiny has replaced scrungy the stock horn's pathetic bleat still can't be heard further than two feet away.
Suggest you upgrade to something A LOT LOUDER to let those cell-phone yakking SUV driving soccer moms know you are there.
Something that puts out 139dB like a Stebel Nautilus or a Wolo Bad Boy.
 
Hi Bob,
although shiny has replaced scrungy the stock horn's pathetic bleat still can't be heard further than two feet away.
Suggest you upgrade to something A LOT LOUDER to let those cell-phone yakking SUV driving soccer moms know you are there.
Something that puts out 139dB like a Stebel Nautilus or a Wolo Bad Boy.

Ha! I had a set of dual horn Fiamm Freeway Blasters on my last bike. When I hit the horn it sounded like a Cadillac Eldorado bearing down on you! They were great!
 
Hmm , I heard Mailmans horn button was actually for his Nitrous ? :umm:

Odd, I always understood that his horn button actuated a pump the provided a small spritz of Mr. Clean to any part of the bike that required it...:lmao:
 
Since this has morphed into a "horn thread", I'll contribute that our bike's beeper seems to be best suited for saying to that pretty girl on the sidewalk that we like her.

7641f28e6aab499d297e84905417abf9--girls-on-motorcycles-motorcycle-girls.jpg
 
Yeah, I’m keeping the horn. I’ve worked to hard to keep it looking like new. Although I like the Mr. Clean spritzer idea! :D

I didn’t get as much done as I’d hoped today. The work was kind of tedious and slow, but I’ll show you what I was doing today. I made a wiring connector for my new rectifier, it’s a plug and play piece with new female spade connectors, wire extensions and sheathing. All the wiring extensions were soldered and the soldered joints were all staggered so as to avoid a big lump in one spot, and the soldered areas were covered with heat shrink before covering the whole bundle with new silver sleeving. The multi plug was taken apart and all the spade terminals were shined up with a Dremel.
B0742D35-481D-4C00-8A45-DA7C87782358.jpeg
8E2E411A-C05C-4623-A946-44C589B0A9B8.jpeg
3F6D3AB0-003B-411D-B236-935206ACD535.jpeg
E3669CC9-8A33-4A21-BEB0-3F03EE2ED94A.jpeg


This has since been mounted back on the battery box and it’s connected to the harness and the wires tucked out of the way.
I also worked on the starter solenoid, I cleaned up my old battery cable and installed it onto the solenoid and plugged in the wire leads.
And lastly created a new main fuse to replace the glass tube fuse set up. This has also been installed on the bike and plugged in.
FEFCF546-4E75-4BF7-A874-FC42BA338E5D.jpeg
52DD0719-D014-4A90-BE99-615DD4F83DE2.jpeg
5AD4BCCB-53F6-43D6-93BB-39D468413810.jpeg


I’ll post up some photos of everything installed when I get it all finished. It’s a good thing I’m not working for somebody, they’d be on my ass for going so Slow! :laugh:
Later,
—Bob
 
It’s a good thing I’m not working for somebody, they’d be on my ass for going so Slow!
You are not going slow. That kind of work is not a fast process if you don't do it every day. I like the look of your rectifier. Mine cleaned up well and tested just fine so I plan on reusing it. I do plan on doing the solid state regulator and fuse upgrade.
You are doing first class work.
:cheers:
 
When I changed my reg and rec out, I found the new rectifier didn't seem to change much, if anything, but the regulator sure did.
On a regulated system like the 650s stock charging system is if the rectifier works it it works. Nothing is going to improve the rectification. If I remember correctly from electronics class a long time ago the half life of a diode was 87 years under rated usage. That's a long time. If the one he is using has quality components it is probably better because of the heat sink. The solid state regulator is a great improvement. I set up hundreds of vibrating point regulators for alternators and generators. Set them with cover off then put cover on recheck, then offset for difference the cover made when on.
 
If the one he is using has quality components it is probably better because of the heat sink.

This is the second one I’ve used now. They are a Chinese import and very inexpensive ( at least when I bought these about a year and a half ago ) I bought three of them at the time. My understanding is they were mass produced for the burgeoning solar panel industry. I’ve been running one on my ‘77 for about a year and a half now, and I know others here are running them as well. I replaced the stock rectifier on my ‘77 because it wasn’t charging and testing indicated a rectifier failure. Here is the one I made for my ‘77 , including a photo of it mounted up beneath the battery box in the stock location.
45106C04-4FB8-4BDF-ACBF-E7686C5AB168.jpeg
A62197B0-DD3C-46D1-9742-35A9D6DBBC08.jpeg
69379464-D64A-4B4C-AB24-6A4F336BCE3D.jpeg
 
You ever notice how all the little obligations of life have a way of bunching up at times. That’s me now.....tax preparations, car repair, doctor visits , yada yada yada.........I’ve been having a hard time making progress.
But today I managed to get a ....
D2F9A567-9C85-4647-8E15-8CB08819D386.jpeg
So here we go,

Before I mounted my starter safety relay, I wanted to give it a good cleaning. Not only the outside and all the plug in connections , but I also took it apart and took some super fine sandpaper and cleaned the contacts inside and hit it with some contact cleaner, then put it back together , and plugged every thing in.
9FFC4262-905C-435E-8998-4F4A81844FC4.jpeg
EF8C2042-E0E4-4D5E-8D52-4CE2BD0513C7.jpeg
E03DE8DD-16DF-4AF8-91B4-58184C7E257E.jpeg


The wiring bundle for the safety relay has a ground terminal that need to be connected to shiny metal, so I took my Dremel and shined up the mounting location.
5E544A46-0307-4494-9840-41276464BB1B.jpeg

85BFA445-A238-420C-BFE7-6CA849BBEE36.jpeg


Then I was running short on time, but I started looking at my new voltage regulators wiring and realized it had four wires instead of the three in my harness, and some of the colors were different, uh oh...

EED11CC9-E848-466D-897C-44C648A71078.jpeg
4888F588-1203-4EDD-B452-35D0FB8C2568.jpeg



I was wondering what to do about that, then remembered, this has already been covered by Retired Genleman ( I miss that guy ) and Five Twins in a most excellent article. Some out takes here below.

4242E38A-AB7E-4BCA-8C5F-2ADD8177AF40.png
A7076ED2-4109-4011-9DC5-727D253B76CC.png
31B6B580-93D4-4959-90A9-3A061B3CC811.png


Here is a link to the article if you would like to read the whole thing. It’s a great article.
http://www.xs650.com/threads/regulator-rectifier.21485/

The next week has me away from the garage a lot. I’ll post some more when I get a little progress made.
Later,
Bob
 
Last edited:
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.
D7CD520F-27DE-4E7B-A241-7D453EC3D030.jpeg


All the wiring extensions were soldered.
DA316D54-CEE6-4551-93C4-8FBE0AEB8446.jpeg


And here is the finished bundle.
AE1883F4-2591-42C9-B4F2-619181DDA4CB.jpeg


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.
17CE7AA8-619E-40D2-996A-80CE35F4AACD.jpeg


With all the new components now mounted , I could tidy up the wires.
0707CAA6-82FF-46B0-B2A2-0AE8AF8F3650.jpeg
4E732501-234A-4CF5-AD39-58DF2FE74606.jpeg


All of this was replaced. Starter solenoid, voltage regulator, main line fuse, rectifier, and front and rear brake switch.
99E61101-2490-4F99-B65A-4E9773F9EBDD.jpeg


Then I moved up front to my head lamp shell and started arranging the wires and making connections. What a spaghetti monster!
BB49308C-ED9E-47D7-A4A5-3DA35D6A6CBF.jpeg
22D4A242-0E06-4CE5-96C0-C30E3C14769B.jpeg


Head light is in! Yay! My bike has a face now.
2A67D5CF-AEDA-49E6-837B-A1C69F664051.jpeg


The horn was installed next and plugged in.
7C454620-CCA2-47A2-B0FA-99234521656A.jpeg


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.
4A2A996A-BFC1-4F3A-AC63-41A836AB68B4.jpeg
C7AB730D-686B-4F3F-8030-6F2E14B4BEFE.jpeg
37F7EE9C-6E3D-46B4-9E89-1CBEE37827D7.jpeg


Still lots more to do. I’ll be posting more in a few minutes with some odd and ends.
Later!
Bob
 
Back
Top