Eastern Beaver tools

lakeview

XS650 Guru
Top Contributor
XS650.com Supporter
XS650.com Supporter
Messages
1,969
Reaction score
5,797
Points
513
Location
S-W Ontario
So I have a couple spare post '80 solid state reg rec's in my parts bin, and this '79 Special points model brat chop sitting in my basement needing wires and a whole lot of other stuff. It is a rescue from someone who lost interest and although I am usually more partial to the stock bikes, this came to me already welded up so I can expand my horizons without guilt.
I have read and printed out the instructions to add a late reg rec to a points bike, but looking at my crimping tool, I saw it was no good for the connectors I have to make. I could make do with bullet connectors, but want to learn about better ways of doing things as I have a whole harness to make. (I will resolve on New Years to become more familiar with a multi meter, also not to post a whine saying I hate wiring..)
Local stores did not carry the crimping tool that works on non insulated terminals, so I remembered I had dealt with Eastern Beaver a few years ago for a fuse panel for a V-Strom's driving lights and went to their site. Ordered a proper crimper and a couple little picks to disassemble the connectors already made which arrived today. Practicing on making a couple alligator clip jumper cables, the tool works as advertised.
Pricey, but this is work one cannot do with needle nose pliers, no matter how steady your hands are!
So here is the question my research cannot find an answer to. This chop will have a minimal harness for kick only. I will leave the starter on with the cable so I can use it to crank the bike for the initial starts and tuning and use an external battery for temp power to the starter.
The installed battery will be small, but in Ontario, a vehicle has to have daytime running lights. None of the kick only diagrams seem to have any provision for a running light that goes on automatically once the motor is running. Do I stick with the stock safety relay, or is there a better way or smaller relay? My shade tree solution is to get a couple of small LED lights to mount on the lower triple that would go on with the key and the headlight would turn on with a bar switch. The small LED's would take hardly any current, but it's a bit of a hokey set up just to comply with legislation. Any solutions out there that have been accepted by an Ontario mechanic who is not related to you?
 

Attachments

  • SAM_4979.JPG
    SAM_4979.JPG
    305.3 KB · Views: 272
  • SAM_4982.JPG
    SAM_4982.JPG
    307.9 KB · Views: 274
  • SAM_4881.JPG
    SAM_4881.JPG
    270.2 KB · Views: 285
  • SAM_4975-001.JPG
    SAM_4975-001.JPG
    335.5 KB · Views: 275
You should be able to find a very small 12v battery to hide somewhere on the bike - that will satisfy the safety folks and keep your lights going. I replaced my regulator and rectifier (which was a corroded mess) with a solid state regulator-rectifier combo unit on my '76 and it works great! It really has nothing to do with the points ignition (which was retained). I mounted the unit in the little triangular part of the frame immediately behind the transmission down under the battery box. I made a simple little bracket out of a hose clamp painted black and some black zip ties. The whole thing is invisible, reliable and has functioned perfectly all summer.

I guess what I am saying is: I'd retain the whole system, use a smaller battery and sub-in one of those combo units (they're easy to wire-up) and run with that. As long as you don't expect to use the electric starter with the small battery, I think you'll be fine.

Pete
 
There are a few diagrams in the tech section that show how to run lights with kick only. Just dont worry about the ignition parts, and the simplified '81 diagram should work fine. I used it with no problem.

If you want to keep the safety relay to prevent starter gear damage, just leave it on. Once the bike starts the lights will come on. If its removed then your lights will come on as soon as the key is on, but can drain the little battery quick while trying to start, so you would need another switch to prevent this.

Second one from the top is a basic set up and you can see the direct headlight wiring...

http://www.xs650.com/threads/some-wiring-diagrams.61/
 
Last edited:
Pete - all the wiring was stripped off this one when I bought it and given the small size of the headlight, I cannot use it as a junction box if I were to put on a stock harness.
LittleBill - The technical problem is to comply with Ontario daytime running lights law which requires a headlight or a light on the front to go on automatically when the motor starts. The stock safety relay will do that, but I am looking for less complex alternative.
 
Hi again: how about buying a small "project box" at Radio Shack (the Source I think it is now) and putting the the wiring in there? You could mount it in near where the horn is located.....

....just a thought.
 
Having the light come on when the key is turned on will pass fine and is the quick fix.
I was looking at the space behind the neck gusset to connect the bar switches into the rest of the harness, maybe make a "motherboard" of expanded metal there and use that to anchor the connections.
 
Back
Top