New project : 1975 Suzuki T500 Titan

[bosco659]

I was lucky to get a few spare parts for the bike today. One great score was a rotor and stator assembly with the ignition bits attached. I’ve disassembled it and replaced all the stripped screws. I’ll repair the messy condenser installation job later. I’m hoping the stator is ok but am not sure how to test it. Looks like three wires go into the windings. Can someone lmk how to test this assembly? Do I just need to check continuity and make sure it’s not grounding out anywhere. I’ve attached pics to sow where the three wire are attached. Thx.

 

[bosco659]

New headlight shell too. Rusty on the inside so I’ll give it the “treatment”. It has a weird headlight bulb. Sealed beam with mounting tabs and aiming screw mount incorporated into the bulb itself. About 6” diameter.

 

[gggGary]

Nice wiring diagram with magnifying function here.
https://www.oldjapanesebikes.com/mraxl_GT_Resource/manuals/electrical/t500ii.html
I'm a bit confused, You sure you have a stator for the older titan and not a later GT500 that uses a CDI?
So on this diagram looks like it's a single phase stator Red/Green and Yellow/Green should be the output and have continuity with some resistance Mebby .5 ohm. Somehow looks like there is a separate, lighting? coil.

 

[bosco659]

Nice wiring diagram with magnifying function here.
https://www.oldjapanesebikes.com/mraxl_GT_Resource/manuals/electrical/t500ii.html
I'm a bit confused, You sure you have a stator for the older titan and not a later GT500 that uses a CDI?
So on this diagram looks like it's a single phase stator Red/Green and Yellow/Green should be the output and have continuity with some resistance Mebby .5 ohm. Somehow looks like there is a separate, lighting? coil.

Thanks Gary. I found this info. Looks like your .5 ohms is close to factory spec. That’s for the R/G , YG circuit. Do I just test the GW to make sure it’s not going to ground?

 

[gggGary]

Cool that 'splains it.
The G/W should also show .5 ohms (mebby a little more) to Y/G and infinite to ground.
GW is connected to RG by the ignition switch when it's turned to headlight on (night) position.
So it has two "lighting coils" who's output gets combined with the other four coils when the headlight is on.
Interesting that they just lump all the coil outputs together to one wire and send it to a single phase rectifier.

 

[bosco659]

Cool that 'splains it.
The G/W should also show .5 ohms (mebby a little more) to Y/G and infinite to ground.
GW is connected to RG by the ignition switch when it's turned to headlight on (night) position.
So it has two "lighting coils" who's output gets combined with the other four coils when the headlight is on.
Interesting that they just lump all the coil outputs together to one wire and send it to a single phase rectifier.

View attachment 376864

Thanks Gary, this is my area of weakness. I’ll measure today with fingers crossed.

 

[bosco659]

Well I learned a lot about the bike over the past couple of days. I have a couple of sets of mufflers, both in varying states of condition. Both sets have “streaks” of what looks like missing chrome. Speaking to a friend who knows too much about these bikes, he revealed the root cause. It’s chrome removal from battery acid coming out of the vent tube! Mystery solved - now what’s the remedy? I was thinking about a “catch can” attached to the end of the battery vent?
Anyone ever hear of this and / or a solution?

I’ll post muffler pics later.

 

[gggGary]

Every Chrome XS650 chain guard has the same marks. usually cuz the vent tube was disconnected at the battery.

On madness my solution was a Lithium ion battery.
but glassmat batteries don't have a vent?

 

[bosco659]

AGM battery might be the easiest solution. I’ll have to check out sizing and price. The battery capacity is probably pretty low because no e start.

 

[bosco659]

Only measuring about 1.2-1.4 ohms.

 

[Mailman]

It’s chrome removal from battery acid coming out of the vent tube! Mystery solved - now what’s the remedy? I was thinking about a “catch can” attached to the end of the battery vent?
Anyone ever hear of this and / or a solution?

Every old bike I ever owned had acid damage on the muffler. I always switched batteries to a modern sealed unit.

 

[Wagner73]

AGM battery might be the easiest solution. I’ll have to check out sizing and price. The battery capacity is probably pretty low because no e start.

AGM battery would be an easy solution, assuming they are available in the size the T500 uses - a YB7-A or 12N7-4A, 7 to 8 Amp Hours, approximately 5-3/8" long x 3" wide x 5-1/4" high (135mm x 75mm x 133mm). Looked quickly at Yuasa and Motobatt and didn't see an AGM version, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

 

[bosco659]

AGM battery would be an easy solution, assuming they are available in the size the T500 uses - a YB7-A or 12N7-4A, 7 to 8 Amp Hours, approximately 5-3/8" long x 3" wide x 5-1/4" high (135mm x 75mm x 133mm). Looked quickly at Yuasa and Motobatt and didn't see an AGM version, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

I found a local source on line for an AGM battery. I’ll verify dimensions. It’s about $65 cdn tax delivered. Pretty good deal. I’m thinking I won’t be riding until next spring so maybe I should wait?

Regarding the acid drips - is this from the battery being shaken around while riding or the byproduct of charging?

 

[bosco659]

Only measuring about 1.2-1.4 ohms.

Does this mean to stator is pooched? Maybe I should try another meter.

 

[Wagner73]

I found a local source on line for an AGM battery. I’ll verify dimensions. It’s about $65 cdn tax delivered. Pretty good deal. I’m thinking I won’t be riding until next spring so maybe I should wait?

CDN$65 does sound like a good deal, but it's not a very big battery. Batteries are one thing for which I am fond of name brands.

Regarding the acid drips - is this from the battery being shaken around while riding or the byproduct of charging?

Could be both, but mostly charging.

 

[bosco659]

Brought out another meter and measured 6 ohms on one circuit and 7 on the other. I guess it’s a good spare

The plastic wiring sleeve was hard as a rock so I snipped it off and will replace it with a new, more flexible one.

 

[bosco659]

these are my spare pipes. I’ll going to try to sell them at a swap meet tomorrow. From pretty “fugly” to not do bad on the show side. The backside that got the worst of the acid bath isn’t going to get much better than this. If I was forced to keep and use them, I’d probably give the nasty areas a bit of paint.

 

[JJames]

Great thread. Love the Titan. I have a '76 gt500a on ice, bucket list project.
Nice work you're doing. If the bike looks anything like the pictures, I wouldn't think of painting it. Have fun.

 

[gggGary]

Does this mean to stator is pooched? Maybe I should try another meter.

I'm thinking that should be fine to try? The charging coils are 4 in parallel, lighting coils 2 in parallel so should have roughly twice the ohms as the charging coils.
My electrical diagnosis is like a plumber I knew; a large pair of insulated side cutters found the right circuit breaker every time.

 

[bosco659]

Inside of fender treated with gravel guard. Temp mounted. Still need to find a couple of grommets. Looks much nicer now. A new tail light would be nice too but where do I stop? I don’t intend it to be a show bike.