So the bike is actually an 81 special. Good to know. Thank youVin no is for an 81SH with mags and a rear drum brake as it shows in one of your pics
Your buddy looks to have a 79F.
The handlebars where the switch sitsSanded the switch or the painted handlebar?
What happened to my font?
There needs to be a ground from handlebars to the harness. Some years it was in the harness other years it was a separate black wireSo I sanded down the paint on the switch to make the ground clip ground and nothing happened when I hit the start button. Brand new controls and everything is plugged into the harness in the headlight bucket. (Other than the tach/speedo and turn signals) again I raced the wires to the coil starter solenoid and nothing is frayed or cut. Is there a safety relay or something that I should check?
Good info I will check this out this weekend. Thank youThe starter issue may not be related to the handlebar ground and start button but might be farther down the line in the starter circuit. In 1981, Yamaha added a clutch switch and relay to prevent the starter from working unless the bike was in neutral or if in gear, the clutch lever was pulled in .....
If you remove the switch from the handlebar lever, the starter will only work in neutral. If you remove the relay, the starter won't work at all unless you add a jumper wire to the relay plug .....
Power to the solenoid on the R/W wire runs through the relay. Remove it and you break that path and must restore it with the jumper wire.