Let there be light!

Update time, finally got the new ignition switch which had to as I lost the keys for the last one, lots of parts have turned up, cable, connectors, headlight, the list goes on, still waiting on plenty of others.

The first order of business was to fabricate a battery holder, card template transferred to metal.

Then bent to shape.

Battery fitted.

Next was to make a new earth cable to run from the starter solenoid to the starter motor,  a new positive battery cable, connect a new plug to the reg rec as the cable had snapped.

Once all this had been done it was time to flick on the ignition and see if anything worked.

Low and behold we have light.

Even the high beam idiot light works.

All in all I am quite pleased with myself, simply because I don't really understand wiring and I have managed to figure out the mess that was there into a loom that works, well I say works I have yet to see if the engine starts but its looking promising.

I still need to run a cable to the rear light and connect the horn and make sure the neutral idiot light works.

I need to get the top yoke milled so the Aprilia wording is removed and do some shaping for it to accept the speedo plus drill holes for the idiot lights.

I've ordered a few more parts so stay tuned for more shenanigans.

Wiring

Had a little sort out of the wiring, managed to thin down the mess that was there and get it to sit under the seat, still need a bit of thinning and to sort the connectors out so they are clean and tidy.

Idiot lights rigged up.

New connectors.

Just need to chop this bit of wiring now to get it under the seat, mmm should be fun.

Once i have got the bike running I will re connect all the bullets with better connectors and wrap the loom.

Welding, Wiring and Engine

Its the monday morning update then, well I dropped the frame off at a local welders last week and got it back friday.











He basically just welded over my pants welding but its much stronger, a bit of sanding will see it right, it will all be powder coated anyway.

I then remade my tank mounts so that they hold the tank in place better.




​So a quick mounting of the tank and seat


I then sorted out the fork bottoms and removed the original mudguard mountings.




Had a fiddle with some foam for the seat.

Stuck the engine back in, after changing all the gaskets and oil filter, I want to see if the engine runs first before I strip it down, seems pointless to strip it first without finding out if its ok, once I know it is then I'll take it all apart before getting it painted.





I'm very happy with the overall look so far, theres a lovely void behind where the air filters will go.

Next is to tackle this….



Its gonna prove a bit of a headache, slow and steady i am loosing a fair bit from the loom as i won't be having indicators or some of the other bits, I also need to relocate some parts of the loom to further back in the bike, so a lot of the wiring at the front will be at the back.



I think I need a bigger shed!.

Taps & Switches

I got some new Ruko cutters which means its time to cut some holes. First off was test fit the pet cock that I have, its from a Yamaha XS650, but the main thing is it fits the tank.

It looks massive but it will do the job, only thing I will need to do is convert it from vacuum to manual, thats in the future tho.

Time to cut some holes, I wanted to fit the starter button and the ignition under the seat, I cut the hole and mounted the starter button first.

It's in an easy access point and near all the electrics.
Next was to mount the ignition switch.

All I have to do now is wire them up. Yeah cos it's that easy isn't it.

Are we sitting comfortably?

So I had a day off work on friday as we had to have a new boiler fitted, so I took the opportunity to be in the shed.

1st order of business was to reshape the rearset mounts.

Next was the under tray, I'd already purchased a piece of metal, 450mm x 170mm x 3mm, made a card template and cut the metal to shape.
I wanted it to follow the curve of the hoop so I heated the metal up to aid bending.

The other end was heated to enable the fold.

All thats needed now is a nice run of weld all round.

Next was to sort out the mounting of all the electrics, obviously the key is to hide as much as possible.

I mounted the fuse box and the starter solenoid, the grey box is the battery template. 

Next I mounted the reg/rec, but under the tray so as to allow maximum airflow

I then realised that the CDI needed to be mounted, so this is at the back under the battery, I will make a bracket that holds the battery just off the CDI

I will sort the cable mounting out when the engine is in and I can work out what needs to go where.

Everything fits under the hump.

still lots to do, next job its to look at the wiring loom and see if it's all complete and work out what I need and what I don't.

A little update.

Needless to say I have been busy, finding the time to get stuff done is a tad difficult, life gets in the way of fun.

I started to thing about rear sets, as I am not using the original Honda ones it was time to look for something cooler.

I can use one of the original mounts but as you can see there's nothing about to mount to so…

Brackets have been fabricated from 5mm steel, I drilled the hole and tapped it then welded a nut to the back.

Tacked in place for now, the will be fully welded later.

Just need to shape them so as they aren't so square.

Upgraded the air compressor too, no more waiting for the tank to fill. Aldi bargain.

Next on the list is to sort the "under tray" out for the seat so i have somewhere to mount all the electrics.