Wiring harness improvement/replacement

[Chuck]

 

 

 Will it last? Who knows, 

 

Longer than you will..    There are *many* 50+ year old airplanes flying around with OEM breakers..

[sp838]

have you given any more thought to using the M-Unit?

[brlawson]

have you given any more thought to using the M-Unit?

I had and I have one I could use but decided against it as it was intended for another project. I don't really have the disposable income to buy another as I am trying to get three project together at once. Since I have multiple harness assemblies I figured it would be better at this point to just improve what's there and move on.

 

Anyway, when I got started at the last post I found several issues while I had the bike stripped. Coils were just hanging on by a thread, the breather hose was quite brittle and was making a mess, and the ECU mounts needed replacing. Silent blocks on these things don't seem to hold up well. All those parts made it in yesterday. It appears that the heat of the coils cooked the end of the breather hose and may have had a hand in degrading the mounts as well.

 

 

Procured some nice water tight connectors to replace the cheesy bullet connectors and had new battery cables made.

Also, received new horns and relay circuit so I have no more excuses. Time to get back on it.

 

[Scud]

For the rubber dampers:  I roughed up the rubber and metal surfaces with sandpaper, then cleaned with alcohol. I used Seal-All adhesive. Then I zip-tied the metal plate to the frame so it slightly compresses the dampers. I figure that even if the glue gives way, the zip-ties will keep the coils in place. I re-glued a sidestand bumper this way (minus the zip ties) and it's been holding.

[Chuck]

I've used super glue on them to good effect. (after proper prep, of course.)

[Tom M]

I haven't had good luck fixing those anti-vibe mounts with super glue, but I probably didn't do a good job with the prep.   The replacements that I got from mcmaster-carr have held up well so far.

 

https://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/123/1442/=16wwkwq

[sp838]

"The replacements that I got from mcmaster-carr have held up well so far."

 

Those are nice thanks for posting! Mine are toast too, on ECU and coils. Held in place with zip ties, gonna get me some of those.

[Kiwi_Roy]

I haven't had good luck fixing those anti-vibe mounts with super glue, but I probably didn't do a good job with the prep.   The replacements that I got from mcmaster-carr have held up well so far.

 

https://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/123/1442/=16wwkwq

There's a wide range there Tom, can you remember which part No you used for the coils / ECU

Thanks

Roy

[Chuck]

I haven't had good luck fixing those anti-vibe mounts with super glue, but I probably didn't do a good job with the prep.   The replacements that I got from mcmaster-carr have held up well so far.

 

https://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/123/1442/=16wwkwq

I used a wire wheel on the rubber and post, applied a little super glue, then put pressure on them in a vise until the glue kicked off. 

[Tom M]

 

I haven't had good luck fixing those anti-vibe mounts with super glue, but I probably didn't do a good job with the prep.   The replacements that I got from mcmaster-carr have held up well so far.

 

https://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/123/1442/=16wwkwq

There's a wide range there Tom, can you remember which part No you used for the coils / ECU

Thanks

Roy

 

 

I just looked up my order history there.  The ones that I used are Mcmaster part # 4403K588 "Extreme-Temperature Vibration-Damping Sandwich Mount, Male/Female, M6 Thread, 25 lb. Compression Capacity".

[Bruce Reader]

If someone made a new and improved harness i would buy 2 of them.

 

Cheers

 

Bruce

[sp838]

Reviving this thread, because I'm getting the (masochistic) itch to re-wire my bike again... Wondering if anyone out there has taken the leap, especially curious about completely ditching the stock harness are re-wiring from scratch using the m-unit. I rewired a 1973 Honda CB350 last winter with an m-unit and it was an absolute pleasure. The bike is so much cleaner now, and the confidence level knowing the thing is actually reliable is the best part. The only thing making me hesitate is the complication of the ECU and ignition system, with all the sensors, fuel pump, injectors etc etc. Not very straightforward... Unless I get some good guidance, my strategy would be to just go for it and try to figure it out component by component. And if that fails, to rip out the ECU and throttle bodies and install an Elektronik-Sachse ignition and a pair of Keihin FCRs and just be done with the EFI system. I do want to give it a shot though. Wouldn't be happening until the winter anyway, but thought I'd reach out and see if anyone else had done it, start the discussion. I am aware that I am opening myself up to severe flaming, but I'm ok with that.

[docc]

Be aware that the V11 has two completely distinct wring harnesses. One for the spark ignition, fuel injection, fuel pump, and ECU. The other (more complex one) for everything else (lighting, horns, safety lock-out systems to the run switch and for the clutch switch, charging (such as it is! ), and starting).

 

It seems to me the less reliable of the two is the latter.

[Lucky Phil]

2 hours ago, sp838 said:

Reviving this thread, because I'm getting the (masochistic) itch to re-wire my bike again... Wondering if anyone out there has taken the leap, especially curious about completely ditching the stock harness are re-wiring from scratch using the m-unit. I rewired a 1973 Honda CB350 last winter with an m-unit and it was an absolute pleasure. The bike is so much cleaner now, and the confidence level knowing the thing is actually reliable is the best part. The only thing making me hesitate is the complication of the ECU and ignition system, with all the sensors, fuel pump, injectors etc etc. Not very straightforward... Unless I get some good guidance, my strategy would be to just go for it and try to figure it out component by component. And if that fails, to rip out the ECU and throttle bodies and install an Elektronik-Sachse ignition and a pair of Keihin FCRs and just be done with the EFI system. I do want to give it a shot though. Wouldn't be happening until the winter anyway, but thought I'd reach out and see if anyone else had done it, start the discussion. I am aware that I am opening myself up to severe flaming, but I'm ok with that.

The very last thing you want to do is ditch the EFI. People that do this on a big twin esp, are delusional believe me. 

 

Ciao

[sp838]

15 hours ago, docc said:

Be aware that the V11 has two completely distinct wring harnesses. One for the spark ignition, fuel injection, fuel pump, and ECU. The other for everything else

I wasn't aware that the harness was actually two physically separate entities, thanks docc. Looking at the wiring diagram, those two major systems seem entangled. Maybe the approach is to first rip out everything that isn't related to the EFI and ignition, and re-wire that, and then the rest might appear less opaque. I want to keep the EFI mainly from the "Sunken Cost Fallacy" cognitive bias: I already put time treasure blood sweat and tears into it. 

 

13 hours ago, Lucky Phil said:

The very last thing you want to do is ditch the EFI. People that do this on a big twin esp, are delusional believe me.

I know some people first hand who have done it with great success. Power gains and massive weight drop, simpler wiring harness and mechanical relibility. It's just very expensive - about $2500-3000 all in to do it right (carbs alone are about $1500)