Topic: 1977 CB550F IDK (first build)

[minimo]

Fuses for days

Checked off the list. Hope it works.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

It's nice having spares. Even if you never use them.

[minimo]

Wiring has commenced. Here's a compulsory (bad) shot of the headlight bucket-o-wires:

The Koso TNT speedo is mounted using the bracket that it came with. Koso offers another speedo mounting bracket but I think it might require some minor fabrication because unless you want an offset speedo, you'll probably have to fab some mount for the mount if you want to use the existing screw holes on the top triple tree... I'll use the easy bar mount clamp for now:

I was also able to find a pretty good spot on the right fork (opposite side of the disc), right around where the factory speedo attaches, and used the existing screw hole to mount the speed sensor bracket. It lines up spot on with the magnets that stick to the metal flange on the hub; was able to stick all six magnets spaced evenly alongside the hub bolts. Adjusted and locked down the depth of the speed sensor so it nearly brushes with the magnets at the turn of the front wheel (recommended 3 mm or less clearance). Then I ran the sensor wire up and through the fork brace bracket, then laced through the lower triple, up into the headlight bucket, and connected the harness into the provided speedo wiring. Easy peasy.

Now I'm stuck at wiring the rest of the Koso speedo. I'm supposed to wrap the RPM wire around the spark plug wire and cap? What? Is the RPM wire even necessary for the CB550? Can anyone help me make sense of how I can use the existing stock CB550 wiring to adapt to this? http://www.kosonorthamerica.com/instructions/BA035K00.pdf

Furiously looking through some old Honda wiring diagrams and I can't figure out what BLACK/YELLOW wire is for - it comes from the turn signal/horn/hi-low beam electrics. I read somewhere that it's the Kickstand indicator? Huh? It also looks like it has room to take an extra bullet connector but I don't know which one. And there seems to be an extra set of BLUE/BROWN. Isn't that the turn signal buzzer that I've omitted? Does that line/color serve another purpose?

calj737, are you around? You mentioned giving Seth McAllister a hand at rigging one up... Help.

[minimo]

On the old Honda, the High Beam Indicator was represented by Green and Blue wires, respectively. Now, on the Koso, the High Beam Indicator is represented solely by a single Yellow wire. How do I connect this?
I know Green on the Honda represents Ground... Should I run the respective Blue line from the Honda to the Koso's Yellow and just rely that it all gets grounded by the Koso's ground (Black wire)?

Help.

[minimo]

Yoo-hoo! I'm up, stop knocking on the door already...

Whoa-whoa-whoa! Thanks for answering my call, calj737 

Rev sensor for your Koso: I find it easiest/best to attach this wire to the Yellow wire coming from the ignition plate. I don't recall if you're using stock or aftermarket coils, but if aftermarket, there should be a screw where a ring terminal connector can used to attach the rev wire. Make sense? Yes, RPM info is needed on a 550. I would always want to know what my RPMs are under certain circumstances.

Forgive my ignorance, but "rev wire/rev sensor" = Koso RPM wire, yes?
Koso supplied a couple of RPM wires so I soldered one of them (represented in the photo here as the blue/yellow line on right) and ran the line alongside the points assembly wire bundle, continued up and along the top of the frame to meet with the rest of the cabling in the headlight bucket. So then this blue/yellow then attaches to the Dark Brown/RPM wire from the speedo, yes? I assume yes because Koso has kinda crimped corresponding bullet-connectors on the ends of the Dark Brown and RPM wires so it'd be an easy click.

So far so good...

The BLK/YLW wire is from certain later model Fs, and if I recall correctly it's from a side stand switch. The purpose of that switch in stock condition was to kill the bike if the side stand was down, and you shifted into gear (prevents ride off with stand down). You can omit that wire if you choose.

Well, that's interesting because I imagine there'd have to be some kind of switch mechanism on the kickstand itself to make that all work; my 550 never came with one. I think I will disconnect these BLK/YLW wires. Thank you.

High Beam: connect the Koso YELLOW wire to the dark BLUE wire coming from your stock control switch. When the HI beam is active, the Dk BLUE carries 12v and thus the indicator is activated. To confirm you have it right, voltage meter on the Dk BLUE, toggle LO then to HI. If Dk BLUE gets 12v in HI position, you're in business.

OK, so Koso YELLOW to the dark Blue coming from the stock control switch... The only Dk BLUE I see comes from the 3-way on the headlight harness. This Dk BLUE one, right?
Meanwhile, as you suggest, before I connect anything, I'll try metering this.

Oh, and I'm sort of a newb to metering (gulp). Here's a cheapie I picked up at Harbor Freight.
What setting should I have on the dial? Obviously I touch one of the black&red meter leads to the Dk BLUE, but the other one? Should I touch it to ground?

Also, does it matter at this point that I don't have the battery connected yet? I'm just checking for continuity, right? Ugh, this will all make sense at some point.

The stock wiring had a ground also (GRN) for the stock idiot light because individually it was required. The Koso has a "system" ground if you want to think of it that way. All internals, light functions, etc share a common ground for the Koso, so the extra or individual ground is not needed.

So can the Koso's common ground connect to one of the freed up stock Grn wires in my bucket?

BLUE/BROWN: turn signal buzzer. What? You don't want that ringing in your ears?  Omit at will.

Oh, hell yeah I'll be omitting that one. Ill be wearing the buzzer around my neck while I ride.

Speedo Sensor: just make sure you have no binding of the wire on lock-to-lock movement.

Copy and check.

Thanks, calj737!

[minimo]

Conjecture on the type of motor oil to use on a '77 CB550F in LA, where it'll reach temps in the upper 90's... Clymer says 20W-50 but the cap on my crank case says 10W-40... I figure if Honda went through the trouble of embossing the part, that must be what I should use.
Any opinions?

[streak09]

Check out page 15, about half way down --> http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,122379.350.html.

Take it for what its worth. There are soooo many topics about oil choices, very few end up providing any useful direction, but I think there are pretty good suggestions there. I just put the Bel-ray in mine, but its not running yet so cant comment other than the fact that it looks like oil  . I went with 10W-40, I'm in Ohio and wont be running it hard or hot for a while.

Im gonna have to research that speedo/tach, I likie!

[minimo]

Thanks for the link, streak09. Hondaman's word is gospel so I will try to take heed of his lead on the Bel-Ray "MINERAL" EXL in 20w50. Sure, it'll be a waste to run the first 80-mile wash-off of internal crud with this stuff but why taint it with any other oil if this stuff works, I suppose. Amazon order is in. Thanks for the heads up on that thread, streak09.

calj737, 20W-50. Copy you.

Copy that on the importance of RED (+) and BLACK (-).

I realize I won't get voltage without the battery connected. I'm working on that. But just for yucks, I employed your "RED to power and BLACK to ground" advice and the meter reads 13.23 V~. I'm also prepared to recharge with my Shorai Charge and Store Battery Management System as I anticipate there'll be a hefty sum of using this while starting out and troubleshooting.

Copy that on the BLK/YLLW wire. I'll reconnect them to be on the clutch (safety) side. Thanks.

So the only wires that remain on the Koso are as follows:

RED - positive pole (connect to the battery DC 12V)
Can I just connect a 16 AWG RED lead from the (+) solenoid terminal connection?

BROWN - "+" wire that connects to the DC 12V ignition switch.
Since I'm trying to reuse the stock ignition switch, do I need to splice the Koso BROWN into the existing BROWN on the harness?

GRAY - warning light (+/-) - I don't know what this is.

[minimo]

Thanks, calj737.
I'm out of 16 gauge RED, and in an effort to keep this all relatively clean and consistent, I will have to pick some up tomorrow. I'm excited to get this all wired up!

Koso Brown was soldered to some 16 gauge Black. I traced the Black lead on the key ignition harness to a 3-way connection point on the wiring harness and crimped a bullet connector on and plugged it into one of the open connections. Hope that's correct and alright to do.

Dark GREEN is the fuel gauge line which I can probably omit 'cos this and other 550s never had a fuel gauge connection to begin with, right?

I would LOVE to know if the Koso Gray line can be used to flash low oil or whatever. It'd be nice to squeeze out any remaining function from these mystery lines if they can be of any good use. Maybe I'll put a word into the peeps at Koso and see if they have any recommends. Keep y'all posted.

Meanwhile, I spent a little time extending the wire bundle on the stator harness to make it reach its new location under the seat.


Soldered extensions one by one so I wouldn't loose my place. A tedious process for sure but worth it if it all works in the end, as it should. See, with a little wrapping you could never tell it was extended.


I need to pick up some thick 4 gauge red and black wire long enough to reach between the battery and the solenoid. I guess there's an additional ground that goes from the solenoid to some mounting point between the frame and the engine too? Jeez, thinking back, I'm so glad to have scraped away some of the paint and powdercoat off of the engine and the frame while I still could; that'd be a nightmare to have to deal with at this point.

Feels like I made some solid wiring baby steps today. Thanks a lot for coming to the rescue, calj737. Thanks also to everyone else who's been chiming in to my meandering.

Ordered some of that Bel-Ray 20W-50 "mineral" oil. Due to arrive later this week or early the following week. Meanwhile, I hope to get all the crucial wiring done and instruments connected and powered up by/before the oil arrives. Can't wait to have my engine starting party. Been a long time coming.

[minimo]

Just for reference, here's how I currently have the Koso TNT wired (and the info I provided to Koso while I wait for their reply):

Koso Yellow - Honda Blue (Headlight)
Koso Blue - Honda Lt. Blue (Rt. Turn)
Koso Orange - Honda Orange (Lt. Turn)
Koso Purple - Honda Green/Red (Neutral)
Koso Black - Honda Green (Headlight), or should this go to frame or battery ground?
Koso Brown - made to Koso Blue/Yellow to wrap around coil plug wire
Koso Red - Honda Red (12V Solenoid)
Koso Dark Green - my CB550 never had a fuel gauge option. Is there a way to make one to work with the TNT?
Koso Gray - I don't know where this goes... Honda has an Oil Pressure indicator (Blue/Red). Should it connect to this? Can it serve any other useful purpose?

Koso digital speed signal bracket and sensor all mounted as previously discussed and connected to its corresponding TNT speedo harness.

[minimo]

Copy you, calj737. I'll get on making those corrections :-)
Thank you!

[minimo]

These were all purchased separately in the order from top to bottom - small to large. The top two are LED, the bottom one is incandescent. I was trying to find some happy-medium between style and function... Until the word of the law came into the equation.

To be on the safe and lawful (albeit ugly) side, for now I think I should install the big signals (at least at the front end) just to hopefully get it past registering; the middle one might be too small and may cause alarm to CHP/DMV and their laws:

Turn Signals (24951, 24952, 24953 VC). A turn signal system, if installed, shall include four turn signal lamps, two single-faced or two double-faced front lamps, and two single-faced rear lamps. The two lamps at each end shall be mounted at least nine inches apart and as far apart as practicable, with the front lamps at least four inches from the nearest luminous edge of the low beam headlamp. Motorcycles manufactured and first registered on or after January 1, 1973, except motor-driven cycles if speed attainable in one mile is 30 mph or less, are required to be equipped with turn signal systems with the front turn signal lamps spaced at least 16 inches apart and the rear turn signal lamps spaced at least 9 inches apart. The lamp shall be so connected that the front and rear lamps on the side toward which a turn is signaled shall flash simultaneously. The system shall also include a flasher and a visual indicator to the driver that the turn signal lamps are on. The rear sections of double-faced front lamps may serve as the required indicators. The lamps shall project white or amber light to the front and red or amber light to the rear. The lamps shall be plainly visible from 300 feet to front and rear. On vehicles manufactured after January 1, 1969, the turn signal lamps shall be mounted no less than 15 inches above the roadway and the front lamps must be amber. Turn signals are not required on motorized bicycles.

By installing the big signals, I achieve well beyond the 16" spread at the front and 9" at rear. Nevertheless, these are incandescent bulbs and I would probably want to switch the bulbs to some LEDs, right?

If I were to install the middle signals (my preferred lights), the spread between the two at front would be 12" - breaking the law. However, they clear 9" at the rear so that should be fine.

There's no mention of actual equipment size; it's all kind of implied. But there's the whole other thing about whether the lighting equipment is "DOT approved" or not. Some of the LED lights, particularly the smallest one is definitely not approved. I'm skeptical on the middle ones and the incandescent ones were sold as meeting DOT approval. I just may have to suck it up and ride Dumbo for a while, at least at the start.

Stoplamp (24603 VC). At least one red or yellow stoplamp is required on the rear at all times. Stoplamps on vehicles manufactured on or after January 1, 1979, shall emit a red light only. The stoplamp shall be actuated upon application of the brake and be visible from 300 feet to the rear. Stoplamps may also be actuated upon sudden release of the accelerator while the vehicle is in motion. Stoplamps on vehicles manufactured after January 1, 1969, shall be mounted between 15 and 72 inches above the roadway.

Note: Stoplamps on motorized bicycles need only be one-half as bright as stoplamps on motorcycles.

I have this stoplight being delivered to me and its DOT approval is doubtful which in turn would probably raise a flag with DMV/CHP

I'll have to revisit this at some later point. I really need to finish up wiring first!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

What type of DVM/CHP inspection are you having done? For special build? Out of state bike?

When I had my salvaged GSXR inspected for roadworthiness, I took it to an independent inspector and it had LED flush signals.  Passed with no issues.  I agree that if you MUST be checked out by DMV or CHP (as opposed to a licensed vehicle inspector), it's better to have to bulbous stockers in place for now.  If AAA can do the inspection, don't bother with the stockers.

[minimo]

That is reassuring, CB750.
I just figure I should take any precaution before going in. And can some AAA offices do the inspection? That would be good.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

It depends on the type of inspection involved.  If it is to title and register and out-of-state bike, AAA can do that.  I don't think that AAA can do a safety/roadworthiness inspection for a special build.

[minimo]

Use the smallest units installed in the bar ends of the bike. More than far enough apart, and you can use the smallest LED. CHP/DMV can k!ss my a$$!

Love it

[minimo]

The bike came with no title so I imagine it would involve an authority higher than AAA to get it back into the system. Taking word from the PO, the bike sat in storage for a while so it should be long off of record - clean slate. Fingers are crossed that it's not a fugitive bike.
I imagine these inspections are somewhat discretionary but it'd be just my luck to get someone who knows the ins and outs of the 550 and who's a stickler on all the vehicle code nuances.
Btw, my DMV driver license arrived in the mail today. It's cool to see the "CLASS: CM1" on there. It is not so cool see the age and pudgy factor show between my old and new IDs. Ugh.
In any case, I'm so ready to ride.

[Tews19]

go the vermont route. Takes about 100 bucks. registration and plates in a few weeks. Less hassle. Hit up Stev-o, he has done this route before and i am sure he will assist you.

[goldarrow]

Hey Brian, here's how I did my old 500 clunker. 

- bike bought off CL, no bill of sale, no title, but vin check with AAA came out clean
- went down to AAA and apply for new title, and temp registration
- called up CHP and make appointment for vin verification
- rode the bike to chp, with paperworks from AAA, waited an hour
- went back to AAA and return all completed paperworks
- pay fees, get new plate and registration.
- done!
- so 2 trips to aaa, one trip o chp. 

Hope this helps

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Hey Brian, here's how I did my old 500 clunker. 

- bike bought off CL, no bill of sale, no title, but vin check with AAA came out clean
- went down to AAA and apply for new title, and temp registration
- called up CHP and make appointment for vin verification
- rode the bike to chp, with paperworks from AAA, waited an hour
- went back to AAA and return all completed paperworks
- pay fees, get new plate and registration.
- done!
- so 2 trips to aaa, one trip o chp. 

Hope this helps

If goldarrow had success in California, perhaps you should give it a try BEFORE going the Vermont route.  It could save you some time and money if it works.

I don't think that the CHP will give any concern to small LED lighting as long as it meets minimum space requirements and is visible.

[minimo]

Thanks for chiming in, Tews19. Vermont? Where in CA is that?

goldarrow lives! Thanks for breaking it down with kindness. I agree with CB750 and think it's worth a shot for sure to take it step-by-step the way goldarrow did it. I'll do the shimmy and the dance and pay the cost whatever before I begin thinking about rolling this thing to Vermont, wherever that is

Little was done on the bike today; exhausted from work.
I mocked up the LED front lights and I'm kinda diggin' it - at least the look of them so far before I see how dim/bright they are. These things are also made of crap plastic and I'm afraid even 30 mph wind will knock them off. But I think I'll take a chance at letting the CHP/DMV decide whether they stay/go.

My goal by the weekend is to get the battery all connected and power run through this machine, damnit.

[goldarrow]

Here's my clunker, well, was mine 2 summers ago

Another pic with different lighting

[minimo]

Thanks, goldarrow.
Looks pretty much stock so I imagine you didn't get any beef from the CHP inspector.
This is definitely a good reference to consider before taking my bike in for an inspection. Mustn't forget the mirrors too. Wow, looks like you got both of them on there. I imagine bar-end mirrors would cause some alarm?
Reminder that I need to work in the stock rear fender. I gotta get that mounted up on my hoop (or swingarm) somehow... Been looking around for some other fender options and came across these http://4into1.com/nos-universal-chrome-rear-fender-left-side-cut-away/ But they're a little on the narrow side. Not to get too ahead of myself here. Focus. Get the bike wired up.
Thanks, goldy!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I don't think there's any problem with bar ends but definitely the lack of mirrors. Even some cheapies.

[minimo]

Help on wiring LED TURN SIGNALS:

So these LED turn signals are two-wires as opposed to three which was stock. When I wire the LED left and right, ORANGE/WHITE and BLUE/WHITE remain (unplugged). Do they not get plugged in at all? If I'm not mistaken, the white striped variation of orange and blue wires designate "marker lights". What are marker lights?
I suppose this applies to the rear lights as well (brake light and signals)...

More on wiring...

In the headlight bucket, I'm still left with some lonely wires that aren't connected to anything:

Honda Brown
Honda Brown/White
Honda Green w/ a 4-way (do the turn signal grounds connect to this? Does it matter since ground is ground?)
Honda Blue/Brown and Honda Black, which are part of the turn signal buzzer that I've taped off for non-use.

This all gets easier, right?