Author Topic: 1976 CB500/550 Project "Squirrel" (Read 294308 times)

RAFster122s · « **Reply #1425 on:** February 18, 2017, 04:01:31 PM »

Looks good, match the gloss of the frame and it will blend in.
Or is it going to be hidden by tank?
good job!

Camrector · « **Reply #1426 on:** February 18, 2017, 05:34:13 PM »

Wow that looks great man!!
Send me one!!!

riverfever · « **Reply #1427 on:** February 22, 2017, 06:44:52 PM »

Progress is really slow during the week but I got the mount painted and then installed and wired tonight.

Tomorrow night I'll put the horn and M Lock ground back into their bundles and then crudely run the other two M Lock wires to make sure that it functions before finishing the looms on that right side of the frame. Also got another rivet nut installed just above the M Unit (on the bottom side of the seat tube) where two bundles of grounds from the rear will live.

Also got the right turn, start, and horn wired up to the M Unit. Problem is...and I didn't even realize this until just now...that brown wire is not for the horn. It's for the front brake switch. Now I don't have enough length to get to the brake input. So I suppose I'll have to redo that one. Damn it.

Stev-o · « **Reply #1428 on:** February 22, 2017, 07:04:07 PM »

Quote from: riverfever on February 18, 2017, 07:14:19 AM

And I was kidding when I mentioned the mount going to the show...

Send me the mount, I'll make sure it makes it to the Show!

PS. Dump the Jeep and buy a 4Runner. We've had a couple and they were great vehicles

riverfever · « **Reply #1429 on:** February 25, 2017, 06:30:01 AM »

Thursday night and last night I was able to get that brown wire swapped out. I also was able to hook up the wires for the M Lock and test it to see if it worked and it was fine. Last night I ran as many wires as possible to the M Unit and tested the switches and buttons and everything that's wired up works fine. Then I went in and started to configure the M Unit. This was pretty cool because I was finally able to actually see (and not just hear about or read) some of the things it can do. I set the turn signals up to run as parking lights as well (sent 30% power to them) and programmed the turns to cancel after 10S. I programmed the M Unit to recognize only one wire on the rear tail/brake light.

The one issue I found at the end was that the led for turn left OUTPUT is on all the time and that shouldn't be the case. Not sure what the problem is but I did find one member here who had the same issue back in 2015 and sent him a message last night because the thread was never updated. This morning I'm going to verify that all wires are coming from and going to the correct destinations and I'll put the menu back to default settings and see if the issue goes away. Today I'll also wire the rear turn signals and tail light, run the looms and start tidying up input/output looms right at the M Unit and cutting the wires.

540nova · « **Reply #1430 on:** February 25, 2017, 08:27:32 AM »

I would not configure turn signals to act as parking lights unless you like dead batteries. I have mine configured to act as running lights, maybe that's what you meant?

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riverfever · « **Reply #1431 on:** February 25, 2017, 08:34:26 AM »

Yes...that's what I meant. Sorry for the confusion.

540nova · « **Reply #1432 on:** February 25, 2017, 02:08:53 PM »

Quote from: calj737 on February 25, 2017, 11:07:35 AM

And Squirrel is running m-blaze pins so the draw is very low.

Me, too. LOVE those little jewels!

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riverfever · « **Reply #1433 on:** February 26, 2017, 06:52:22 AM »

Wanted to update this because I believe I found the issue with the left turn led staying lit on output side. When configuring the M Unit I was counting the CONFIG port as the 5th one so I was really one off on the menus. Things got really ugly after I accidentally switched from the default 5 push button controls to newer style Ducati controls. I eventually went back in and set everything back to default settings (and paid closer attention to the manual) and got everything set up yesterday morning before disconnecting it all again.

Yesterday I was able to get the rear turns wired up. That was the most challenging part of the wiring for me so far. As someone who just doesn't really understand electricity and wiring, I just had a real hard time wrapping my head around how it all needed to be and where things needed to go. I'll post some pics here in a minute.

riverfever · « **Reply #1434 on:** February 26, 2017, 07:31:08 AM »

I'm a visual guy so hopefully this will help someone else who decides to get an old motorcycle for their first project. I knew I was going to have to use diodes to run the led turns but, if I'm being honest, I didn't even know what a diode was until yesterday. I would have preferred these to be on the wires for the front turns but I wasn't about to tear those looms apart so I started looking at how to make it clean with the wiring for the rear. After laying the wiring for the rear turns out I cut the power wires so I could solder in a wire that I would use to connect to a diode to. These are the orange and blue power wires back together with the spliced wire doing a u turn and a diode soldered in on each wire. I covered each individual soldered connection here (including the diodes), then used sleeving on each wire to keep things separate. Then once I had the looms built again I twisted the diode ends together and soldered them. After doing anything along the way, I tested to make sure that the turns and indicator led worked.

Here the yellow wire is soldered to both diodes. The looms were routed under the frame and into the area that the air box lives but I wanted to be able to remove everything if I needed to down the road so you can see I ended up cutting the yellow and then added in spade connectors. I also taped both looms together and then shrunk over the ugly tape.

Looms are tucked into their place and secured to the frame, the yellow wire is covered in shrink for a bit more protection and just to help hide it. Spade connectors are covered in shrink as well so there won't be any shorts and I can get to them if I need to later on. The tail/brake light loom still needs to be routed with the turn looms and then I'll deal with the grounds for turns, brake, R/R, starter solenoid and M Unit to chassis. If you look closely you can barely make out the fastener on the frame (bottom side) just above the R/R. That's where all those grounds will go and then these power wires will just drop right down to OUTPUT side.

riverfever · « **Reply #1435 on:** March 04, 2017, 06:11:03 PM »

Worked on things a bit last night and a bit more today. Got everything on the M Unit buttoned up.

Bit more.

Next up is reinstalling the R/R, wiring it up to the stator and running the wires to the oil and neutral switch. Then all wiring should be done.

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #1436 on:** March 04, 2017, 09:57:56 PM »

That's a very tidy wiring job, Chris!

Stev-o · « **Reply #1437 on:** March 05, 2017, 06:27:31 AM »

You, sir, missed your calling as an electrician!

Ps. Any squirrel news?!

riverfever · « **Reply #1438 on:** March 05, 2017, 07:02:10 AM »

Thanks a lot guys. I had to go down to the garage several times last night and power things up and run the blinkers and headlights and hit the brakes. Had to stop hitting the horn because Heather got mad at me.

And Steve...I'll assume you're talking about the actual critters and not news about the build? Anytime I've seen a furry critter on the deck, I've set a new trap. I've now caught and relocated three. Haven't even seen a squirrel in weeks now. I tell ya I'm sleeping better. If I'm being honest with myself I'll say that I have a bit of a soft spot for the last one that I caught. He didn't make a sound the entire drive out to the place where I let it go. Once I made to the location with glorious pine trees, a babbling creek, and piles upon piles of chestnuts, I took the cage out of the vehicle and opened it up. He slowly took a few steps out, turned and looked directly up at me, barked once (I'm fairly certain he said, "Thanks buddy!") and took off.

BLAC · « **Reply #1439 on:** March 07, 2017, 02:32:51 PM »

Quote from: riverfever on March 05, 2017, 07:02:10 AM

Thanks a lot guys. I had to go down to the garage several times last night and power things up and run the blinkers and headlights and hit the brakes. Had to stop hitting the horn because Heather got mad at me.

And Steve...I'll assume you're talking about the actual critters and not news about the build? Anytime I've seen a furry critter on the deck, I've set a new trap. I've now caught and relocated three. Haven't even seen a squirrel in weeks now. I tell ya I'm sleeping better. If I'm being honest with myself I'll say that I have a bit of a soft spot for the last one that I caught. He didn't make a sound the entire drive out to the place where I let it go. Once I made to the location with glorious pine trees, a babbling creek, and piles upon piles of chestnuts, I took the cage out of the vehicle and opened it up. He slowly took a few steps out, turned and looked directly up at me, barked once (I'm fairly certain he said, "Thanks buddy!") and took off.

It was either that or....

"Ill be back"

riverfever · « **Reply #1440 on:** March 12, 2017, 08:35:22 AM »

All I have left to do in terms of wiring is finish connecting the R/R to the stator and deal with the neutral and oil indicator lights. Last weekend I pulled the left side engine cover and found this.

One of the yellow wires is almost chewed through. Looks like it was rubbing on the chain at some point.

The white wire fell right out of it's bullet connector (down near the stator cover) when I looked at it funny and all the insulation was brittle for every wire. I cut back pretty far on all of them, crimped on new bullet connectors for green and white and soldered in new wire for yellows and covered them all up. Yesterday I finished up the sleeving and shrink but I'm waiting on a stator cover gasket. Joeyvans suggested I take the starter motor apart and give it a look and cleaning since it's sitting on the bench so the rebuild kit will be here early in the week.

riverfever · « **Reply #1441 on:** March 12, 2017, 08:50:26 AM »

Also...the cable leading from solenoid to starter appears to be soldered on to the starter for the 500 models (believe it to be fastened to a stud for the 550). Not sure yet if I will need to remove the cable in order to rebuild it. Anyone know?

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #1442 on:** March 12, 2017, 10:51:31 PM »

That "chewed" up wire could have been Sparky the Squirrel.

RAFster122s · « **Reply #1443 on:** March 12, 2017, 11:30:11 PM »

Likely a source of your regulator rectifier flaking out and not playing nice. That was you (right Chris?) who went through a couple rect/reg units as they were not working, or causing much hair pulling? Or, I have confused another thread with this one.

Very nice work on your wiring Chris! Cal could teach a blind squirrel how to get to your house...oh, wrong euphimism.

Cal can teach anyone willing to learn and is a very resourceful fellow!

David

riverfever · « **Reply #1444 on:** March 13, 2017, 12:38:46 PM »

You know what's funny is that Heather was on the road all last week and got home just after lunch time on Friday. I get a text that says, "There is something trapped behind the stove and it's scratching at the floor and stove and I'm scared." School was out in another hour or so so I just told her to either pull the stove out and get after it or hunker down in the bedroom with 140 pounds of Pitbull until I get there. She chose option B. I got home and gently slid the stove out and found....a Chipmunk sitting back there. I was able to net him like a trout and release it back into the wild. I knew right away where he had entered the premises from and went downstairs to the mudroom to find the flex tube for the dryer vent chewed up. We've had them get in the house before even though I installed a vent cover on the outside. Once they get in the duct it's less than a foot straight and then a 6' drop down to the mudroom. I'm sure that's a hell of a ride in the dark. What is it with me and varmints?

And yes David...that was me who was dealing with charging issues.

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #1445 on:** March 13, 2017, 02:09:46 PM »

Quote from: riverfever on March 13, 2017, 12:38:46 PM

You know what's funny is that Heather was on the road all last week and got home just after lunch time on Friday. I get a text that says, "There is something trapped behind the stove and it's scratching at the floor and stove and I'm scared." School was out in another hour or so so I just told her to either pull the stove out and get after it or hunker down in the bedroom with 140 pounds of Pitbull until I get there. She chose option B. I got home and gently slid the stove out and found....a Chipmunk sitting back there. I was able to net him like a trout and release it back into the wild. I knew right away where he had entered the premises from and went downstairs to the mudroom to find the flex tube for the dryer vent chewed up. We've had them get in the house before even though I installed a vent cover on the outside. Once they get in the duct it's less than a foot straight and then a 6' drop down to the mudroom. I'm sure that's a hell of a ride in the dark. What is it with me and varmints?

And yes David...that was me who was dealing with charging issues.

Alvin's wild ride down the dryer vent tube:

riverfever · « **Reply #1446 on:** March 13, 2017, 06:42:53 PM »

That's probably pretty close Don!

Stator cover gasket will be here tomorrow but my starter rebuild kit showed up today so I "started" on that. I got it from Amazon (thanks for the link Joey) for $13. It's good for a lot of different stuff including the 500 and 550 so I'm sure I won't use all the pieces.

I started by marking the body.

The internals were in bad shape. Just super dirty but everything looks fine.

So this brings us to the cable. The 500 cable appears to pass through the body of the starter, through a metal sleeve and it's soldered in place and makes contact with a long ring terminal that then supplies power to the internals of the motor. The metal sleeve also passes through a black plastic grommet. I'd really like to do away with the solder and try to make a stud work so that I can install a new cable. I'd like to run one of the flexible ones that Revival sells and uses on their builds so it's more hidden.

A view with the shaft in place.

There's not a ton of room (roughly 3mm) for the head of a fastener to be when reinstalling the shaft. Once it's all the way in, there's more room. I'm on the fence if it's a good idea to try to heat things up and get that cable out of there and see what things look like but I think I'm going to try. Because of the tight space I'll probably use Cal's idea of a countersunk button head. I hope to get things all cleaned up tomorrow and then use a torch and try to remove that cable. Fingers crossed. And if anyone has done what I'm about to try and made it work or ended up looking for another starter cuz it didn't, please let me know. Thanks.

firebane · « **Reply #1447 on:** March 13, 2017, 07:02:32 PM »

It would be nice to not have that wire attached but I wonder if you could just use a different body like a 750s? And use the end caps and guts.

Which rebuild kit did you buy?

riverfever · « **Reply #1448 on:** March 13, 2017, 07:13:27 PM »

I have no clue if the body's are the same. I would think 550 and 500 would be dern close but I have no clue.

Here's the link for the rebuild kit.

https://www.amazon.com/Starter-Rebuild-ATC200-Interstate-Motorcycle/dp/B00G4CON0Q

RAFster122s · « **Reply #1449 on:** March 13, 2017, 10:59:06 PM »

There is a mod for the starter that Ofapar did on his starter (CX500/GL500 starter is of same design) that made the unit work very well...
The cap on one end has 3 contact points that ground the end cap to the body... If those three contacts get dirty you start seeing higher resistance and eventually other problems.

Read this and see if you would want to imitate those modifications.
http://ofapars-.webs.com/footerin.htm

David

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Author Topic: 1976 CB500/550 Project "Squirrel" (Read 294308 times)