Topic: 37 year old electrical/lighting/wiring - CB550

[Motorcharge]

I'm pretty confident in getting my 550 back up and running. It's sat outside, uncovered for the last 30 years untouched, but despite that it's in pretty good mechanical condition. I'm confident in most of the stuff that needs to be done, but I will freely admit that I suck at all things electrical.

So a few questions:

1. I assume after 30 years of sitting outside in the weather most, if not all of the electrical on the bike is toast? Most the wiring casing is brittle, the connections are all corroded, ect. Even if it's not is it a better idea to just upgrade to more modern electrical?

2. Are there replacement kits available to wire up a bike from scratch, generic or otherwise? I've searched but haven't found much of anything.

3. I'm only interested in the minimum electrical I need to run the bike and pass VA inspection. For the inspection all I need is headlight (high/low), brake light, neutral light, and a horn. Push start would be nice, but I really don't care about not having one. If I can't get a kit how hard is it to wire everything from scratch without a kit or would I just be better off having a shop wire up the few things I need?

[LesterPiglet]

The easiest way is to get a used loom. I'm planning on making my own but leaving it for a winter project.

[Mo]

I think you'd be surprised by how resilient these electronics are. After 30 years of sitting, the only issue I had was with my winker unit...

[bjbuchanan]

My bike sat outside since 86, uncovered, the PO admitted as much. The wiring is just fine. What will need to be done to get max power to accessories is dissasembling the harness at every connector and cleaning it up using something like steel wool and qd electronic cleaner

You don't want to use sandpaper because it takes material off and the connectors won't fit snugly anymore. Squeeze female ends with some pliers to tighten them down a little. De-pin connectors after marking locations and clean them up. Dress all ground spots on the frame and clean the start solenoid up

If you wire the stuff up right it should work just fine

[mono]

You can get new harnesses for around $150 if you want to replace.  However it's rarely necessary unless it was in the desert for 30 years or something.

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[LesterPiglet]

I for sure need to replace mine. 37yo plastic becomes very brittle.

[dave500]

its not plastic,its some kind of coloured raw spaggetti?

[LesterPiglet]

So I just need to keep it wet then?   

[dave500]

untill its "al dente"

[mono]

bring 6 quarts salted water to a rolling boil, cook loom for 8-10 minutes.

[Bankerdanny]

I wouldn't assume it needs to be replaced. And even if the rubber sheaths are somewhat brittle, it's not like they move around much.

What I would do is head over to Vintage Connections and order a bunch of replacement bullet connectors. Many electrical problems can be solved by just replacing the old connectors with new ones. I would also invest in a good quality crimping tool and a terminal extracting tool that allows you to remove the terminals from plastic connectors. Having the right tools and terminals on hand will make electrical repair much much easier.

[jason41987]

theres actually a "cafe" wiring schematic floating around on here that simplifies the wiring, allows you to basically go point to point in a more simplified manner and redo the wiring from scratch... buy some connectors and re-use the fuse box and follow the schematic... but with limited knowledge on it, it might be good to study it, and ask questions if needed...

the wiring on my bike was mostly gone, and what was left was in pretty bad condition so im in the same boat you are, i really dont see the point in paying over $100 for electrical wires, or trying to find a used harness that has also been sitting around for 20+ years

[LesterPiglet]

I can't see the point of replacing connectors on old wiring. I'll just do the lot, simplify it and make it look pretty.

[mono]

theres actually a "cafe" wiring schematic floating around on here that simplifies the wiring, allows you to basically go point to point in a more simplified manner and redo the wiring from scratch... buy some connectors and re-use the fuse box and follow the schematic... but with limited knowledge on it, it might be good to study it, and ask questions if needed...

the wiring on my bike was mostly gone, and what was left was in pretty bad condition so im in the same boat you are, i really dont see the point in paying over $100 for electrical wires, or trying to find a used harness that has also been sitting around for 20+ years

well if you're going to cafe' it out, then yeah creating a simplified (new) wiring harness is the way to go.  there are tons of diagrams out there, there was even an interactive diagram i came across at one point.

[bjbuchanan]

I have the vintage connections tool and made my own harness using oldmanhonda.com plus having my own old harness laid out in place using my new and old components. New reg/rec combo, emgo cat eye taillight, aftermarket blinkers, start switch, inline headlight on/off, relays for coils and headlight hi/low. Also wired in hondaman ignition and aftermarket coils with my own on/off switch and multi-position fuse box

Combining good old wiring and new where necessary made this a much easier job without blowing 200$ on wiring for basically no reason, just to say" i made my own cafe harness"

Unwrap the loom and run it to where the stuff goes and just start snipping out stuff that doesn't get used. Replace the chewed up wiring with some newer stuff that is colored similar and replace old bullets

I suggest you reuse what you have that is good. The wire is decent quality and has already stood the test of time really. Also, most of it has been covered in the plastic sheathing not laying out exposed to the elements

[mono]

I'm not going Cafe with it, but I'm not going stock on it either. I pulled all the electrical off today (stripping it down to the frame anyway) and the more I look at it the more I'm finding it's damaged. Broken pieces, screws stripped out that I tried to under, plastics cracked, some wiring chewed through, ect. I really don't want to use any of it at this point and certainly don't feel like trying to chase down electrical issues later. Seems like more hassle than it's worth.

All of the lighting housings that are on it are damaged in someway. The gauges are intact and don't appear to be damaged aside from some surface rust, but while I'm replacing things I'd rather just go ahead and update to more modern electrical. New speedo, tacho, headlight, LED tail light, ect which brings me back to my kit question. Does such a thing exist? Any first hand suggestions, things you'd have done different, ect? I'm kinda thinking about doing Ruckus headlights as a replacement. Had an 09 Ruckus for a while that and always liked the look of them.

Changing mounts, brackets, ect isn't anything to consider for me either. Welding/fabricating isn't an issue for me.

I've never seen a "standard" build, especially where the electric gets involved. Hondaman does offer some kits for a few electrical mods, but those are for the guts more than the cosmetic accessories.  I like your ideas, and i agree with your approach.   If you want to throw down on new parts and new wiring (rewiring is really more costly in time than money), then go for it! 

The thing to remember is that most accessories that you can get are going to be 12V compatible, so that makes it pretty easy.  I think LED blinkers sometimes need a different relay installed, but that's about it.

as you work on your build, parts placement is going to determine where you need to route wires, what length they are, etc.

I'd use this for a good idea of how the systems are wired:
http://oldmanhonda.com/MC/wiring750K1.html

[vonvendetta]

This picture was before I finished it.

I wired in a fuse and clips. I also wired in clips to the headlight, tail light, start button, oil light, neutral light and blinkers for easy disconnect. Cost about $25 and cut down on the mess.

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