Topic: ignition switch bypass

[Andrew Foss]

hey everyone,
i have been having mucho trouble with my cb this summer (1976 cb750f). the prev. owner(s) seem to have had thier way with much of the wiring and problems keep popping up. now that i have my regulatior/rectifier problem sorted, my ignition switch is shot. no matter what position it is in, the light and coils have power. kill switch is working fine (to turn off coils).
what i would like to do is remove the dummylights and key switch all together and have a simple on/off toggle (i may hook up a small neutral light by putting a green light through the back of the headlight bucket). the plan is to take the white connector out of the ignition switch and (leaving the connector on) slide the toggle switch wire over the appropriate wires to give the lights/ignition juice (leaving the kill switch in place). i know it is not the most secure setup, but i wheel lock the bike and am of the opinion that if someone wanted it, they would get it regardless of what i do to secure it. anyone who can help me out here i would appreciate it. i would really like to get my bike back here in philly and out of my parents' yard! thanks,
-andrew

[nickjtc]

Can't help you with the technicals, but it sounds like an idea that might confuse the heck out of a potential scumbag thief. "What, no key???"

[BobbyR]

It seems you are going through a lot of trouble. You can buy a replacement switch and you bike will look complete. 

[Jonesy]

To answer your question, There are 4 wires going into the switch: Red (hot wire from battery), Black (bike's main power buss), Brown wire (lighting) and a Brown wire with a white stripe (tail light).
When the switch is off, all the wires are disconnected. When the switch is in the on position, the red is connected to the black wire, and the two brown wires connect together. In the park position, the red wire is connected to the taillight circuit in order to leave the light on so (in theory) someone will see you bike when parked at night and won't hit it. All it's really good for is draining your battery...

The easiest way to wire it would be to put you toggle switch between the red and black wire and connect the brown and brown/white wires together.

[Andrew Foss]

well jonesy-looks like you have an answer for me, thanks! now all i need to do is get to the bike. i want to "clean up" the bars as it is so i really do want to get rid of the dummy lights and ignition switch(preferably the tach/speedo as well, but ill keep just the tach for now). i have taken notes and will report back asap. thanks again!
-andrew

[HondaJay]

When I bought my 1980 CB650 the ignition had been broken and there was a part of a key in it.  I didnt want to bother trying to fix that and I didnt want to pay a lot for the original part.

What I ended up doing was just buying a basic ignition switch and drilling a hole in the side cover to mount it.  It was cheap and pretty easy and everyone seems to like that I wired it to be a turn-key start instead of using the starter button (it wouldnt be too hard to wire it so both would work)

Just something to think about... I can take some pictures of it if you're interested

J

[nickjtc]

Just something to think about... I can take some pictures of it if you're interested

Please do.

[ProTeal55]

You can also get a ign. switch from a cage (automobile) , and use that on your scoot.
Thsi way no extra starter button is needed. Just crank it over like you do your car everyday.
One less switch = a cleaner bike 

[OldSchool_IsCool]

Andrew,

Check out the wiring diagrams at www.oldmanhonda.com  There are static diagrams and some really NEAT interactive diagrams.  What I like about the interactives is that you can turn off all systems except the one you are interested in.

[JohnK6]

watch out, the kill switch ain't manufactured to be used as a daily switch, the contacts in you're kill-switch can't take that heavy amps (the contacts will burn in), when used on a daily bases, better is to make a switch on you're steering which can handle the amps

the idea to use a ign. switch from a car i like , I'm thinking that i will use that on my next project (a caferacer)

[OldSchool_IsCool]

One of the reasons the kill switch is located so close to the throttle is to, as it's name implies, kill the engine!  If you had a sudden need to 1) kill your engine and 2) maintain control of your scoot, you will understand how wise the Honda engineers were in locating it there and why it has 2 kill positions.

[nickjtc]

One of the reasons the kill switch is located so close to the throttle is to, as it's name implies, kill the engine!  If you had a sudden need to 1) kill your engine and 2) maintain control of your scoot, you will understand how wise the Honda engineers were in locating it there and why it has 2 kill positions.

And sure as eggs one day the ignition will not be turned off too and you come back to a totally dead bike!

[HondaJay]

Here are some pictures of my ignition job... Please excuse the mismatched paint job; the finish on the tank was destroyed when I got the bike so I stripped and primed it but havent been able to decide how I want to paint the whole bike.

I have it wired so that the kill switch still works but the starter button doesn't.  I definitely recommend keeping the kill switch and if you wanted the starter button to work as well that shouldnt be too hard.

Plus you can add a personal touch with a keychain..

The only problem i can think of is that the stock airbox might cause clearance problems with the very back of the ignition.  I just drilled a small hole in mine since I have the pod filters and the airbox is now pretty much useless.

J

[HondaJay]

Hmmm.... I know I attached those pics but now I dont see them showing up.... lets try this again

[HondaJay]

2 more for ya

...this forum is givin me almost as much trouble as my 650

[nickjtc]

Very neat.