Fixin the ride!!!

**Waylander** · 19th August 2005, 20:30

Ok got all my parts early this morning, new headlight, speedo and tach, ignition and a few other things that will wait till I get my new tank painted. Pictures of the parts I’ll be putting on below as well as pics of my new helmet.

> >

Anyway me and my dad went up to the Yamaha shop to get a new oil filter and order some screws that I need in order to put the side plate back on my crankcase cover later next week, then over to Repco to get some oil for the bike. (Buy 4 litre and get a 1 litre bottle free. Get it while you can folks) Changed the oil in the bike but couldn’t get the cap off for the filter. The one in there is new enough that I don’t have to worry about it though so that’s for later.

> >

More to come…

**Waylander** · 19th August 2005, 20:34

The rest of the pics to go with the above post.

More after this...

**Waylander** · 19th August 2005, 20:39

Ok so I got the new oil in it then I start thinking about the instruments. I start tearing it down. Removed the Rebel’s headlight and the dash unit, then pull off the ignition barrel.

I start to mount the new ignition on the bike and realize that the back plate is different. The old ignition back plate has a spot where the headlight bucket screws into it and the new one doesn’t. Also noticed that the plugs are different… No worries we change the contact pad and back plate from the new one to the old one all is well with that. The pictures of the back plate were taken after I switched them.

> >

Still more to come….

**Waylander** · 19th August 2005, 20:42

So new ignition fixed and mounted now for the instruments. Mounted it on and bolted them down then snapped off the pictures below. After that I realized that I forgot to put the light bar with the indicators on before screwing the tach unit down. Oops. Take it off again and put the indicators on and screw it down once again. Walk back inside for a coke and my dad asks me if it’s started yet. I think, hmm might be a good idea before I get the headlight on there. Because if it doesn’t start after I do all that work means I would have to mess with all that wiring inside the headlight again.

Not interested in that. So I go to connect the instruments. Have a look at them and out loud I shout “DAMN!!!” The plugs on the new instruments are different from the ones that are on the bike. Shit… So I pull the instruments off the bike again and show my dad. He figures it shouldn’t be too hard to swap just the plugs over.

So that’s where it sits right now. Tomorrow we work on switching the plugs on the instruments over then I go and finish mounting all the new parts. Will have more write-up and more pictures after that.

**sAsLEX** · 20th August 2005, 01:38

come on your in NZ now maori up the connections and tell us if they work
!!!!!1!!!

bourbon id gooodsas

**Virago** · 20th August 2005, 12:47

Yeah, I wondered if you would have problems with a pre-'89 instrument set. But damn, they look good in black!

Keep us posted as you progress!

**scumdog** · 20th August 2005, 13:05

Bet by now you wish you had bought a Harley!!

Good work, keep at it and keep us posted.

**Waylander** · 20th August 2005, 17:20

Finally!!! The beast is all together and running again!! Woke up this morning and me and my dad went to Dick Smith to get some cable connectors (the little white things you see him working with in the first two pictures below. We spend about 2 hours switching the wrong plugs for the correct ones. Before I put the instrument panel back together we take the wires and such out to the bike and quikly hook it up. Put the key in and try to turn it one. Nothing…

I take another look at the connections and suddenly realize that I forgot to put the fuses back in it. Oops, silly me. Connect the fuses and try starting it again. It works!!!! I turn the tachometer over so I can see the face and give it some revs. Sure enough it reads them. Wahoo!!!

So disconnect the cables and bring it back inside to put the instruments together. It takes me another hour and a half or so. Then take them back out to the bike and mount them on, remembering to mount the indicator bar as well. Then I grab my tape and a pin and start disconnecting all the wires that go into the headlight bucket. I label them as I pull them apart of course. Only make that mistake once.

Grab the headlight bucket and mount it up in there and tilt it up into place to double check the fit. The second mounting place at the top doesn’t line up. Shit!! Oh well not a big worry I’ll just keep the bottom mount really tight. I start running all the wires through the little holes in the bucket that are there for that purpose. Fuck that’s a tight fit. Wish I had remembered to get a picture of it. Anyway, I get them al in there and start connecting wires. I get them all in there and connected and now have to mount the lens.

I slide it on there to make sure I know how it’s supposed to fit on there. Plug it in and slide the lens in and had a bit of trouble lining the two screws at the bottom of the bucket up. Fiddle with it for a bit and get it in there and screwed in. All done. Oh, no wait I still have to hook up the speedo cable…

No worries I grab it and try it out but there is a problem. The little square cable on the inside has fallen too far into it and I can’t get it out. Too much to worry about now so I just screw it into place hoping maybe if I ride it around for a bit it would slide up as I go. Nope. So I’ll just leave that for tomorrow. Probably going to unhook the bottom end of it and pushing it up from there then remounting it. That should make it work so I can pass my WOF Wednesday. After that I’ll probably have to get a new cable. Anyway for the moment I am done until my tank arrives and I can get a new speedometer cable.

**Waylander** · 20th August 2005, 17:22

Originally Posted by scumdog

Bet by now you wish you had bought a Harley!!

Good work, keep at it and keep us posted.

If I'de baught a Harley I'de still be looking for the parts or would have to pay almost $5-6k for them.

I've spent maybe a total of $500NZD on this so far.

**Brains** · 21st August 2005, 23:45

Originally Posted by Waylander

If I'de baught a Harley I'de still be looking for the parts or would have to pay almost $5-6k for them.

I've spent maybe a total of $500NZD on this so far.

Yeah, but with a Harley you would have known before you started that nothing would marry up properly, so there would have been no surprises there.

Glad to hear it's all working out for ya mate. Good to see you again at Bruces the other weekend too.

Catch ya.

**Waylander** · 22nd August 2005, 00:07

Originally Posted by Brains

Yeah, but with a Harley you would have known before you started that nothing would marry up properly, so there would have been no surprises there.

Glad to hear it's all working out for ya mate. Good to see you again at Bruces the other weekend too.

Catch ya.

Just glad to get it all together mate. Probably gonna swing by Bruce's place tomorrow aswell. Snap off a couple of pics of his bike for him. And hopefully coax those risers off of him so I can get my t-bars mounted.

Allso just noticed. Those coke bottles you see sitting next to the stairs in a few of the pictures are not filled with coke. Try and guess what it's filled with,,,

**Antallica** · 22nd August 2005, 09:29

Wicked brother, lookin good!

Go nekkid bikes!

**vifferman** · 22nd August 2005, 09:59

Good stuff, Waylander!

Umm... you realise that even though the plugs are different, it didn't mean you had to cut'n'splice the wires? If you use a jewellers screwdriver, you can unclip the spade connectors then slide them out from inside the plugs, then clip the wires back into the plug casing you want to use, in the appropriate positions. More time-consuming than the way you did it, but the nett result is tidier and more reliable. And waterproofer. And stuff.

Brains is right, about Harleys.

I went to AMPS a few months ago for instrument bulbs. I was complaining (yeah, I'm a whinger) to the salesdude about having to take the bike apart to change the bulbs. He then started to tell me about some Harley FXZPQRST or summat (I thought -"Here we go - it'll be $0.30 for a bulb, and a piece of piss to change it...") and he said that the bulb is connected to a holder with a long wire tail, and you have to slide the old one down through some circuitous route, slide the new one in the reverse way, then have to cut open the wiring loom, find the right connector and solder the new bulb's wiring into the loom, then tape it all up.

**scumdog** · 22nd August 2005, 10:37

Originally Posted by Brains

Yeah, but with a Harley you would have known before you started that nothing would marry up properly, so there would have been no surprises there.
Catch ya.

Not from my experience, expensive yeah but anything I bought fitted A-1 and the quality was as good as I would expect.
I guess that's why H-D are so guarded over the use of their name/logo on aftermarket products.

(Deep voice-over) "The opinion and experiences of others may vary"

**Brains** · 22nd August 2005, 19:52

Originally Posted by Waylander

Just glad to get it all together mate. Probably gonna swing by Bruce's place tomorrow aswell. Snap off a couple of pics of his bike for him. And hopefully coax those risers off of him so I can get my t-bars mounted.

Allso just noticed. Those coke bottles you see sitting next to the stairs in a few of the pictures are not filled with coke. Try and guess what it's filled with,,,

So he never made it round on Friday then? Good party the other weekend wasn't it, would be nice if a little more tail turned up though.