Full Monty rehab. Maybe.

[Rutabaga]

Removed the rear swing arm and inspected the bushings all was tight laterally and vertically. Cleaned up the bolt, greased it and the cross pipe it fits through then reinstalled and torqued. Then I realized that maybe there is a spec on how to install the swing arm either in relation to height of the axle bolt or inches from the ground or ?. My question; what reference is used to set the “level” of the swing arm when installing so that the bushings are bolted down with proper amount of torque being exerted either up or down on the axle nut, or are they full relaxed in a neutral state when aligned by the axle bolt. I’m inclined to think that I should loosen completely the swing bearing bolt so there is no tension on the arm then insert the rear hub bolt and secure it. At that point the swing arm would be in a non torqued state and I could tighten the swing arm bolt back to recommend value. Anybody got suggestions?
I also removed the center kickstand, brake pedal springs, etc and inspected then cleaned all the moving part and bolts. All looks good so I’ll re hang that tomorrow, it makes such a nice stable maintenance stand to have the bike sitting on it even with the rear tire gone. Surprisingly the bike is so much easier to maneuver without the engine and rear tire, sure is easier to park.

 

[-Nate]

If you're concerned cut off the old connectors and solder on new ones, easy - peasy .

Guaranteed the crimps where the copper connectors are are not making good contact .

Honda designed these bikes fantastically well but they weren't thinking we'd still be loving and using them FIFTY YEARS LATER .

 

[kirrbby]

Removed the rear swing arm and inspected the bushings all was tight laterally and vertically. Cleaned up the bolt, greased it and the cross pipe it fits through then reinstalled and torqued. Then I realized that maybe there is a spec on how to install the swing arm either in relation to height of the axle bolt or inches from the ground or ?. My question; what reference is used to set the “level” of the swing arm when installing so that the bushings are bolted down with proper amount of torque being exerted either up or down on the axle nut, or are they full relaxed in a neutral state when aligned by the axle bolt. I’m inclined to think that I should loosen completely the swing bearing bolt so there is no tension on the arm then insert the rear hub bolt and secure it. At that point the swing arm would be in a non torqued state and I could tighten the swing arm bolt back to recommend value. Anybody got suggestions?
I also removed the center kickstand, brake pedal springs, etc and inspected then cleaned all the moving part and bolts. All looks good so I’ll re hang that tomorrow, it makes such a nice stable maintenance stand to have the bike sitting on it even with the rear tire gone. Surprisingly the bike is so much easier to maneuver without the engine and rear tire, sure is easier to park.

I install the shocks with the swingarm bolt loose. Then, with NO weight on the rear tire, torque the swingarm bolt.

 

[Rutabaga]

Wiring harness from Dr ATV arrived today and I plan on starting that portion of the project tomorrow if able. Loosened the swing arm bolts since I’m not ready to I install the rear wheel, still waiting on the rubber cushions for the hub. Thanks to Kirrbby for the install tip. Got the center stand and rear brake system installed.
.
I need the stand for stability when doing the wiring and it just makes for a more comfortable working posture for me. It also gets the swing arm and rear fender off the concrete.
Haven’t been riding for a few weeks now and the tremors are liable to reappear. Should have listened to Nancy Reagan years ago when she said “Just say no to Honda CTs”.

 

[Rutabaga]

Turned the corner on the wiring, time to wrap and roll. This is what I had to start with a few weeks ago

and this is what I’ve done so far.

I double heat shrinked (shrank?) all four wire wires from the stator at the exit point of the rubber plug. The 1/4” size shrink tubing fit nicely over the end of the female connectors and the only problem was getting it over the series of sharp bends in the wire where the insulation was deformed and would crack if moved much. Sorta like trying to put orthopedic socks on a giraffe with brittle bones. A little preheat from the heat gun made them more pliable in the worst areas. Got the first layer of wrap on all four and realized I had not made any provisions for identifying the wire by color when I covered them. Fortunately there was a millimeter gap at the base of each where I could get enough of a glimpse to make a positive ID on them, hence the color code tie wraps on the finished product. May put a dab of gasket maker goo right where the wires enter the rubber plug and I was not able to get the kind of seal I desired due to restrictions of using the heat gun when the wires are that close together. I laid wet paper towel between them in that area to keep the heated away from wires I wasn’t covering at that particular time.
All things considered I think this was a good path for the particular challenges I would face for these four wire. Plenty of other options and others may find they would be better prepared to try something else.

 

[-Nate]

FWIW ;

I use cheap nail polish to mark the wires whenever I do a repair like this .

Looks good to me .

 

[Rutabaga]

Back to the bike today since all the parts have arrived. Went camping during the wait. I did mock up the new harness last week but decided to hold off any any further wiring until the daytime temps got a bit warmer. That they have done. Today I installed the new drive hub cushions
. . Got them off Amazon for about $17.50 out of China, maybe two weeks time. Got them installed and started reassembly of the hub and I noticed the edge of the outside drive hub was a bit higher than I thought appropriate. First clue was the rear hub and spacer were too large to fit back in the swing arm. I remembered reading a post about sanding them down a bit because of their thickness( thanks to whoever posted that) so I whipped out some 80 grit and gnawed away about 2mm (using a neat piece of gear that was included in my Dennis Kirk sprocket order which was a multi tool type gizmo with a metric ruler) then refitted them and compressed it all together with four zip ties to a perfect fit in the swing arm. .
Also installed the new Dennis Kirk sprocket. . Got the swing arm and rear tire with new brakes installed but not buttoned yet. Maybe tomorrow.

 

[Rutabaga]

Returned to the headlight wiring mayhem yesterday and started labeling the wires with miniature zip ties to identify wires from components to their respective connectors on the old harness harness and a similar id tag on the new harness. I’ve used this process in past projects and it’s proved pretty effective. I also make some limited notes which may be helpful or not. One of the first things I did was get rid of the speedometer cable and then the various indicator lights with their wiring. Opens the working room up a bit inside the headlight case and makes it easier to see what wire I am swearing at currently. Finally figured out I might as well remove the whole speedometer body and get even more room.
. .
Didn’t find any nicks or damage and it had two nicely soldered connections with electrical tape on them but I had to pull it off to check the connections so I heat shrank them since I had it handy. The two wiring bundles coming from the handle bar were somewhat concerning because they a susceptible to some potential damage when the handlebars are rotated with the disconnect mechanism, at least it seems that way to me. Also the wire bundle coming from the right side did not have any type of sheathing on it and there is quite a lot of sharp edging at the exit point where it heads to the headlight case. The left side is sheathed but that may be hiding damage was my immediate thought. Just for the hell of it while I decided a path forward I started doing continuity checks. The black and white wire to the KILL switch( on the right side) were good even with a jiggle test.
Next was the right blinker and it tested good statically but was loosing continuity during the jiggle test. The schematic shows the ground probably is the signal stalk from the handlebar so the only other source of wire problem would be the power lead for the bulb. I jiggled both sides multiple times and each time was able to lose continuity only on the right side. From here it gets a little fuzzy for an amateur, me: shouldn’t that line only have power on it when the Right blinker switch is selected?, and wouldn’t that have to be the case in order for the fuse to have blown? I have been sitting still each time the fuse has blown and the turn signal switch would have been in the center position. Of course this may not be the source of the short blowing the fuse and it may be just one of several similar shorts still undiscovered. I will correct this problem and continue the hunt for further possible shorts.
Be glad to hear a more knowledgeable explanation than I have put forth because this is very detailed work for me and I may not be seeing the bigger picture.

 

[Rutabaga]

Yesterday I inspected some of the handlebar wiring and did some continuity testing on things I could not see. Heat shrinked and rewrapped those wires that had been left bare either from age or previous owners.
. . One difficulty is getting the shrink tubing over connectors and then pulling the wires through the 1/4 (or less sometimes) tubes. I found a method that works for me; I thread a length of safety wire through the tube then insert the end of the wire through the bullet connector and secure it with a twist which enables me to then pull the wires through the tubing rather than trying to push an 18 ga wire where that doesn’t want to be pushed. I wanted the shrink up into the handlebar opening far enough past the hole so that every wire had double shrink wrapping at the exit point. Then I coil wrapped and finished with a wrapping of electrical tape being careful that everything would still fit through the slot beneath the handle bar hold down bracket and into the back of the headlight case.
. In order to make it a little more manageable task I pulled the harnesses as far out the front of the headlight case as possible and did the connecting there in the open. When all the essentials that are necessary for engine running are done up front then I’ll move to the battery area and work there before mounting the engine for a test crank. If all is good then I can complete the rest ( swing arm and rear axle, chain, whatever) and begin a front to rear reassembly of the rest. Then ride, grin, ride.

 

[-Nate]

You're doing what I would do, searching for faults and correcting issues (adding heat shrink),often the clear flexible insulation at a connector os rotten, worn through or gone missing and that'll allow dead shorts that will blow the fuse .

Kudos for keeping after things, somewhere in there you'll find and fix the fault .

I cannot remember what each color wire is for so I keep a lined pad and pencil handy as I work .

 

[Rutabaga]

Finished connecting the front end of the harness in the headlight case yesterday and it’s a rat’s nest again. Try as I might to make it somewhat organized my poor brain kept screaming for me to “get a life and move on”. So I did.
. Well, not quite a life, just an apple and some water as an excuse to take a break.
Finally got to remove one end of the old harness and lay in on the floor back by the battery area. Felt like a major milestone had been achieved.Started the same process on components residing in that hole and everything there is connected except one coil wire that is different on the new harness. Too late in the day to be reading the wire schematic and doing electrical Sudoku.
. . Still have the tail light bundle to make a sheath for and install which means the rear axle needs to come off again from its temporary install and that was planned anyway. I’m going to do something to better protect that bundle especially after seeing the damage from the recent mud cement that accumulated up inside the fender on a muddy trail ride. I did not find any damage to the wires but the connectors inside the tail light assembly were bent to heck and need replacement.
I need advice on my next planned step of troubleshooting; anyone see a problem of connecting the stator up to the wiring harness( motor sitting on floor) with the battery connected so I can do an electrical check on those items that don’t require engine operation? My thinking is a fused six volt source cannot run too far amok and it’s a great time check before buttoning up.

 

[-Nate]

Just use a low amperage fuse, like 5 amps or so .

Because these alternators use permanent magnets they'll full field and damage themselves if the engine is run with the stator disconnected .

 

[Rutabaga]

Just use a low amperage fuse, like 5 amps or so .

Because these alternators use permanent magnets they'll full field and damage themselves if the engine is run with the stator disconnected .

Thanks. Wasn’t aware of that.

 

[-Nate]

Well ;

The new harness is beautiful and IIRC they use 18 or 20 gauge wires so any overload cooks them very quickly .

Electrics are my hobby sort of .

Often when doing electrical testing I'll put a lamp, buzzer, horn or either one along with a low amperage circuit breaker, this way it'll break the circuit if you ground it un intentionally .

You can also use a flasher relay , this will make a test lamp wired in series flash or a horn beep.....

 

[Rutabaga]

Finished the new harness connections and ended up with just one spare wire in the headlight. Was tracing it on the electrical diagram and it went to the front brake actuator for the rear brake light. Hunted high and low for the two wire connectors , green with yellow stripe and a black, but couldn’t find them in the two bundles coming out of the handlebar exit hole. Won’t say how long I looked until I realized the actuator switch was missing on my bike and since I never had one it didn’t dawn on me to check for it. The devil is in the details!
I also found this discoloration on the R/W wire from the rectifier to the battery where it connects to the Red fused wire.


The blackish discoloration is on the inside of the plastic cover over the connector, it has no discernible smell and the plastic is not deformed from heat or abrasion. It almost looks like a byproduct of manufacturing but that’s a stretch since I don’t know whether is an electrical burn or some type of chemical stain. Also on that short segment of wire is a deformation in the insulation that has the appearance of a small shrinkage with a very hard but very small lump. I’ll replace that whole segment of wire and and strip it for further inspection to see if it has been the possible source of my woes.
The progress so far with this project has been slow but steady as I have gained confidence in my ability to decipher the schematics and the logic of the system. Not too different from what was expected and every bit as much fun in the process of learning something new. More to do and discover.

 

[-Nate]

You have the correct attitude .

The black stuff looks to me like overheated grease maybe .

The clear boot was heated and melted to the wire when new .

Once you've taken off the bad end, take some time to slit it with a sharp blade and see how many strands of wire are broken .

Honda use 18 or 20 gauge wires here, _barely_ adequate, I've seen more then a few t=with three or four strands still connected, that's when the bike refused the start .

 

[Rutabaga]

Moving forward with the wiring harness installation is slow but steadily forward as I try to protect it in every way possible from the ails it suffers now. I have to be certain my protective coverings don’t prevent me from being able to route the bundles through the necessary holes in the frame or fixtures like the tail light holder. Today I drilled the rear fender hole where the rear lights pass through to a larger hole to accommodate the wires and coverings I plan to install. Found some nice rubber grommets at Ace Hardware to fit the new holes for a better fit with no metal contact on the harness. I’m still undecided about what type of connectors will be best but I am entertaining the thought of soldering them at the final junction. I don’t want to be cramming or bending my new efforts but I also want a bit of flexibility in case I need to disconnect anything. I have the battery connected with Waygo Lever nuts right now and if that works okay space wise in the battery compartment then I might give them a go on the tail light area in a trial mockup. Right now using them gives me a lot of flexibility because they are very simple to install and remove without a lot of commitment in time, effort or parts.
Ordered some more needed parts, speedo gasket, front brake signal switch and a Hi/Lo beam bulb. Might get the engine rehung this weekend and do a full electrical check with battery then with stator voltage. This is where I started several weeks ago
and this afternoon I removed(again) the rear wheel to do the fender wiring install.
All in the hopes of being back here soon . Damn, I love that picture. And this one
And several dozen more.

 

[Rutabaga]

Finally got the engine mocked up today with the help of a friends jack and it helped me visualize some things that need changing. With the engine installed it is going to be a wire squeeze where the harness and the stator wires meet just out side the frame. I have entertained the idea of rerouting the gas lines to the left opening and the harness to the right side hole.
Or remove about another 1/4” of metal on the left side above the stator wires for more room and less acute turns in the harness at that point. I’m good for about one more mock up of this bundle of joy then it’s time for action without regrets. Besides, the neighbors are tired of asking “when” without sounding doubtful as to the outcome of the efforts.

 

[-Nate]

There's plenty of room for the harness , it doesn't need much space .

If you enlarge the left side cutout you'll need to weld in another lip, that's an important load bearing item .