TOPIC:

I have a chance to buy 2 1982 650's for $300. I went and looked today. One is a parts bike and not many of those lol. It has the block, fenders, mag wheels and not much else.
The other is a little better. Most of the motor appears to be there although the wiring is a mess. I am not a motorcycle owner YET.But this might be the one. Between the 2 all the body parts are there, 2 tanks, a seat , well 1 side cover.
I am very electrically minded. I fix appliances, washers dryer etc and know how to use a meter. I just don't know if I'm up to the challenge. Look at the pics...whaddya think?

Post edited by: pumps, at: 2005/12/03 14:32

Post edited by: pumps, at: 2005/12/03 14:33

Fixxer upper

Post edited by: pumps, at: 2005/12/03 14:55

You can do it.

These bikes are easy to work on. The electrical isnt very complex and many of us have wiring diagrams available for you.

I didnt have much of a clue when I started working on my bike and I think I did pretty good with it, click on the blue bike in my signature to see it. The parts bike will help you out if there are some useful items left. You can use a parts bike to get parts you need or to trade or sell and finance your project.

Post edited by: danoz7five0, at: 2005/12/03 19:47

Butchered wiring harnesses are the worst to work on. If the problem is intermittent you can chase it for ever. Some electrical components can be pricey (rectifiers, black boxes, alternators). Bike shops will rape you trying to diagnose electrical problems ((been raped and have raped customers)(had a customer drop off a bike (XS1100)with a short (an intermittent short)put 4 hrs into looking for it, finally grabbed whole new (used) harness of shelf, took me an hour to replace it). Hourly rates really start to add up. That said 300 bucks for 2 bikes is a good deal. If you feel comfy working with wiring go ahead.

You know, I'm not really nervous about being able to do the wiring, as long as I have a diagram. What I don't have is room to tear these suckers down, especially with winter here. And of course when I look at the price of a similiar model it seems like I can just buy one for as cheap or cheaper after I have my labor and cash in it.
But to me that's not what is all about I guess. It's the journey, getting there. Taking something that is basically junk and bringing it back to life. Then of course there is the inevitable "My wife will kill me if I cart these things home". If they were out of her way I could get away with it. But when her car can't go into the garage that won't fly . I'm still plotting. You guys are going to get me into trouble aren't you?

Post edited by: pumps, at: 2005/12/07 00:14

If I had a garage to do this in, I wouldn't hesitate to grab them for a deal like that.

Wiring on old bikes is sort of an art unto itself. Not like wiring modern, clean and newer stuff. You have to understand wiring flow on a bike... why stuff goes where it does and then there isn't all that much to it. The main challenge to doing a wiring fix up is patience and finding the right connectors and using colored wire that remotely matches the original. All in all, it is a decent way to learn about a motorcycle.

Wiring is my favorite thing to do on bikes/cars. Now that I know how to wire things up properly, it's a sinch!

Check out this fun harness I made for my Acura when I turbo charged it:


(used to convert the ECU from OBD2 to OBD1 and run an electronic boost controller)

Remember when you're doing wiring to make your connections properly. By that, I mean using solder, and lots of heat shrink wrap. If you make all your connections properly, that wiring job will last another thirty years easily.

Post edited by: kzrider, at: 2006/05/09 03:38

I'm looking how to fit it in here.....

Better pic

If your concerned abou space in the winter you can always do what I do



Thats mine last winter when I got really bored one night in the basement

Post edited by: kzrider, at: 2006/05/09 03:39

Do you have to carry it down a full flight of stairs, or do you have a walk out to your garage from the basement? I wish I had a walk out...