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It's going to be a long 300km...
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  #1  
Old 18 Jan 2004
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LED replacement lights
Hello. Motorrad Elektrik offers LED replacement bulbs and complete replacement lights for BMW bikes. My Yamaha R-6 has LED taillights, which prove to be very bright and reliable. Can they take the beating of off-road travel, and are they worth the cost? Also, has anyone tried replacing their wiring harness on their airhead? This apears simple enough?
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Old 19 Jan 2004
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Swapping one harness for another should not be too much trouble.

Why swap if it just needs a few connectors & re-wrapping in places? If I remember, the bike is an airhead? - disconnect each component & label by number for re-assembly once repaired. There's not that many electrical components on an airhead, so even if you lose track of what goes where, you only need to lay the harness on the bike & most connectors will line up.

I would only do it with the aid of a good wiring diagram though. Thanks to my girlfiend, I have now mastered the art of using her scanner. I have a Haynes manual with colour wiring diagrams. She can make colour copies at work & bring them home for me to scan & then e-mail to anyone who wants one. If required, state exact model & year of airhead & I'll do my best.

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Old 19 Jan 2004
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Thanx Steve! My harness looks a bit messed up and i don't know if i trust it right now. It's been patched into once or twice, and if the cost is reasonable, i'll take the plunge!I also have a Haynes manual, but it's in black and white. No problem though, it's very well labled and easy to understand.
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Old 19 Jan 2004
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Hello Mr Ron

I completely re-wired my airhead - getting rid of the original loom and making all the new wires and connections myself. I've written an article about it if you are interested? It was very boring to do - and very time consuming - but I'm pleased with the results and having added a few extras (GPS, grips, etc). I've used the same colour scheme as the original.

I reckon putting in a new loom will be easy-peasey in comparison.

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Old 19 Jan 2004
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Thanx Fuzzy, but i think i'll stick to the basics. Anyhow, this probably won't happen till next winter.
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Old 20 Jan 2004
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Dear Fuzzy,

I am going into the LED phase myself, and I'd be interested in seeing what you did and how.

cheers,
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Old 30 Jan 2004
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Fuzzy
Seems like this thread has been hijacked but I clicked in tonight specifically to get info on rewiring my old air shed.

A friend offered to sort it for me but alas... never got the time etc etc so have to have a go myself.

Phoned motoworks today and got the bad news that g/s has at least seven seperate looms totalling over £200 for wire alone so I have to have a go myself and with no elec/mechanical experience (and dismally colour blind to boot) there is no other option as the present wiring is a mess and I plan to ride off to the Gambia on it in the autumn so can you help with article or tips on above???
Can supply e-mail add or fax no or address but not sure if ok on here please advise

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Old 30 Jan 2004
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Hi Alan

Have a look at: http://www33.brinkster.com/thoroton/bike/rewire.htm - it's the article I wrote about my rewiring.

I'm more than happy to help - it's a tedious job though. feel free to email me - you can get my details by clicking on the little icon above this message with the face on it.

Get a copy of the catalogue from Vehicle Wiring Products (VHP), 9 Buxton Court, Manners Industrial Estate, Ilkeston, Derbyshire DE7 8EF, tel: 0115 930 5454, email: sales@vehicleproducts.co.uk.

I chose to crimp and solder all the terminals - you could save time by just crimping - in which case I suggest getting hold of a decent pair of crimpers - very expensive, so best if you can borrow them.

Not sure about the colour blind issue - maybe change the colours to suit your needs - which would help when troubleshooting, but would mean your loom does not copy the BMW loom exactly - your choice! Some of those colours are very hard to spot - my worst was brown and green - see if you can spot it on the wiring diagram!

Also a colour copy of the wiring diagram would be handy for scribbling notes etc - mine has fallen out of the Haynes as its been used so much.

Good luck!

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Old 31 Jan 2004
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Hello!
While surfing the hubb one night i found a link to an article in the Airhead Beamers Club that gave some excellent tips on re-wiring. It was sugested you replace the wiring with a heavier duty marine quality wire of heavier guage than the stock, providing less resistance than the stock. It is also said to have better corosion resistance and higher durability. Sorry, couldn't find the exact page right now, maybe Grant would know???
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Old 31 Jan 2004
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uh, that would be a "no clue"...

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Old 31 Jan 2004
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I think it is this
http://www.airheads.org/index.php?Te...Wire%20Upgrade
John
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Old 1 Feb 2004
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Bingo! Thanx John.
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Old 24 Feb 2004
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will take above on board.
Just in case... when you say crimp&solder you mean use the bare metal squash fit spade things without the blue/red plastic covers and crimp them together, cover with flux thenapply blob of solder? Yes?

As you can see, no electrician here.
And would you apply this procedure to terminals to things like alternator too for reliability? or just for joining wires together.

Did you get the voltmeter from vehicle wiring products too or a specific bike one. A glance at their website showed guages and switches looking a bit old fashioned.
Fuzzy, do you have any pix of your dashboard etc? Not sure how or if you can post pix here but if not on gser board perhaps.

cheers
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Old 25 Feb 2004
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Quote:
Originally posted by alan hopkins:
will take above on board.
Just in case... when you say crimp&solder you mean use the bare metal squash fit spade things without the blue/red plastic covers and crimp them together, cover with flux thenapply blob of solder? Yes?
Yes and No. DON'T cover with flux - wrong stuff. Get "resin core" solder designed for electrical stuff. The flux is for copper pipe - and WILL corrode the electrical connection to uselessness.

Also, a small amont of heat applied to the terminal should allow a tiny amount of solder to flow INTO the joint. A BLOB of solder is a sign of not enough heat. The solder should literally just "colour" the joint.

Quote:
Originally posted by alan hopkins:

Not sure how or if you can post pix here but if not on gser board perhaps.
Currently no direct way to post pics here. Need to post the pic somewhere else, and then link to it. Instructions on linking to an image is in the faq. (link is easy - to the left of the dialog box when responding or creating a post)

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Old 25 Feb 2004
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thanks grant
i take it that's a yes on the terminals on electric components eg. switches and alternators for increased reliability as just soldering the wires themselves.
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