re-wiring the bike
 

Hey. Im just wondering how much you guys recon it would cost to re-wie the whole bike (xt600e 3tb 1990) if I took it into a garage. Ive been thinking about doing it myself for some time now but I really am just sh*t with electrics! Cheers for any help.

Dont know what it would cost to get a garage to do it, if they are not used to working on xt600e it may take some time.
Have you got a price for a new loom or can you get a s/h loom if so and its the correct loom it should not be to difficult. You will have to remove all plastics seat and tank and would really help if you had another bike the same to copy routing of wires etc.
If your old loom is not to bad and can be repaired use good quality connectors and wire avaible here Vehicle Wiring Products Ltd. Suppliers of auto electrical parts.
good luck

hi the way i would go is as bolla says try to get a good replacment loom ,or mybe your electrics can be repaired . the supplier he recomends sell proper japanese size bullet conectors etc . if you do try to repair yours or have some one do it for you avoid like the black death the cheap nasty red/blue/yellow plastic conectors thay do not match the size of your looms conectors and are crap with a capital C . if you take the bike to a auto electricen do not asume thay will not use the nasty ones most auto electricens work on cars not bikes . you may only have a few dodgy conections or pieces of wire, a good way of telling a good loom from a bad one is how flexible the the wire is a good loom will be very bendy a bad loom will be hard and not flexy, good luck i hope you sort it out but dont condem your loom too soon . zigzag:thumbup1:

yoashman, have a bit of confidence - spend a bit of money on good gear from autoelectrics as already suggested (they will give you advice on wire thicknesses to use etc) - lift off the old loom use a digital camera and notepad along with your vehicle wiring diagram - and record everything split the loom carefully and copy it one wire at a time laying each bit out you could use this time to simplify it by keeping all lighting into one bundle engine stuff in another etc you can also build in any extra bits you want for lights, or longer shorter sections for moving stuff about and think about where you put connectors/ fusebox etc to best keep them waterproof and accessible. If you think its so hard get a cheap loom from a breakers off any old bike split it down and see what you reckon to how hard it would be. I have done this once before on a Laverda montjuic and apart from one or two teething problems it all went very well. I am going to do the same this year on the old bilge pump ( r80gs ). It will also give you loads of confidence to approach the electrics in the future. I really am not good with electrics but if you keep it basic, use quality fittings and crimping tools etc -follow the old electrical loom then its not such a big hill to climb.

Hey. Thats great cheers for all the info you guys! I really like making my own bits and doing my own work, doing my own stuff to the bike like building my own pannier rack and only taking it to the garage for its mot. But... I know nothing about wiring, I mean its all gibberish to me. Its like when I first started to work on the bike myself, even taking the rear wheel off made me take a deep breath but that kind of stuff passes the first time you do it cos basacily it really isnt that hard to mess up! But re-wiring the bike!?!?!?:(:confused1::eek3: If I mess that up!?!?!? If any of you guys have or could take the time to explain the process that would be great???:helpsmilie: Its like when I had to find out what a tappet cover was..."what??!!??"..but now its simple, but electric terms...I have no idea.
Thanks alot so far though!

hi there what is wrong with your electrics. lights/igntion/ indicators/etc or is the whole lot not working . if it is one perticuler thing and the loom is good take of the tank, plastics etc so you can asses the condition then a repair is possibal . if it is the lights for instance with a 12 v test light and a good wiring diagrame work backwoods from the bulb holder until the test light lights up . you could have a bad ignition switch/ or kill switch if your ignition is not working. dont condem the whole electrics for one specific fault . if you have a iffy switch these can be carefully dismantaled and cleaned use a can of electrical contact cleaner and piece of fine sandpaper/emery cloth etc most switches can be repaired just work slowly and sketch down where all the wires go if it looks complex , a multimeter is a good investment ,when set on the continuaty setting a lenth of wire can be checked for a break also switchs can be checked. so changing /fixing the main loom may not solve your problem .just be very carefull around the cdi black box dont poke and prod this, sorry this is a little long winded but you could have an easy fix on your hands or a full rewire /transplant zigzag

cheers zigzag. Not long-winded at all, good advice! So the bike has electric, it just seems a bit sticky (the previous owner told me befor I bought the bike last june). For example the indicators when switched on either flash quickly, stay on and dont flash, or dont come on at all, after the bike has been running for a while they seem to get better but still not reliable. Also the ignition is a bit temperamental, seems to be a loose connection there as I often have to fiddle around with the key, and it can often shut off when Im turning sharply (this has happened once at60mph, luckely there were no other cars on the road!). Aswell a couple of times when I have been driving along and have gone to put my headlight on it seems to kick or stall the bike for a split second, which is a bit disconcerting! In the summer and autumn when I was riding the bike every day it wasnt too bad, sometimes the indicator would just stay on and not flash, but thats as bad as it got, but now im only taking it for a good ride every couple of weeks (or when weather allows ie; no ice!), and starting it and letting it run maby once or twice a week. Its in a shed, but I live in Forsinard Scotland (otherwise known as "Frozen-hard", so its just bloody freezing all the time! I hope that explains it a bit more, and Im thinking that was a bit long winded!!! Cheers again.

hi yoashman sounds like you could have alot of bad connections ,dodgy earths . if the wiring looks standard and not hard /rotten ,take off all the bodywork and have a go . disconect the battary , get a old small clean paint brush /very small flat screwdriver/wd 40/fine sandpaper .diconect one by one all the single wire (bullet) conectors ,litely clean the male part with sandpaper ,with the female part spray wd 40 in and poke around with screwdriver to clean it if the sleeve slides back even better. if you find any green corrotion remove all of this. on asembly you my have to sqweeze the female part to get a tight fit .with multi block connectors spray with wd40 and poke and prod with paint brush a small pin is good also . these can be dismantaled with the pin, look at the end where the wires go in you will see a small tang poke the pin down and pull . clean the switch gear with wd40/ paint brush keep flicking switchs . if bad dismantale and clean contacts be carefull small springs, bearings . clean all ring earth connections ,make sure the frame is clean where they connect .engine earths also clean ,starter motor ,starter soloniod also . sounds like the ignition switch is iffy try wd40 in it and flick key on off ,again some can be dimantalled . take all the bulbs out and wd40 /paintbrush /screwdriver as you think the bulb holders . a12v test light and a multi meter to test bad lives and bad earths would be good these are very cheap ,with these life is much easyer dont be put off for what you are doing thay are easy to use. i hope some of this is helpfull for a afternoons work mybe give it a go . dont spray wd40 on cdi or any black box just clean with sandpaper the connections . zigzag:thumbup1: