Did Someone Say Build Thread?!!

[DGXSER]

You imagined butterflies being illegally high on something? Now that is some imagination!!

[Protochicken]

Looks nice. Where could one pick up a luggage rack like you have on the back?

[DGXSER]

It is KG brand. The trunk slides off the rack. Nice setup, not a custom fit. Not sure they are still in business. You can find some on Ebay.

[DGXSER]

So, did I ever mention I hate fairings? Yesterday I got to sorting out the wiring issues. I had no headlight, no turn signals, no brake light. So, I pull the fairing off and remove the Vetter baggy, to get to the wiring. Check the wiring at the headlight connector from the factory wiring harness, I get voltage when the relay is pulled in. So I follow wires to the fairing connector, I got voltage there. Now I pull the headlight out (Not as simple as it should be, that little tab is a B!TCH!! to push on) test for continuity, and nada...the wires are messed up in the fairing. So I reach in to see what's up, and the headlight wires have a connector between the terminal connector from the bike and the actual headlight, which is not plugged in for some reason. (Not to mention about five other wires that just hang loose inside there). Now, I am pretty good at getting my hands, and appendages into tight spots, but I have no clue what miniature Chinese trained puppet boy Craig Vetter gets to make up the connectors inside that fairing. I felt the joints in my arms and fingers about to pop trying to get a hold of both sides of that connector in one hand and push them together. At one point I swear I had my fingers in a clove hitch. So, I give up on that, and now pull the entire headlight bucket out of the fairing, so I can push the wiring to the connector back into the fairing letting it come closer to the access hole. After using all my powers of demolition without complete and total devastating destruction, and a lot of words I have not said in at least three years....ok....months.....alright weeks....Ok, Ok, days..I got that headlight bucket off, and the wires pushed in, and FINALLY the bloody connector back together, and then repeated the torture reassembling the headlight bucket. So now I have headlight.

Next turn signals. I get nothing, when I hit the switch, no lights at the dash, the rear signals, or the fairing lights. Nada. I pull the switch off, and apart. Go back over it really well, figure out the hazard switch was in hazard ON position. However the copper terminal that provides power inside the switch for the hazard lights is completely eroded / corroded to the point it no longer functions. So I had power on the brown yellow to power that system, it just did not get transferred in the switch. And with it in Hazard On position, the turn signals do not work. So now I got turn signals....on one side. Chase it down to grounding of the right rear turn signal. After an hour of disassembly, more sanding and cleaning of metal and such, I get a good ground and now I have turn signals. Put the fairing back on, get everything buttoned up, and move to brake lights.

Pull the tail light connector off, check for voltage when I hit the rear brake pedal, nothing at first, but I get voltage if I REALLY push down, so I adjusted the switch and got the rear working. Front brakes, I get a negative voltage...grounding out somewhere! Chase down the wires, guess where they go.....yes....of course....inside the bloody pouch that is in front of the steering and requires removal of that GD fairing....AGAIN....to get to the stupid wires.

So I decide at this point I need to ride the thing and stop wrenching...its 70 deg out for Christ sake. So I take it out for a spin..(realize I really need to transfer the title and get a plate and such for this thing)...and then after a mile or so, the tach stops working, so do the turn signals. Crap..blown fuse!! Using the front brakes caused enough of a short to burn out the 20A fuse. Get it home, replaced the fuse and decided tuning is better than wiring work.

SO I tune and synch the carbs, set the mixture, re-synch carbs, and set the idle. And call it a day, ending on a happy note. Till I look at that bloody fairing and know I have to pull the stupid thing off.....AGAIN! to find out what went wrong wiring a friggin' front brake light switch. But she does purr nicely with the tuning done.

[mikubuilder]

I feel same way about it when I know I gotta pull it off....I'm waiting to replace leaking fork seals(brand new ones) cause I hate taking that thing off...but I love it when I cruise at 85MPH and don't feel like I have to hold on to the bike

[XJOK2PLAY]

Hey, Don...
Congrats on getting it going! Looking good, like I knew it would!

Hang in there, man...
I remember going through similar things with my Maxim.
Thought I never would get it to a place where it was dependable, but kept on fighting it... One issue at a time.
Next thing I knew... It was 'ole faithful, for a long time.

But getting it to that place... Can be very frustrating.

As you know well... It does get better!
You got her lookin' good, Don.
Dig the trunk setup. Looks nice, and will be handy.

Oh, btw... I feel ya about the Vetter... Craig has to farm the wiring connections out... I've met him and his hands are way to big for him to do all those connections! Lol! You may be right....
BTDT...several times. That part does suck like a Hoover.
Hang tough.
Bob

[DGXSER]

ITs all good Bob, I got the fairing off the other day, as it turns out I mis-wired the front brake light switch.

So, I got that rewired, I also found that the engine guard was hitting the exhaust and causing the fairing to buzz REALLY badly. It is one of those loop type that bolt to the lower engine mount bolt and then also clamp around the frame tubes up near the top of the frame. It contacts the cross piece of the fairing mount, so the vibrations were being transferred.

So it is all sorted now, I just need to register it, then I can take it on a long ride and see how my exhaust paint holds up to a long run time.

[XJOK2PLAY]

Cool!
Yeah, I know about things touching parts causing vibrations...
Had that happen too. That problem can make ya think all kinds of other things are going wrong sometimes!

I had a lot of issues with my exhaust, too.
Cody and I kept using his wire feed welder to repair the pipe when it would break, it would hold for a while, then crack again. Drove me nuts.

His welder did not have argon gas setup, and I found out how helpful that is to making strong, clean welds with a wire feed.

Finally had it fall off on me on a trip we were on in Eureka Springs.
Took it to a muffler shop there, they welded it with that type setup...end of problems.