650 Mod's 78 Fighter Build

Im jealous!

How gorgeous is all of that? I'm in the process right now of polishing all of my aluminum, then putting Liquid Glass on it. And then doing the same for my painted stuff. For anyone that hasn't heard of/used this stuff- I HIGHLY recommend you look into it. It's basically a clear coat that can go over paint, polished aluminum, chrome... And it doesn't let any oxidizing occur. This is my first time using it, but I'm already loving what I'm seeing. You can apply multiple coats over paint, and the more you apply, the more the paint colour jumps out (especially with metalflake/pearl coats).

Update on the reassembly will go up as I make progress. My goal for the end of the day is to have it a roller with the engine potentially in.

Devin

Alright so I got the wheels on and the engine in. Wiring harness is strung. And I'm just about to wire in the new Acewell speedo/tach unit. I have a question though- there's a few wires on the KZ wiring harness that I won't be able to use anymore (brake light fault, and a brown wire that hooks up to the neutral, brake, and high beam light). The question I have is whether or not this will affect anything in the wiring harness once I have the new speedo in. As in- with the new speedo in, and the old wires being "dead ends", will this cause any issues?

Progress that was made yesterday included this, as well as getting the wiring harness strung/labeling wire ends before I start to cut and splice in the new gauge.


I'm hoping to have the harness fully installed, the gauge in, and potentially my turn signals spliced in by the end of the day. I might be able to do an electronics shake down (fingers crossed) as well.

650mod wrote: So Christmas came in July. .. I got to pick up the frame and other parts from the powder coating shop yesterday! And I'm super happy with how all the parts turned out! The shop even masked off my steering stem so my bearing races got saved, I think I had the biggest smile on my face ever, and my buddy was really happy with the results as well. Anyways, enough of that, and on to the pictures! Everything came out perfectly, and with a mirror finish! For $400 blasted, primed and baked, i'm not complaining.

Woohoo! Shiney, they did a nice job.

Looking good. I don't think it will be an issue to leave the dead ends from the OEM dashboard. What I don't know is if they are ground or positive leads so make sure the are capped off. Do you have a colored wiring schematic?
Bike is really looking good sir. I will be doing some wiring today myself.

Kaw- They did a KILLER job! I had to grind a little of it off on some parts (suspension mounts, engine mounts) to get certain pieces in/make sure I get proper ground, but it sure turned out killer! I scratched a few places putting the engine in, even though I had the frame all covered in old t-shirts to protect it. Nothing that will hurt it though

I do have the wiring diagram from the original shop maintenance book. Looking at the brown wires that I was saying come from the neutral, oil, and brake, it looks like this is a ground line. It ties into a few sensors (front brake sensor, horn, ignition switch, rear brake sensor), so I can always try to ground it after if I run into issues there. The brake light indicator light looks to be only hot if the sensor ever tripped, so I'll cap that off to be safe. I've also figured out a few loose ends with the new gauge and where I have to run power from/splice into. So hopefully by this evening, I have the gauge and lights all hooked up and can do an electrical shakedown

Today turned out to be fairly productive. I ended up getting the new Acewell speedo/tach unit installed, and it lights right up No issues there. I had to split the main wiring harness to move my ignition switch wiring back as I tucked the ignition in front of the clutch side coil in the steering stem area. After that, I went right into labeling all my wiring so that I could split and splice the new speedo in. That went smoothly, and all the connectors now have shrink wrap on them to seal the weather out. The new turn signals are hooked up and working properly. The tail light is installed and works properly. The headlight works properly. The bike turns over no issue. So with all the electrical tinkering I've done, I haven't goofed anything up yet! I'm always nervous with wiring as one small mistake can turn to be such a hassle to fix.
The two lines that i was going to have to leave as "dead ends" are taped off and tucked into the harness for now.
I then started to put on some of the body work and secure the wiring harness in place. Here's a few pictures of what I got done today

This is the result of all the labeling and splicing wires. A nice rat's nest.


Hooked the battery up, turned the key and....


Lights work!


Tail end all good to go


Just taking a peek at what she'll look like











If I have enough time to tinker with it tomorrow, I'm thinking I'll have it fired up so I can start tuning the carbs up

Devin

the thing is looking awesome!


i do have reservations about the headlight mount tho, :whistle:

leon

Thanks Leon what are your thoughts on it? Let em roll. I'm thinking I'll have to shorten it up a little bit, it sticks out a little far for me to tuck all my wiring in. As always, input is more than welcome

imho,
the ears need shortened up so that the gap between the acewell and the back of the headlight is minimized.
enough air gap for adjustment but not enough room for a bedroll !!!!!!!!

thats my one nitpick :whistle: ,
this thing turned out awesome tho.
and is one of the builds on this forum that has had a major amount of modification(very well executed i might add)and is now nearing completion.

we have all seen enough unfinished projects on here it is really cool to see someone finishing one up.

it shows everyone that you can build a custom bike yourself,
with some help from friends and forum members and have a very nice piece when finished.

thanks for doing such a thorough job of documenting your build.

it is threads like this that inspire others to believe that maybe they too can build their idea of the perfect bike.

leon

Leon- I'm planning to shorten them up a bit, maybe an inch and a half or two. I need to make sure I have enough material left on them to set up my small windscreen mounts, but I'm thinking that much shaved off should be enough still I'm glad your input was just about something small like that Here I am thinking "uh oh, Leon has some bad news...".

Thanks for all the kind words, sir! It sure did turn out awesome. It was a slow build just due to time restraints, but it's finally coming together This forum, and all the amazing members on it, have saved my rear end so many times, it's not even funny. You especially Leon, thank you so much for all your input and expertise.

There's far too many unfinished bikes that would look AMAZING with the last few steps completed. Stuff like that is a shame it does not get completed. having the support from everyone here has made such a difference. Not just that, but having the welders at the shop give me tips and say go at it, its your build makes it so much more fun.

The only way to do a build like this is to document it so it makes it easier for other members. If I can make something easier on my build, why not let someone else pick up on the trick to save their rear.

Again, thanks for the kind words Leon

Devin