S
Suzuki_Don
Guest
Thanks MAC. This is a great thread. I will be doing this as a future project as well when I get around to synch. my carbs. So I am following this thread closely.
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M
Macguyver
Guest
Thanks for saying so Don,
I will make sure when I do the write-up to include each step and any tips/things to be aware of.
M
Macguyver
Guest
Accessory Gauges Bracket
Accessory Gauges Bracket
Since I am paranoid about power on my GS, I decided to add in a couple gauges which I think should have been stock, or at least available as an option, a voltmeter and an ammeter. In order to do this though, I needed to figure out a place to put them, and since I am unsure what I want to do with the stock gauges, I decided to build an accessory gauge bracket to mount above the handle bar clamp.
I started by tracing out the stock upper clamp half and the bracket that came with the gauges on a piece of cardboard. I then scanned it and mirrored the outline in photoshop to create the full outline needed.
Next I printed out the outline and cut it down to size to affix it on a piece of 1/8" aluminum sheet with some 3M spray mount.
Once mounted, I center punched the holes and sat down for a drill press session and made the necessary holes, then rough cut the shape with the bandsaw.
I then cleaned up the piece with a flat file and a sanding cylinder to get the final shape, and finished it off by cleaning the surface with some adhesive remover and a 3M sanding sponge.
I still need to paint the bezel on the ammeter gauge to match the look of the stock gauges, but that will happen when I paint the bracket and bolts. I think it looks pretty good, and as an added bonus, there is still a healthy clearance between the tank and the gauges at full lock, and the key has plenty of room as well!
I will update with more pics once everything is painted and installed. By then I will hopefully have made my mind up on how many headlights I want up front, and have it/them mounted, as well as have the signal stalk spacers cut down to act as a mount for the electrical bucket, and then tackle the rest of the electrical.
Accessory Gauges Bracket
Since I am paranoid about power on my GS, I decided to add in a couple gauges which I think should have been stock, or at least available as an option, a voltmeter and an ammeter. In order to do this though, I needed to figure out a place to put them, and since I am unsure what I want to do with the stock gauges, I decided to build an accessory gauge bracket to mount above the handle bar clamp.
I started by tracing out the stock upper clamp half and the bracket that came with the gauges on a piece of cardboard. I then scanned it and mirrored the outline in photoshop to create the full outline needed.
Next I printed out the outline and cut it down to size to affix it on a piece of 1/8" aluminum sheet with some 3M spray mount.
Once mounted, I center punched the holes and sat down for a drill press session and made the necessary holes, then rough cut the shape with the bandsaw.
I then cleaned up the piece with a flat file and a sanding cylinder to get the final shape, and finished it off by cleaning the surface with some adhesive remover and a 3M sanding sponge.
I still need to paint the bezel on the ammeter gauge to match the look of the stock gauges, but that will happen when I paint the bracket and bolts. I think it looks pretty good, and as an added bonus, there is still a healthy clearance between the tank and the gauges at full lock, and the key has plenty of room as well!
I will update with more pics once everything is painted and installed. By then I will hopefully have made my mind up on how many headlights I want up front, and have it/them mounted, as well as have the signal stalk spacers cut down to act as a mount for the electrical bucket, and then tackle the rest of the electrical.
S
Suzuki_Don
Guest
That would be great. Thanks MAC
M
Macguyver
Guest
Gauge Hardware
Gauge Hardware
It happened again, "while I was in there" painting the new accessory gauge mount I made, I decided to freshen up the factory gauge mounting hardware, handlebar clamp, and a few other bits and pieces with a fresh coat of paint. Well, these pieces received my usual treatment of brass wire wheel clean-up, etch prime, gloss black, then flat black to make a satin finish. Then they were baked for 45 minutes at 250 degrees, then allowed to cool over-night to really cement the finish on them. 250 may have been a little warm, they were "steaming" pretty good once they got up to temp.
I think they turned out nice and will compliment the rest of the details nicely. Tonight I plan on giving the top of the triple a similar treatment, and then bolting everything together providing I have a couple LED gauge bulb replacements fabricated by then.
I will also give the factory gauges themselves a good clean and likely polish the plastics up a bit with some orange pledge to return the factory lustre to them. Mind you, I may find a few more things to clean up while I am at it, but that's what the plan is so far.
Gauge Hardware
It happened again, "while I was in there" painting the new accessory gauge mount I made, I decided to freshen up the factory gauge mounting hardware, handlebar clamp, and a few other bits and pieces with a fresh coat of paint. Well, these pieces received my usual treatment of brass wire wheel clean-up, etch prime, gloss black, then flat black to make a satin finish. Then they were baked for 45 minutes at 250 degrees, then allowed to cool over-night to really cement the finish on them. 250 may have been a little warm, they were "steaming" pretty good once they got up to temp.
I think they turned out nice and will compliment the rest of the details nicely. Tonight I plan on giving the top of the triple a similar treatment, and then bolting everything together providing I have a couple LED gauge bulb replacements fabricated by then.
I will also give the factory gauges themselves a good clean and likely polish the plastics up a bit with some orange pledge to return the factory lustre to them. Mind you, I may find a few more things to clean up while I am at it, but that's what the plan is so far.
L
low80
Guest
Pretty cool, any pics of the whole bike? I am anxious to see what the projector looks like on it.
M
Macguyver
Guest
No full pics of the bike yet, the projector is likely going in this weekend when I can get a good stretch of time to futz with the mounts and the front signals.
I will do a BIG update when that gets done since it means I will have a bunch of the other stuff done around the same time. The next couple of weeks should be pretty exciting, a bunch of misc. parts just came in today, so I can get at some of the stuff I have had to put off.
I will update with pics when I can.
S
Skateguy50
Guest
You make me feel lazy, I have a few things I need to do to get my 650 on the road this season and so far done none of them.
1
1_v8_merc
Guest
yea me too, i also have several things to get ready for this summer....i've done a lot of them, but it seems like every time I fix 1 thing, 2 more problems pop up!
Im just paranoid about getting every single thing 100% fixed and perfect.
But I realized that'll never happen unless I do a complete restoration,
.
That's what's fun about these old bikes though, there's always little tricks to get them to start or run correctly, and they are all unique to their riders.
As long as the thing starts up and goes, everything else is easy in comparison i guess.....
Im just paranoid about getting every single thing 100% fixed and perfect.
But I realized that'll never happen unless I do a complete restoration,
.That's what's fun about these old bikes though, there's always little tricks to get them to start or run correctly, and they are all unique to their riders.
As long as the thing starts up and goes, everything else is easy in comparison i guess.....
M
Macguyver
Guest
You shouldn't feel that way, under the proper circumstances, I am like the Ferrarri of lazyness. I either have to work on the bike, or go crazy from cabin fever. Not a hard decision.
I promised myself I would have the bike all modded and safetied for spring since I didn't really do much last year other than the paint job, shocks, carb clean and get some ammo tins mounted.
Besides, this year I want to legally ride it!
S
Skateguy50
Guest
haha nice, I might get in the garage this weekend and see what I can do. Need a new battery though... trickle charge came up fault...
Keep up the nice work, might put mine on the road in the next month as I have to move it and no need to put it in the truck when I can ride it.
Keep up the nice work, might put mine on the road in the next month as I have to move it and no need to put it in the truck when I can ride it.
M
Macguyver
Guest
Getting closer...
Getting closer...
Not much of an update, but I painted the top of the triple tree last night. I am not really a fan of painting parts "in situ", but it turned out nice, and gets me ready to reassemble the triple tree and put all of the gauges back together.
It received my typical satin black engine enamel paint scheme to match the rest of, well, everything, so it will fit in nicely in the overall scheme of things.
After paint I set a heater on the tank and left it heating the triple to bake the finish as much as I could to increase durability. I love how the paint goes from looking "rounded off" when wet, to that nice form fitting skin tight look when dry!
Getting closer...
Not much of an update, but I painted the top of the triple tree last night. I am not really a fan of painting parts "in situ", but it turned out nice, and gets me ready to reassemble the triple tree and put all of the gauges back together.
It received my typical satin black engine enamel paint scheme to match the rest of, well, everything, so it will fit in nicely in the overall scheme of things.
After paint I set a heater on the tank and left it heating the triple to bake the finish as much as I could to increase durability. I love how the paint goes from looking "rounded off" when wet, to that nice form fitting skin tight look when dry!
A
AF_Bill
Guest
Mac, its been a lil bit since I read up on your 650. WOW!!!! I love the progress. I like the idea ya did with the mirrors. I've still got the bars that came with my bike and they have the windshield mounts. I knew I was keepin that thing around for something. I'm gonna try and mount my mirros like you did. And by the way, what kind of paint are you using on the motor?
M
Macguyver
Guest
Hey there Bill,
I am using Plasti-kote rattle can engine paint. I first apply 1 light coat, followed by 1 medium coat of PPG Specialty Products SXA1031 etch primer(amazing stuff BTW, the rep says it's good for high heat even though the can doesn't state so), followed by 2 medium coats of Plasti-kote T-1 Gloss Black Engine enamel, followed up with 1 medium coat of Plasti-kote 230 Flat Black Engine Enamel to get that nice satin finish.
Plasti-kote does have a satin black engine enamel, but I did not like the look of it, it seemed like it was going to flake off pretty easily, and it took forever to get the proper film build without getting splotches of glossy/flat finish. I think it is the flattening agent they mix in with it to get the satin look, just not good IMO.
I would like to have used a gloss black industrial high heat paint one of our customers use(rated for 900 degrees), but I couldn't justify $250/Gallon to myself when I get the rattle cans cheap cheap cheap with my discount at work.
Thanks for the kind words Bill, and I'll TTYL. Now I'm off to grab some grub, and then get back to work on the bike!
M
Macguyver
Guest
LED Gauge Lights
LED Gauge Lights
I am trying to free up as much power as possible on my 650 any way I can to lighten the load on the charging system in an attempt to prolong the life of the R/R and stator, and free up power for other lighting, etc.
Having completed the painting required for reassembly of the gauge cluster, I asked myself, what's next? Why, LED Gauge lighting of course!
I started with the stock 2W bulbs for the tach and speedo, plus the two 3.4W bulbs from the new voltmeter and ammeter gauges.
First step is to break the bulbs, yep, you read correctly, smash the bulbs.
In as safe a manner as possible of course, don't want glass shards everywhere.
Then desolder the filament connections, and clean out the insulating adhesive from the cavity left in the bulb body.
I then grabbed a few small chunks of perf-board, some green 3mm LED's, and matching resistors to create my new lighting.
I positioned the LED's in a roughly circular arrangement that would be compact enough to fit into the bulb passages in the back of the gauges, and soldered everything together making sure they are all connected in series, and added the resistor.
Next, I trimmed all of the excess leads, and soldered the new assembly into the bulb bodies. I will be filling the cavities with epoxy to make them vibration proof, and electrically isolated.
The main pic is of the LED's lighting up the voltmeter and the ammeter without changing the orientation of the LED's to shine in any direction other than forward. For the lighting of the tach and speedo, since there is more room around the bulbs, I will be able to gently bend the LED's so that they will light up the interior of the gauges more evenly to increase visibility of the gauges.
They turned out well, and I think they will look really sweet when everything is assembled, and just as important to me, the power requirements for lighting will be dropped significantly, freeing up precious amps for other things.
Not bad for an hour or so on a lazy Saturday morning.
LED Gauge Lights
I am trying to free up as much power as possible on my 650 any way I can to lighten the load on the charging system in an attempt to prolong the life of the R/R and stator, and free up power for other lighting, etc.
Having completed the painting required for reassembly of the gauge cluster, I asked myself, what's next? Why, LED Gauge lighting of course!
I started with the stock 2W bulbs for the tach and speedo, plus the two 3.4W bulbs from the new voltmeter and ammeter gauges.
First step is to break the bulbs, yep, you read correctly, smash the bulbs.
In as safe a manner as possible of course, don't want glass shards everywhere.
Then desolder the filament connections, and clean out the insulating adhesive from the cavity left in the bulb body.
I then grabbed a few small chunks of perf-board, some green 3mm LED's, and matching resistors to create my new lighting.
I positioned the LED's in a roughly circular arrangement that would be compact enough to fit into the bulb passages in the back of the gauges, and soldered everything together making sure they are all connected in series, and added the resistor.
Next, I trimmed all of the excess leads, and soldered the new assembly into the bulb bodies. I will be filling the cavities with epoxy to make them vibration proof, and electrically isolated.
The main pic is of the LED's lighting up the voltmeter and the ammeter without changing the orientation of the LED's to shine in any direction other than forward. For the lighting of the tach and speedo, since there is more room around the bulbs, I will be able to gently bend the LED's so that they will light up the interior of the gauges more evenly to increase visibility of the gauges.
They turned out well, and I think they will look really sweet when everything is assembled, and just as important to me, the power requirements for lighting will be dropped significantly, freeing up precious amps for other things.
Not bad for an hour or so on a lazy Saturday morning.
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B
Bad Kaw
Guest
Very cool.
-KR
-KR
B
Bribird
Guest
You make me wanna go tear into mine now... I had bought a bunch of leds and resistors to do exactly what you are doing, then during my build cause I was close to the show I was entered in, I just left everything stock but upgraded my R&R to one from an old 1100 honda sabre that I had parted out. No problems at all with the charging system but still like the idea of making some led bulbs for it...
Keep up the great work, I am excited to see the finished product when it all comes together...
Keep up the great work, I am excited to see the finished product when it all comes together...
M
Macguyver
Guest
LED Gauge Lighting part 2
LED Gauge Lighting part 2
Well, wait no longer.
I spent the majority of the afternoon/evening installing and wiring in the gauges. As you can see, I also covered every wire set with black split loom to protect the wires, and keep the looks clean. I love the way split loom ties everything together!
I also ran all of the necessary wiring for the gauges for connecting to the electrickery tray so I don't need to revisit them later to finish anything off.
Is it bad that I am using 10 gauge wire for the ammeter?
I know, not needed, but I prefer to overkill than underkill.
Here is close to the final version of the LED Gauge Lights, all assembled and running. All I can say is...WOW! They are really bright!
I think I need to build a dimmer setup for them and wire it inline, cause they are distractingly bright in the voltmeter and ammeter. Not so much in the speedo and tach.
I think I need to get another speedo and tach and take them apart and remove the red behind the numbers and hash marks. It just dims the light too much, and I want them to glow green, not red.
Shouldn't have a problem with visibility at night though!
Materials used:
-24 ultrabright green 3mm LED's
-4 #53 bulbs (or at least the bodies from them)
-12' #10 gauge primary wire
-8 ring terminal ends
-20' 3/8" black split loom
-a dash of dielectric grease
-4 rubber grommets to replace the hard plastic ones which came with the gauges
-misc. extras
Results:
-truly custom LED gauge lighting and a few ideas for more work to be done 
I am loving the way they turned out barring the red accents in the speedo/tach, but that will be remedied on an "as time/materials permit" basis.
Now I need to think of what to do next!
LED Gauge Lighting part 2
Well, wait no longer.
I spent the majority of the afternoon/evening installing and wiring in the gauges. As you can see, I also covered every wire set with black split loom to protect the wires, and keep the looks clean. I love the way split loom ties everything together!
I also ran all of the necessary wiring for the gauges for connecting to the electrickery tray so I don't need to revisit them later to finish anything off.
Is it bad that I am using 10 gauge wire for the ammeter?
I know, not needed, but I prefer to overkill than underkill.
Here is close to the final version of the LED Gauge Lights, all assembled and running. All I can say is...WOW! They are really bright!
I think I need to build a dimmer setup for them and wire it inline, cause they are distractingly bright in the voltmeter and ammeter. Not so much in the speedo and tach.
I think I need to get another speedo and tach and take them apart and remove the red behind the numbers and hash marks. It just dims the light too much, and I want them to glow green, not red.
Shouldn't have a problem with visibility at night though!
Materials used:
-24 ultrabright green 3mm LED's
-4 #53 bulbs (or at least the bodies from them)
-12' #10 gauge primary wire
-8 ring terminal ends
-20' 3/8" black split loom
-a dash of dielectric grease
-4 rubber grommets to replace the hard plastic ones which came with the gauges
-misc. extras
Results:
-truly custom LED gauge lighting
and a few ideas for more work to be done I am loving the way they turned out barring the red accents in the speedo/tach, but that will be remedied on an "as time/materials permit" basis.
Now I need to think of what to do next!
B
Bribird
Guest
ya I hear ya. There is a guy on here named Rudy that has a connection on getting custom gauge faces made...no red if you choose... I also thought about that too when considering the led thing.
Dimming LEDs is a kinda strange thing as there is a forward voltage needed before they will operate. A dimmer would only dim slightly at best. You might wanna consider less LEds in the amp and volt, I know that will change the load and you will need a different resister to obtain the correct forward voltage, but that would be the correct way of approachingthe brightness issue.. or just finding some green LEDs that are not as bright. I ordered two different brigtness levels of LEDs in red for mine and the bright ones are really bright.
I too am I huge fan of wire covering.. On my build I covered every single wire in the harness with carbon fiber PET sleeving and heat shrunk all the ends. Even did the same thing for all the control cables... I love the look of a clean harness and think its worth the extra(extreme) effort.
Heres a pic of what the sleeving looks like on some of the control cables.. I took pictures of everything during my build and put them up on my photobucket page...
Your project turned out very well, so ya, its time to move onto the next project... whats that gonna be?
hopefully I was able to stay somewhat on topic as I have been drinkin a bit tonight .....lol
Dimming LEDs is a kinda strange thing as there is a forward voltage needed before they will operate. A dimmer would only dim slightly at best. You might wanna consider less LEds in the amp and volt, I know that will change the load and you will need a different resister to obtain the correct forward voltage, but that would be the correct way of approachingthe brightness issue.. or just finding some green LEDs that are not as bright. I ordered two different brigtness levels of LEDs in red for mine and the bright ones are really bright.
I too am I huge fan of wire covering.. On my build I covered every single wire in the harness with carbon fiber PET sleeving and heat shrunk all the ends. Even did the same thing for all the control cables... I love the look of a clean harness and think its worth the extra(extreme) effort.
Heres a pic of what the sleeving looks like on some of the control cables.. I took pictures of everything during my build and put them up on my photobucket page...
Your project turned out very well, so ya, its time to move onto the next project... whats that gonna be?
hopefully I was able to stay somewhat on topic as I have been drinkin a bit tonight .....lol
M
Macguyver
Guest
Aircraft Switches
Aircraft Switches
Well, my next project was drilling the holes and mounting the aircraft switches I had purchased off of ebay for this project about 8 months ago. The green one is for the LED accent lighting, and the red one is the new run switch. They will work great, and look great too! Next up is mounting the new start switch, and then installing the accent lighting.
Aircraft Switches
I will dim them by using a 555 timer IC and pulsing the power to them, this way I can control the on/off cycle time and control intensity that way. Super easy circuit too, I once won a bet that I could draw a complete 555 LED control circuit with correct component values in less than 30 seconds.
Well, my next project was drilling the holes and mounting the aircraft switches I had purchased off of ebay for this project about 8 months ago. The green one is for the LED accent lighting, and the red one is the new run switch. They will work great, and look great too! Next up is mounting the new start switch, and then installing the accent lighting.
