1982 GS750E - Eliminate or minimize wiring?

[Guest]

Hello all! First time member and motorcycle owner! I just acquired a '82 GS750E and knew right away that i wanted to strip it down, clean it up, and start over. I've stumbled upon a few cafe racer builds that i really like, but am completely flummoxed as to how these guys have cleaned up all the wiring?! It almost looks as though there is no battery, starter relay, fuse box...anything? I'm guessing the batteries are being relocated under the rear seat or tank, but these bikes (e.g. Tin Shack Special) are practically naked. Granted that particular bike is a kick start and mine is electric, but still! What's the secret? Is there a modified ignition/starter/harness out there? I'm still in the middle of tearing it down, but I'll post up pictures soon. Thanks everyone in advance!

[seanarthurmachado]

Do yourself and the next owner a favor and change as little as possible. Don't change anything that you cannot put back to stock.

If you absolutely must have a cafe seat then I would go find one that has already been butchered and use that. Then when you decide that you need a comfortable seat you have one and can change back to it. As for wiring.... Download the wiring diagram for you bike from bikecliffs site (in your mega welcome email) and show the world how custom you can be by making your own harness instead chopping your current working one to bits.

That way you can switch back to a good working harness when you get tired of blowing fuses and having lights go out.

Just make sure your old bike keeps running. It's lasted this long and deserves to be ridden.

[a3tripod]

Appreciate the thoughts, but I did you a disservice by not mentioning some key reasons why we are stripping it down. The last time it was started was in 1987, and its been sitting/rotting beside a barn for nearly 20 years. There is so much corrosion in the electrical components, harness, exhaust, etc, that really isn't much that can be preserved. In the end, we've decided not to pursue a project to refurbish back to the original machine, rather to do something fun and different.

[hannibal]

Remember you could rewire the bike to original condition without making it a cafe racer. A lot of folks dislike cutting a good frame and will remimd you eberytime they hear "cafe racer".

I don't know how guys hide so many components especially the battery. I believe AGM batteries can be mounted in almost any orientation, so maybe that's a necessary step. You can find a bare bones early 550 wiring diagram made by posplayr.

[a3tripod]

We are keeping everything in storage totes in case we decide to sell the bike later. I don't plan to cut the harness or toss anything that could be used to bring it back to stock later. For now, we want something different from this bike and are looking forward to the experience as a result of that work. it sounds like the bare bones diagram is what I'm looking for! Thanks!

[hannibal]

Forgot to post the link...

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?153727-Minimal-550-Bobber-Schematic

It won't apply directly, but it should give you some ideas of what you can remove.

[a3tripod]

I found it using the search function (as if people REALLY use it, right?!), but am grateful for your having provided it here as well.

[ajkammerer93]

Welcome!

As you may notice, the "cafe racer" thing, or anything away from stock normally gets some heat around here.. Personally, I think the more you want to cut, chop, mod, change, to suit yourself, the more power to you!

Check out this website: http://motogadget.com/en/

They have some nifty things for cleaning up wiring and electronics.

and this is a kinda simplistic guide, but it helped me a bit: http://www.bikeexif.com/motorcycle-wiring

Cheers!

[a3tripod]

I understand there are purists here who are pained to see a bike they love get irreversibly modified. I get it. I feel that way about certain cars I love. This isn't just my bike, it's my friend's and this is the direction we agreed to take it - so that's what we are doing .

Thanks for the links! I'm really trying to educate myself as much as possible, as this is my first project bike EVER. I have a lot to learn. I found a nifty little bare-bones diagram that I'm leveraging too. Guessing it will end up being some kind of hybrid of wiring diagrams in the end.

Welcome!

As you may notice, the "cafe racer" thing, or anything away from stock can get alot of hate around here.. Personally, I think the more you want to cut, chop, mod, change, to suit yourself, the more power to you!

Check out this website: http://motogadget.com/en/

They have some nifty things for cleaning up wiring and electronics.

and this is a kinda simplistic guide, but it helped me a bit: http://www.bikeexif.com/motorcycle-wiring

Cheers!

[ajkammerer93]

Mine is my first bike and project as well. Its definitely a lot to learn! I try and think of every little thing that goes wrong as an opportunity to learn something new about the bike (or at least thats what I tell myself so I don't go crazy!!). But I've been keeping it running and riding while I do little projects to it.

As for the minimal look, be careful when trying to hide the battery.. I think as long as you have a gel battery it can be oriented on its side, but some are picky about that. I know I've seen some people hide them behind a rear fairing or something like that. A shallow pan under the seat can be a good place to hide fuses and some wiring. Sometimes I've seen folks get away with just one "in-line" fuse coming from the battery and that's it as far as fuses. Some kick start bikes can get away with just a large capacitor that acts as a battery and keeps everything running, but with your electric start bike that won't be an option. However you can minimize a TON of the wiring by just tossing the gauges, if you're into the clean, no gauge look.

Also a ton of that minimal look can come from tearing out the air box and eliminating pretty much everything between the carbs and rear tire, but thats not exactly electrical related stuff. ;D

Can't wait to see how the project goes!

[seanarthurmachado]

I've heard that Harley Davidson's work better as cafe racers than these old gs bikes.

On a more serious note....its your bike not mine, do what you like.....just be carefull not to turn it into another unridable ex-project bike being dumped at fire sale prices on craigslist.

[Brendan W]

If the original harness has been rotting and you want minimal it's probably time to consider putting the old harness aside intact and wiring from scratch with just the bare minimum. May be less trouble in the long run.

[tkent02]

An '82 750? Hack away at it.

[hannibal]

I found it using the search function (as if people REALLY use it, right?!), but am grateful for your having provided it here as well.

You'll go far around here!

You won't hear me criticize anyone's ideas even if I'm not a fan. Congrats on your first bike! I'll be following your work.