Hundreds of Motorcycle Service Manuals – For Free!
Posted on | June 18, 2010 | 10 Comments
I get emails from readers quite regularly looking for service manuals for their bike. I always try and help as best as I can. Over the years I’ve amassed quite a large collection of motorcycle service manuals for all sorts of bikes. I have factory repair manuals, part microfiche manuals, setup and tuning documentation, owners manuals, etc, etc. The last couple days I’ve posted about 280 documents to this site which will hopefully help out a lot of home bike mechanics with a new project. I have some more, but that is most of it.
There are many sites out there selling these same documents and taking advantage of those willing to shell out some cash. The large bulk of these manuals are factory provided to dealers or come with the bikes as service supplements. The sites selling these same manuals have no authority to do so. Just grab them here.
You can browse them by clicking on the brand you are looking for in the Categories menu on the right. Or you can search by using the search box. Keep in mind I don’t have every bike model.
If you have any manuals in digital format you would like to contribute I’d be happy to post them and give you a big thanks!
If you have any questions about the files themselves just leave a comment or post a question over in the forum.
Soon to come – My collection of wiring diagrams!
Happy wrenching!
* It is not my intention to infringe upon any copyright laws. If these factory offered service manuals are determined to be questionable I may need to remove them.
Simple Motorcycle Wiring Diagram for Choppers and Cafe Racers
Posted on | March 30, 2010 | 25 Comments
I get a lot of questions about wiring motorcycles. Sometimes people are just trying to fix their blinkers and aren’t familiar with how motorcycle electrics work – but more often than not I get requests about trimming down electronics for custom riders.
An essential part of building any sort of chopper, bobber, cafe racer, brat bike, or rat rod is getting rid of all the unnecessary items. These days I just grab my wire snips and start trimming away with no regard for common sense and caution – but if you are working with your first wiring loom I’m going to try and give you some guidance right now.
You might have checked the wiring diagram for your bike already and seen something like this:
The above diagram is from a Honda CB750 Custom dual cam bike. Lots of 70’s and 80’s bikes will look the same, especially the four cylinders.
If you are trying to build a stripped down bike there is a lot going on that you don’t need. A lot of the controls can be removed, blinkers, gauges and indicators, relays and switches. It doesn’t take a whole lot of wiring to keep a bike on the road, especially if you don’t want to cater to the law word for word. By trimming down the wiring you’ll be saving complexity, saving weight, and cleaning up the look of your bike.
Below is a generic wiring diagram I whipped up that can be used as a guideline. I tried not to tailor it specifically to any particular model of bike, and I tried to make it as easy to understand as possible – but really any 70’s and early 80’s model bike with carbs will adapt to this diagram quite well. This diagram is setup to run a headlight and brake light, keep your battery charged, and have a keyed ignition. Personally, I sometimes strip my bikes even further, but I’ll mention that further down the page.
When working on your existing wiring loom it is best not to just start cutting wildly (like I do!) but to be very careful. Inside your headlight is where much of the wiring converges, so is a good place to start. Remove your headlight and start trimming back the sheaths. Slice back the sheaths of the wiring loom as far as possible to expose the wires inside.
If this is your first electronics exploration, start with something easier. Pick a fixed item you’d like to remove and trace the wires. An easy starting point is the blinkers. To remove your blinkers, unbolt them one at a time, then trace the wires through the cut open sheath. The grounding wire will most likely be shared with your headlight and gauges depending on the bike, so don’t trace the black wire, just unplug it. But, you should be able to follow the positive lead from each blinker all the way to the flasher relay which will be near the battery and rectifier under the seat. You can remove all of this wiring, the relay, and of course the blinkers.
Keep going one item at a time. You should DEFINITELY be using a volt meter. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A VOLT METER GO BUY ONE NOW! You can buy a cheap volt meter from Harbor Freight or Northern Tool for around $10 that will look something like this:
It will do everything you need. Or if you are a stickler for high quality tools like I am you can spring for something like a Craftsman Multimeter for around $50-60. This is what I use – though I must state, I only use 10% of what this device is capable of.
It should be noted that my diagram caters to my desires – I generally remove the switch controls on the left side of the handlebars, and the ones on the right if possible (often times the throttle housing and switches are a single unit). I replace my controls with simple switches picked up from radio-shack, and mount them where ever pleases me at the time. Sometimes I’ll make a little plate to mount them on the dash:
Or sometimes I’ll just stick them to the headstock, or under the seat so they are out of the way completely. The above KZ440 I didn’t remove a lot from. In this picture I had one switch overriding the keyed ignition, and another activating the starter. It was kind of a weird setup, but the only photo I have handy.
But anyway…..
When removing things you always want to make sure they are either not being utilized or serve no essential purpose. If you have the bike running and you’re watching voltage on a particular item (for example: a neutral switch), you’ll understand when it’s being used and when it isn’t and this will help you make a decision of whether or not it should be cut out.
I will usually ditch the:
- Gauges
- Ignition
- Blinkers and Flasher relay
- Left controls (right side depending on throttle setup)
- Side stand switch
- Oil pressure switch
- Neutral switch
- Maybe a front brake switch depending on the type
- License plate light
My general goal isn’t to be legal. You know what I’m after.
There is a lot more involved with doing a clean wiring trim than what I’ve mentioned here, but hopefully this helps push you in the right direction. If you have questions, please ask them either here in the comments or on my new Motorcycle Repair Forums. I do my best to help out everyone who posts.
Also – for some of you who are more adventurous and are looking for a hardcore diagram for modifying a kickstart only bike to run sans battery – have a looky:
I won’t explain the above right here right now – but if you’re looking to go as low profile as possible and have questions, please let me know. On many bikes you’ll need to introduce a capacitor or two and possibly a particular regulator unit.
Cheers!
-Evan
ADDENDUM:
A reader recently had a very note worthy comment. My diagrams above have the brake light controlled by the same switchable power source as the headlight. This means that you must turn on the headlight for the brake light to be active. While I tend to like this setup – it isn’t necessarily the safest. If you forget to turn on your lights, your brake light won’t work. Hans graciously sent me an edited version of my diagram with the adjustment on it. Have a look:
Launching a Motorcycle Repair Forum!!
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | 4 Comments
I get a lot of questions via email from visitors of this forum. I’m always happy to help with motorcycle service questions and like giving others a hand. However, the emails are sometimes overwhelming or they get lost in the daily shuffle of life. So I’ve decided to try getting a little motorcycle repair forum started. This way people can post their questions on the forum and I can answer them directly there.
So here it is – the new companion to this blog, a
MOTORCYCLE REPAIR and SERVICE FORUM!!!!
Let me know what you think, I’d love to hear from you all.
Laverda Jota 1200 with Cropredy Liberator Bodywork
Posted on | January 19, 2010 | No Comments
The above bike is a typical Laverda Jota 1200 but with the awesome and hard to come by Cropredy Liberator bodywork. I’m not much of a Laverda fan because the engines, heads, and side covers are all a bit square which I think looks slightly odd:
.jpg "Laverda Jota 1000")
The Cropredy bike above is once of the nicest looking Laverda’s around. The body work reminds me a lot of the Tracy body kits which were available for the Honda CB750’s in the mid 70’s.
I LOVE the Tracy body kits, and CB’s are right up my alley. I had an opportunity to buy a CB750 with the Tracy kit not too long ago but couldn’t swing the extra dough. Bummer!
1976 Kawasaki KZ900
Posted on | January 18, 2010 | No Comments
The original muscle bike – sort of.
This is my KZ900A that I owned for a short while. Kawasaki came out with the 900cc KZ900 in 1973 known as the Z1. Today the Z1 is a highly coveted bike and fetches great prices on the vintage market compared to all (most) other Japanese bikes of the period. In 1976 the Z1 became the KZ900A and is slightly less desirable, but they are going up.
This particular bike had a great condition tank and side covers. The seat, and shocks were in poor condition, but replacements were purchased from Korean re-manufacturers. The Korean reproductions are not nearly as highly regarded as the NOS or original Japanese parts, but they can be purchased cheaply and only people who know what they’re talking about will be any the wiser. The differences are very small.
While parked on the street I had it locked to the telephone pole. I went out one morning to find the lock cut halfway through. The crooks must have gotten spooked while cutting through it and didn’t finish the job. Thankfully!
1972 Honda C70 Super Cub
Posted on | September 23, 2009 | 2 Comments
I picked up this 1972 Honda Super Cub 70cc bike/scooter/moped/whatever-you-want-to-call-it. These little bikes have been in production for over 50 years. This particular scoot popped up locally for a mere $100 so I drove out and picked it up.
This bike has sat for at least 15 years along side the owners home. The last registered user of this bike was an older gentleman who passed away in the early 90’s. His widow gave the bike to their neighbor who kept it outside all those years. I bought it from the neighbor and brought it home to fix up.
These little bikes are extremely reliable and will run forever, even when neglected. The trouble with this one is more aesthetic than anything else. The desert sun has faded all the paint badly and made the plastics very brittle. Most of the chrome should clean right up.
Fortunately EVERY part for these bikes is very easy to find and relatively inexpensive. The Honda Cubs have many part importers around the United States, so anything you need is never more than a call away. Just be aware, there are genuine Japanese reproduction parts, and there are Korean reproduction parts from a variety of manufacturers. The Korean parts are often lower grade and not great fit and finish. If you browse eBay you can see hundreds of Korean parts for sale at any given time ready to be shipped from Korea, or from an importer in the USA for much more money.
The original Honda Cub hit the dealers in 1958 in a 50cc variety. The 50cc model is still available today. However, over the years they have produced many slight variations of the model – 70cc’s, 100cc’s, and Honda Passports.
For cheap transportation these Honda C70’s can’t be beat.
1996 Honda XR600R – Yet Another New Purchase
Posted on | February 17, 2009 | 2 Comments
I am a big fan of the Honda XR600 series of motorcycles. You might remember the 1983 Honda XL600 I was working on just last summer. The XL600 was a fantastic bike, particularly with the XR600 motor transplanted into it, but it was more street oriented and was never intended to take constant off-road abuse. I’ve been keeping my eye open for a true late model XR600 for quite a while, and this one just popped up recently, so I jumped on it.
It is certainly well ridden and has been enjoyed by ‘who knows how many’ previous owners. However, it is a sturdy bike with no real issues besides needing the linkage bearings replaced and a new set of foot pegs.
The XR600 is, in my eyes, the perfect platform for a do-it-all dual purpose motorcycle. It’s a bit piggish on tight trails, and a bit of a wind catcher on the highway, but it will do both without complaining and will last years and years trouble free.
If you have a good eye you’ll see this bike has a recovered seat with gel-insert, an early style IMS 4 gallon tank, Scotts top billet triple clamp, and a lot of character.
Long live the Honda XR600R.
1985 BMW K100
Posted on | February 16, 2009 | 7 Comments
As if I didn’t have enough motorcycles crammed into a tiny storage unit – now I have another! I drove 8 hours each way to pick up this 1985 BMW K100. I am generally real impulsive when it comes to motorcycle purchases, and this is certainly one of those cases. I have no need for this bike at all, but I saw a good deal and had to have it!
The BMW K100 (and K75) motorcycles are probably THE most reliable and long lasting motorcycles ever built. These motors are known to commonly go over 250,000 miles without any rebuild. Knick-named the ‘flying brick’ these motors are big, heavy, robust, and silky smooth. No bike runs, rides, or shifts as smoothly as a K bike. Sometimes you forget it’s running.
This particular K100 has a Corbin seat and a few other farkles – but unfortunately the fairing has suffered some damage and doesn’t look great. I has traveled 117,000 miles to date.
When I brought it back it hadn’t run in a few months. I promptly jumped it from my car battery and it roared to life instantly. I drove it around a bit and it didn’t skip a beat. These bikes are troopers.
The downside of a K bike for me is that they are ‘too’ smooth. They don’t offer the same excitement factor that other bikes do. These K100’s accelerate smooth, brake smooth, turn smooth, and frankly it’s like sitting in a Cadillac. I’ve heard them called the ‘old-mans-bike’, and that is certainly true.
Name that Matchless Motorcycle
Posted on | February 16, 2009 | 3 Comments
I spotted this beauty outside a deli in the San Fernando Valley recently and luckily I had my camera with me. What a gorgeous bike.
Is this a GS5 or 85? My Matchless knowledge is limited and I don’t have a keen enough eye to tell. Anybody?
What would I want with a junked out 1978 Honda CX500?
Posted on | November 7, 2008 | 10 Comments
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I came to Los Angeles and within 3 hours of arriving I was already picking up a bike.
For some reason the CX500 and CX650 motorcycles have slipped my grasp over the past few years. I was supposed to pick one up about a year ago, but that deal got squashed somehow. So when I saw this “beauty” up for grabs I jumped on it.
Obviously it is a dog. A dead dog. The bike is beat to junk and weathered worse than McCain’s face. It is only missing the headlight, blinkers, side covers, and clutch lever, but the seat, gauges, throttle, tires are absolute garbage. – On the plus side the motor turns over fine so I’m sure it will be a runner.
The Honda CX500 was introduced in 1978 so this is a first year model. Common problem points were stator failure (particularly on the early models) and cam chain slop. With the cam chain properly adjusted at regular interval these bikes will run 100,000 miles easy without a rebuild while cruising 80 mph all the while. They were marketed as a downsized touring bike, this is true particularly with the CX650 which was available in “Silverwing” trim with full touring fairing and luggage.
I haven’t decided to what extent I’ll dig into this bike. I have a crush on this CX500 dual sport bike which I believe was built by Phil Kopp in Australia.
It’s obviously a poor mans HPN rally bike, but sometimes you just have to work with what you have.
The disadvantage of a CX500 for this style of bike (compared to the BMW Boxer) is the counter shaft design of the motor. Transversely mounted twins are notorious for having a gyroscopic effect when you hit the throttle. Honda eliminated this by having the output shaft spin the opposite direction as the crank. While this smooths out the motor in a sense, it also makes it slightly more complex, heavier, and more difficult to modify for performance. But I digress. ..
I’ll post my progress as it comes.
keep looking »Quick Intro
I have owned nearly every make and model of vintage Japanese motorcycle as well as a number of other Europeans and more modern bikes. I do everything from simple fixes to full restorations. I also travel and ride every chance I get.
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