Norton / Harley Ironhead Cafe Project.. Build thread

I found these neat mini waterproof switches, which I'll use for the horn and hi/low beam, just managed to fit them next to the ignition switch, which will keep the wiring out of sight.

Hit a couple of small problems along the way, damaged case threads and I cant remove the old broken oil pressure switch to fit a replacement. Its in a tight spot and the nut has been rounded off some time in the past and it doesn't want to come off. I should've removed it before the motor was back in the frame, but I didn't want to risk damaging the new pressure switch when fitting the engine. I may have to remove the oil pump, which could open another can of worms..we'll see.

Bevelheadmhr said:

I found these neat mini waterproof switches, which I'll use for the horn and hi/low beam, just managed to fit them next to the ignition switch, which will keep the wiring out of sight.

Hit a couple of small problems along the way, damaged case threads and I cant remove the old broken oil pressure switch to fit a replacement. Its in a tight spot and the nut has been rounded off some time in the past and it doesn't want to come off. I should've removed it before the motor was back in the frame, but I didn't want to risk damaging the new pressure switch when fitting the engine. I may have to remove the oil pump, which could open another can of worms..we'll see.

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Looks like a pair of needle nose vice grips would get that right off, or am I missing something?

My .02 I love the bike but the horn switch placement makes no sense whatsoever.

canyoncarver said:

My .02 I love the bike but the horn switch placement makes no sense whatsoever.

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When did you last use the horn on your bike? I cant remember ever using mine, if someone cant hear the open exhaust, they certainly wont hear the beep beep of a typical bike horn. So it make sense for me, as I'll never use it and it keeps the wiring hidden. If it wasn't a legal requirement, I wouldn't have one.

I don't run open pipes but I've definitely used my horn to alert blind idiot cagers that I don't like them running me over. I've bought a Stebel horn as a replacement for the weak ass stock beeper. The Stebel horn will cause an inattentive driver to leave a brown stain on their seat.


After I noted your placement I did assume it was for legal reasons. No worries, keep up the great work on that beauty.

I don't usually bother with bike electrics, making up a wiring harness etc, I leave that to my local bike shop. But this time I thought I'd give it a go and see how far I got. Made a start with replacing the points with electronic ignition. The instructions were a little confusing, as they referred mainly to big twin Harleys, and different years needed different approaches. There was even a small packet that said 'DO NOT USE!'.. which in the end I did lol..

Start by removing the points, then the backing plate and finally the advance/retard unit, all pretty straight forward. Then I had to put the bike in gear (not so easy without the clutch working), and find TDC on the front cylinder. This done, I could fit the rotor to the end of the crank, not sure why I had to find TDC, as the rotor can only fit in one way, but hey ho, best follow instructions.

Next had to measure the cap between the rotor and the back of the plate that holds the ignition module. If its more than 0.075 of an inch, I had to use the spacer in the 'DO NOT USE!' packet.. it was so I did. Finally loosely fit the ignition module, lining up a V notch in its plate with a similar notch cast into the engine case. There were 3 notches in the case, so I lined it up with the middle one. The final timing will have to be set with a timing light, but hopefully its close enough to get the motor to run.

Was a sunny spring day here in ye olde England, so made the most of the fine weather by taking the 888 for a blast. Then spent the rest of the day fettling the Ironhead.. oil lines done just need a couple of zip ties to tidy things up beneath the engine. That allowed me to fit the sprocket cover (Left it undrilled for now), and the exhaust which needed a some last minute work to give more clearance from the frame tubes. The front pipe is still close to the down tubes, but should be ok.

Still being held up waiting for the promised brake lines, but getting them at mates rates so shouldn't really complain.

Beautiful! 8)

Awesome!

stunning !
can we get some video, full song on fly by ?

I foresee a Bikeexif, pipeburn, returnofthecaferacer, thebikeshed.cc feature. Build is simply epic.

Been struggling trying to work out a wiring diagram for it, I hate electrics. Made a start and bought myself a soldering iron and a few metres of wire. When finished, I'll try to film it being run up on my mates dyno when I take it to get the carb jetting /ignition timing right. If I can borrow a Go Pro type camera, I'll take some 'on board' film too. Not sure about those other websites, I'm building it for me, not to advertise it on some website.

Yes, like, thumbs up, inspirational...

Bevelheadmhr said:

Been struggling trying to work out a wiring diagram for it, I hate electrics. Made a start and bought myself a soldering iron and a few metres of wire. When finished, I'll try to film it being run up on my mates dyno when I take it to get the carb jetting /ignition timing right. If I can borrow a Go Pro type camera, I'll take some 'on board' film too. Not sure about those other websites, I'm building it for me, not to advertise it on some website.

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Instead of soldering your connections, I would highly recommend using these kits instead:
http://vintageconnections.com/


The CK2 kit comes with a very well made crimp tool that you will get tons of use out of.

I'll be using connectors, in fact just spent a small fortune on wiring, heat shrink, relays etc, should be here beginning of next week.

Well, I don't have a vid of it running yet, but I took this short video this evening..

http://youtu.be/SE-o0zMiv7E

Heat shrink terminals are the best thing ever.

Almost completed the wiring, in the past I would have run a mile from attempting to wire a bike from scratch, but having spent the time to understand relays, circuit breaker etc, its not so bad after all. Ideally, I wanted all the electrical components to be hidden away in one place, but there just wasn't the room. So I had to split things up into three locations.. in the headlamp shell, on the side of the top motor mount (under the tank), and in a tiny tray behind the oil tank (still waiting for that to be made in stainless).

Before I did anything on the bike, I drew out the wiring on paper, splitting the job up into simpler diagrams, one for the ignition, one for the charging circuit, one for the starting circuit and so on. That done (it took a few versions before it all looked ok), I worked out where everything could be squeezed on the bike, after which it was just a question of being neat and tidy with the wiring and running the wires on the left hand side of the bike if possible (the least visible side when its on its side stand). I used 6 gauge wire for the main earth and starter cable, probably a bit too big, 8 gauge would've been more than sufficient, but it will help all those electrons get to where they need to go.

Got a problem finishing the digital instrument wiring, as the installation instructions that came with the tacho were wrong, and don't want to risk damaging it by testing out each wire. Waiting to get the correct diagram emailed from the seller this week.

Also got the front brake lines done at last, need to make a pair of brackets to tie them to the fork legs and something better than a zip tie to keep them neat. I've been testing and testing and retesting the wiring as I go along, and so far I'm surprised it all works.

Got the stainless mini electrics tray, drilled it to mount the relays and main circuit breaker, fits ok, and todays lesson : don't check for burrs with your finger.. ouch :-[

Also re jetted the carb with the mains and intermediate jets recommended for the engine with a free flowing exhaust. Luckily the Super E comes with a good selection of jets from the factory, including those I needed. It only took 5 minutes to change them, bit quicker than the same job on an inline four.

That done, I gave in to temptation and sprayed some petrol down the carb and pressed the starter.. it fired up for a few seconds which was a big relief. Got to sort out the instruments wiring and their sensors now I've been sent the correct wring diagrams, and make up the clutch line and (assuming the hydraulic clutch conversion actually works) it should be ready for the road at last.

on your pic of the carb, don't miss the small o ring that goes here:

Well spotted.. Its a new carb, never opened it up before, so hope that O ring is there somewhere..