replacing a five point ignition barrel with a two point one.

[flatyre]

hey guys I'm making a new wiring loom for my 6v ts150. Due to the alterations to the frame, I needed to extend the loom by about 12 inches. I also hope to replace the goofy headlight and primitive ignition barrel. Rather than have a hacked up loom, it will be easier and safer to make a new one. I'm no electrician so excuse the stupid questions and any advice would be gratefully appreciated. Anyway the main headache will be the ignition, the old one has five key points, off/on/on with side light/on with main beam/off but can still be kicked??? And the key was a bit of bar with a slot cut into the end. Anyway I picked up the barrel and key off a GSX1100g which is much more theft proof but only has two key points, on and off. Can I simply wire up the new ignition and forget about the lights (they would still be operated from the handlebar switch like a normal bike). Also how do you bench test a regulator and if its faulty can I replace it with a modern 6v one?

The old one looks like this



And a modern one

 

[Sonreir]

Yes, you can swap the ignition without too much trouble. As for the regulator, they're not usually testable, per se. The test is whether or not your're getting the correct voltages while the bike is running.

 

[flatyre]

thanks for the advice sonrier, had a good read through your tuitorials before I started, very helpful.

 

[flatyre]

I found a local autospark who has a decent supply of wire, although modern wire probably differs slightly from the original 1977 wiring. What are the issues of using lower and higher ampage wire in the new loom?

 

[Sonreir]

You can always go with lower gauge (thicker) wire than stock. 16 AWG should be enough for ancillary circuits (I use 18 in most places) and 14 AWG can handle anything on the bike with the exception of an electric starter motor (which I don't think you have anyway).