Feb 26th. And Plan B worked!

Plan-A was a total and complete waste of time, as expected, so out it came this morning and we waited for plan-b regulator to arrive.  By 4:30 the new regulator was installed and it works perfectly.  Photos below show the happy story of 14.48 volts!  

So reassembly starts again tomorrow!

Feb 25th regulator update

All work stopped on the re-wiring extravaganza while Stu waited for a new regulator.   He returned the “bad” regulator and today it’s warranty replacement (called the new plan-A regulator) arrived.   Also, with the expectation that this new regulator will perform just as poorly as its mate, he ordered a different regulator from a different company (called plan-B).  It arrives tomorrow.   So tomorrow am, he starts the bike with the plan-A regulator and sees what it is doing.   If the voltage is too high, it will go into the trash and we will await the plan-B regulator :).  Photo below is of the plan-A regulator, all wired up and ready to be installed.

Tuneup amd reassembly

Although a new regulator is not yet here, Stu is doing all the rest of the reassembly and tuneup.   So far, he checked the valves and installed the throttle bodies and air cleaner case.   Today he added all the rear seat, hand holds and trunk pieces.   Looks like a bike again. :)

Weekend update: it lives and runs!

After connecting all the bits, Stu pressed the start button and nothing happened ;(.  So that unhappy event started a small bit of problem solving which led to finding one disconnected wire (neutral indicator).   Once connected, we tried again and it started and ran beautifully!

Stu then checked the regulator voltage.  Weeks ago, due to a failure of the regulator, he had installed a new one.  At the time, the new one was showing voltage that was too high.   Aware of the wiring harness issues, he postponed figuring out the regulator issue until he replaced the harnesses.

Fast forward to yesterday...the bike runs great but shows 15 volts at the regulator, the right answer is 14.5.  He swapped out another regulator to make sure the “new” regulator was the issue, rather than the wiring.   The other regulator shows 14.45....so the “new” regulator has to be removed.

He is now on a mission to find a new regulator.   Nothing is simple with this beloved motorcycle :)

I can’t upload a video but trust me when I tell you it sounded marvelous when it started up.

More wiring harness progress

Today the ignition harness, completely inspected, issues corrected and swathed in electrical tape, was partially installed.   Photos below.  Rumor has it we are in the home stretch :)

Wiring continued...reassembly is the reverse of disassembly

The main harness is installed.  The injection harness has yet to be installed.  Rear electrical area is now attached and with testing, the brake lights and tail lights work!   Fairing attached as well.

The laboratory table ;)

Testing battery

The brake lights work!

Jan 2019 Aprilia wiring harness adventure

Well, the day finally arrived when Stu threw his hands up in despair and decided the original two wiring harnesses had to go into the dustbin.   After years of repairs, the harnesses were finally disintegrating in areas he couldn’t reach...a sad day indeed since we have owned this bike since 2002, and each year, and each long distance trip, has offered him the opportunity to get more familiar with the electrical system ;)

Luckily, he had two harnesses stored away, one new, one barely used.  In December he went through each of them and fixed or inspected every single connection....sigh.

Last week he started taking all the body work off, today he removed the fairing and instruments.   By the end of the day, he should have access to the harnesses and be able to remove them.

Here are photos of the bike now, although he is still removing tidbits.