1977 RD400 Cafe Racer conversion project

8344 Views 41 Replies 15 Participants Last post by snorkelfork, Jul 13, 2017

Dmanrider

Discussion Starter · Feb 7, 2017

I am just starting to convert my 77 RD400 into a café racer. I have it all stripped down and am taking it to powder coat this week. I have heard of the "M" Button wiring kit to help me put it all back together with new parts. Have any of you used the M button wiring system on your bikes?

21 - 40 of 42 Posts

miniman

· #21 · Feb 8, 2017

I have used the motogadget in a recent build with a friend.
They replace fuses, relays and also all the control's only need to handle signal voltage. Only the load side of the unit requires larger cable sizes.
Absolute quality bit of kit IMO.
Also a bilt in alarm for a little bonus.

Basically if you don't mind paying for convenience (pretty much idiot proof I talked my friend through most of wiring it on the phone) then crack on.

jaguar

· #22 · Feb 8, 2017

There is a guy on DTT that is making harnesses. Seem to be nice stuff.

TrialsRider

· #23 · Feb 8, 2017

That's a very down to Earth grounding bar solution

lol Jag is gonna hate all these puns.

Interested in knowing how fuses can be done away with unless they are replaced by reset circuit breakers

generally speaking there is sufficient power coming out of a storage battery to weld with for a short time. A fuse is the first line of defence safety device that prevents more expensive components from catastrophic failure or fire, possibly even battery explosion.

pretty sure you mean the Line side needs the heavy cable, the Load would be all of the outbound wires from the distribution point.

Reactions: 1

woodsman

· #24 · Feb 8, 2017

540nova said:
Soldering creates areas of potential failure. Pro quality crimps are the way to go. You won't find soldered joints in the miles of wire in commercial airliners.

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Bad soldering creates problems. Soldering was used for decades before crimp connectors.

Reactions: 1

jaguar

· #25 · Feb 8, 2017

woodsman said:
Bad soldering creates problems. Soldering was used for decades before crimp connectors.

We also make airplanes out of metal now too.

jcw

· #26 · Feb 8, 2017

Microprocessor controlled.

miniman

· #27 · Feb 8, 2017 (Edited)

TrialsRider said:
That's a very down to Earth grounding bar solution

lol Jag is gonna hate all these puns.

Interested in knowing how fuses can be done away with unless they are replaced by reset circuit breakers

generally speaking there is sufficient power coming out of a storage battery to weld with for a short time. A fuse is the first line of defence safety device that prevents more expensive components from catastrophic failure or fire, possibly even battery explosion.

pretty sure you mean the Line side needs the heavy cable, the Load would be all of the outbound wires from the distribution point.

The m unit has solid state breakers fitted.

So if a short is detected the power to that circuit is cut (the indicator light then flashes on the unit to show what circuit is at fault)
The unit won't turn power back on to the circuit until the short has been rectified.
Ignition is simply cycled on and off to to reset.
The time it takes to kill the power is so short no "impromptu welding happens"

I do mean the load. There is no such thing as the line with this system. The switch side is a completely different circuit to the load side.

Reactions: 1

o1marc

· #28 · Feb 8, 2017

woodsman said:
Bad soldering creates problems. Soldering was used for decades before crimp connectors.

This one of those things where you hear about the failures of soldering connections. But if you think about how many billion soldered connections are out there and the rate of failure I think you would see is incredibly small. Yes, one is better than the other, doesn't mean the lesser one is not totally adequate. One reason crimping is used over soldering in mass production is the ease and expense of crimping.
Using aircraft as an example is not fair, they have their own issues that need addressing that are not common in everyday stuff.

Reactions: 1

jimbo184

· #29 · Feb 8, 2017

+1 for Economy Cycle. Also, 2strokeworld.com. RD enthusiasts all. HVC has a lot of RD parts also.

Jim B

woodsman

· #30 · Feb 8, 2017

jaguar said:
We also make airplanes out of metal now too.

Except those that are composite or tube and fabric.

Reactions: 1

jaguar

· #31 · Feb 8, 2017

woodsman said:
Except those that are composite or tube and fabric.

Very few wood and/or fabric being made these days.

TrialsRider

· #32 · Feb 8, 2017

jaguar said:
Very few wood and/or fabric being made these days.

probably way more are made out of paper then anything else.

Reactions: 2

woodsman

· #33 · Feb 8, 2017

jaguar said:
Very few wood and/or fabric being made these days.

Two of the best back country aircraft, Aviat Husky and Maule, are tube and fabric, as are a bunch of LSA.

540nova

· #34 · Feb 8, 2017

Everyone has valid points. The M-unit is not the final answer, and is certainly not for everyone. The Beaver and PC-8 units are practical solutions, but really aren't comparable to the M-unit, as people have pointed out, and isn't intended to be. A couple features not mentioned are programmable brake light modulation, (4 or 5 modes if I remember correctly), and programmable daytime running lights using the turn signals. You can easily select the intensity (10%, 20%, etc).
Aircraft don't use soldered connections due to vibrations, something our bikes suffer even more from. As a Lead Aircraft Mechanic for United Airlines, doing heavy maintenance in our Newark hangar, I've seen every wire on our planes from 737s to 777s. Using modern tooling, it would be easier to solder wiring initially and during repairs, but it's just not done. Ironically, Motogadget recommends soldering with their products. It's your choice.

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Reactions: 2

540nova

· #35 · Feb 8, 2017

Better shot of the ground bus...

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hillsy

· #36 · Feb 8, 2017

Teazer said:
Stock RD has zero relays as stock. None, and no electric starter. It is as simple as it gets.

This ^^^

You aren't going to get any easier than what you have right now - buying another stock harness and plugging it in.

Dmanrider

Discussion Starter · #37 · Feb 9, 2017

Thank you. I am looking into both Motogadget and Revival Cycles options. Great resources.

Dmanrider

Discussion Starter · #38 · Feb 9, 2017

Thanks Hillsy, I think you may be right. I may want to just stick with the stock wiring harness and find creative ways to hide it all in my new build.

kenessex

· #39 · Feb 10, 2017

I am afraid I don't see much of a "cafe racer" build to an RD. Clip-ons, rearsets, rebuild forks, replace shocks, Avon Am26 tires, pipes and rejet. You are done. Thats it, that is how we raced them back in the day. Anything else you do is cosmetic and for fun.

Reactions: 2

snorkelfork

· #40 · Jul 13, 2017

Skimming the forum after being away for years. In my absence from here I've been working for Revival Cycles, I'm not going to praise Motogadget here but I wanted to mention that there's a lot of miss understanding and apprehension around the m-Unit. we've done 100+ m-Unit installs If anyone has any m-Unit questions concerns feel free to email us a [email protected] and we can demystify it for you.

-Jeff

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