Alright guys, so I went and rode home my new (to me) CBR600 F2. Definitely needs some TLC and a little bit of money put into it, but it shouldn't be too bad! The ride home went really well, and it runs absolutely great. I bought it knowing that it had wiring issues though. The owner before the one I bought it off of had installed aftermarket turn signals and taillight, and did a really, really crappy job of hooking them up.

My bike, and my buddy's FZR1000, on the ride home


So I got it home, started pulling it apart. Pulled the fairings off, and started tracing the wiring, starting at the taillight. I quickly noticed that the wires going into the regulator/rectifier were frayed apart, and that the plug going into it was melted/burnt up. Pulled the R/R off, and tested the resistance. It's no good, so I'll be ordering a new one shortly, as well as a new bulb assembly/wiring harness for the taillight.

Male plug, going into R/R:


So I'm currently in the process of pulling out all the aftermarket wiring, and trying to make sense of everything. I'm actually thinking that it should be pretty easy to fix.. my plan is just to wire everything back to the way it was stock, for a fresh start. There is also a wire rigged up going into the ICM, and I'm not sure what the deal with it is. Didn't get a pic of that though.

Where I'm at:


The only other thing I can find that doesn't work, is the tempurature gauge. Haven't gotten around to pulling the tank off and testing it yet, but it's on my list.

Any feeback/advice is more than welcome! I'll be updating this thread on a regular basis as the project advances, and I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions along the way. Thanks in advance!

 

Sounds like you just need to make a new harness or solder the wires to your new rectifier.
I have a gsxr1000 rectifier and it works good, I mounted it under the seat for more ventilation. Goodluck.

 

Update: So I spend some more time working on the bike today. Got the tank pulled off, and inspected the rest of the wiring. Bad news everywhere. Whoever did all of the electrical work on the bike in the past just pigtailed and taped wired to connect them. The entire wiring harness is a tangled, gooey mess and I don't feel like messing with it.

So I've ordered a brand new OEM wiring harness to replace 90% of the wiring on the bike. $160, but it gives me a fresh start with the wiring, and should be pretty easy to install.. basically just plug and play I think. Also found that the Instrument Cluster is cracked and falling apart, so I'll be ordering a new one. Although I'm not sure if I want to go with an OEM one used on ebay, or try to mess around with getting some aftermarket stuff to work in order to save money. Any advice here?

Cracked Cluster. Looks like somebody before me tried to JB weld it together:


Wiring going into the speedometer. Pigtailed and taped, just like the rest of the wiring on the bike:

 

Question:
The instrument panel/gauge assembly on my bike is absolutely shot. Lost the bid on one I was watching on Ebay, and I'm having a hard time finding them anywhere. There's a set in mint condition on Ebay, but they want $275 for them, and that's really more than I want to spend.

So how hard is it to get aftermarket gauges, or gauges from a different brand/model/year, to work on my F2? I'm not crazy good with electrical work, so I don't wanna get in over my head.

 

I was an electrician for the air force...I know your not going to like this but that is an accident waiting to happen. I am surprised it already hasn't turned into a ball of flames with that wiring job. With frayed wires like that and half assed slicing your going to encounter sparks. Your not going to like this either but I suggest rewiring the whole thing where ever it was messed with. Remember when you re-splice wiring to stagger the splices at least an inch from each other so they do not rub against each other. Also, I would suggest either a solder approach or environmental splices to ensure weathering doesn't occur. You should get the OEM wiring diagram either from a guide or online to go off of. They are really easy to read. Oh, and do not splice more than one time in wiring because it will cause more resistance and could prevent sensitive components not work like your instrument cluster. From the looks of the frayed green wire coming from the cluster...cut it and splice a whole new wire in there rather than replacing the whole cluster itself. That should have you a couple hundred bucks. I hope that helps!

 

I put a speedo on my bike that came from an old bobber when i first got it ( it was a semi street fighter bike) and it was easy. Just make sure the gauge you buy has the same stuff as the current one (tach, temp, blinkers, high beam etc) but also... Make sure the speedo is ran by cable. I bought a set of f3 gauges from a buddy that did a digital swap only to find that he had a wire set up instead of a cable speedo... Lol

 

Thanks man, there's some helpful advice in there for sure! And I'm one step ahead of you... complete new wiring harness on the way, and anything that's aftermarket is going back to original, because it's so messed up that I don't know how else to make sense of it.

Anyone have experience with the aftermarket speedo's that use a magnet on the brake rotor? In my experience mountain biking, they always worked well, but I'm not sure how well they'd work at the higher speeds on a motorcycle.

 

If you want to restore your instrument cluster for a little less money, I have a unit that I can sell you, which can include the separate meter harness, for all the gauge/indicator connections... this harness is not included when you buy the bike's engine wiring harness.
Assuming your gauges are fine, all you really need is an intact meter case, and the meter harness - those are 11 and 21 in the following fiche:

Ronayers.com Microfiche Honda>Motorcycle>1993>CBR600F2>METERS - F2 - 91-94

Are your gauges acutally working fine?

 

No problem that is what these forums are for and I am glad to hear you got a new wiring.

Cheers!

 

Update: Just cancelled my order for the wiring harness. I go ambitious lastnight, and sat down, multimeter in hand, to sort out the problems. Got the taillight/brake light working. Got the wiring harness on the back of the cluster fixed, and working properly.

So my only remaining problems that I know of are:
-Bad Reg/Rec - Replacement should be here this week.
-Temp gauge not working - haven't diagnosed the cause yet
- Turn Signals not working. No power at the end of the wires, however there is continuity from the cluster, to the bulbs, so the wiring is good. Thinking I have a bad relay, or else the switch is bad.

Question:

When I flip the turn signal switch, should it snap back to the center position, or stay to the side until I turn it off? Mine snaps back to center.

I'm getting closer to getting this thing figured out! Can't wait to ride!