I’ve published several documents about the airhead electrical systems including the /5, 1975-76 /6 along with information about how the electrical components work. You can find links to all these electrical system documents here:
I’ve been working on these over the winter on days that I don’t feel like going into the shop. This winter, I completed the electrical circuits document for the /7 series, 1977 R100RS. This wiring system configuration was used only on the 1977 R100RS.
The word “farkles” refers to add-ons and upgrades. I’m adding the following to the electrical system.
Eastern Beaver PC-8 Auxiliary Fuse Box And Circuits. I installed the Eastern Beaver PC-8 Auxiliary Fuse Box. This provides eight independent circuits, six fused and two non-fused direct to the battery. This eliminates a nest of wires, fuses and relays when I add the various electrical accessories. All the fuses are in one box and one relay switches power on to the six fused circuits.
Eastern Beaver Wiring Harness
Eastern Beaver PC-8 Auxiliary Fuse Box Components
Heated Grips With 1988+ Wiring. I have the pre-1988 heated grips. The switch for them is no longer available so I will install the later (1988+) two position switch and new wiring between the switch and the heated grip pigtails. The wiring sub-harness contains a resistor inside that provides LOW/HIGH heating in the grips.
61 31 1 459 234
SWITCH, HEATED HANDLEBAR GRIPS L=700MM
61 12 1 459 263
WIRING HEATED HANDLES (Sub-harness)
The switch is smaller than the rectangular holes in the dashboard so I fabricated an adapter to hold the switch out of the plug used to fill the empty hole (part# 32 71 1 236 886).
Dashboard Rectangular Blank Hole Plug
High-Off-Low Switch Installed In Dash
Auxiliary LED Lights. To increase my visibility I add two spot bean 900 lumen LED auxiliary lights from Super Bright LEDs. I got the 10 degree beam for the left and the 30 degree beam for the right so at night it will help illuminate the side of the road. I mount them to the rear view mirror brackets and wire them into the headlight power so they are on with the low and high beam.
Super Bright LED Spot Beam (900 Lumens @ 10 Watts)
Garmin GPS Handlebar Mount With Power. I have a Garmin zūmo® 396 LMT-S GPS. I ordered a cradle, handlebar mount and electrical harness to power it from Garmin. I will use one of the two non-switch circuits to power the GPS so the it stays on when the engine is off. I like that option so I can select and change routes with the engine off.
GPS Is Getting Power
SAE & USB Power Sockets. I add an SAE plug and a dual USB port so I can charge my cell phone, or power any other accessory. I put the SAE on the other non-switched, direct to battery circuit and the USB on a switched circuit of the Eastern Beaver PC-8 auxiliary fuse box.
USB Socket Water Proof Cover Is Secured To Socket
You can read about how I install these accessories here.
My experience with my builds is that as I break-in the motor I also will find various issues I have to fix and adjustments I need to make. This is the log of what I did for the first 600 miles riding the bike during the break-in and shake down period.
When I got the 1983 R100RS, aka “Cookie Monster”, the seat cover had a tear in it. Since it’s over 35 years old with 83,000+ miles it’s time to get it recovered. If I’m going to do that, I might as well get it reupholstered so it’s a custom fit for me and my wife.
Original Seat Cover Has A Tear And Maybe Water Damage To The Foam
I’ve heard good things about a local company, Bitchn Stitchn, in metro-Denver, Colorado, who rebuilds and makes custom seats. Dan Ballard and Paul Brown were there when I dropped by with my seat. I talked about the style I wanted and we set an appointment for me to come with the bike and seat so they can do the fitting.
The fitting process took about three hours and the final result is awesome. I highly recommend them.
Finished Seat And Seat Back Mounted On Cookie Monster
Finished Seat And Seat Back Mounted On Cookie Monster
Finished Seat Has A More Comfortable Shape With Better Leg Support
Finished Seat Back And Rear Luggage Rack
Here is a bit longer article showing the work in progress.
I restarted the project on March 1, 2019 after acquiring this bike in January 2015. My 1977 R100RS rebuild project halted work on this bike as I wanted to complete the 1977 RS in time to attend the 40th anniversary rally hosted by Todd Trumbore. I finished assembling this bike on September 30, 2020, so the build took about 18 months to complete.
I did a 10 mile ride as part of the first engine start before completing the project. It’s now early October and I’ve ridden the bike 200 miles as I break it in. One of the first trips was to get coffee with some “scooter scum” friends of mine. It’s a public unveiling, if you will.
1983 R100RS Public Unveiling At Our First Coffee Shop Ride
I like to name the bikes after Muppet characters based on the bike color. I mount a Muppet figure on the bike so there is someone to talk to on long trips. And, if they talk back, it’s time to stop for the day and take a rest. 🙂
A little over a year ago, I sold my R1150RS that I put 110,000 miles on. It was named Cookie Monster. So I’m naming this bike Cookie Monster Too, and transferred the figure to the top of the master cylinder.
Cookie Monster Too: 1983 R100RS/RT
Cookie Monster: 1983 R100RS
This document shows a number of before and after pictures of the bike and includes a list of those people and companies who helped provide advice, services and parts without which I could not have completed the project.
