VLX600 (what to remove)

[oVoPicasso]

It's getting there. Slowly but surely. Here's a quick before and after. Still intimidated by the wiring though. Hah.

[3rdcoastthumper]

I used this article to wire my vt500c. Worked very well:

Motorcycle Wiring 101
Now that you have the essentials, let’s get down to business.
It’s best to think of motorcycle wiring like a circle: Power leaves the battery from one terminal, passes through whatever will use that power (lights, horn, coil, whatever), and ends up back to the opposite terminal of the battery.
If that circle is ever broken, something won’t work. Here’s the basic step-by-step:
1. Connect the negative (-) terminal of the battery to a clean, bare metal part of the frame. Preferably this would be an engine mounting point. This makes the entire frame a grounding point so every light or accessory can be grounded anywhere on the frame to complete the circle of our electric circuit. On a kickstart only bike, this can be the same size as the other wires (14-16 gauge). If using electric start, it must be much thicker (4-6 gauge).
2. Connect the positive (+) terminal to an inline fuse holder. I prefer the newer blade style over the old glass tubes, and use between 20- to 30-amp fuses.
3. From the fuse holder, we’re running a wire to your ignition switch. It can be a keyed switch or just a toggle if you’re going to hide it somewhere discreet. Either way I recommend something that will handle at least 30 amps as all power to your electrical system is running through it.
4. Now that we have a way turn the power on and off, I like to run one power wire from the front of the bike to back. I call it the backbone. Every powered accessory will tap into this wire. In this case, start with the remaining wire from ignition switch and attach it to the backbone wire.
5. Attach the hot wire from the headlight to the backbone wire and ground the other wire to the frame. Do the same with the taillight.
6. Your front and rear brake light switches each have two wires. Attach one wire to the backbone wire and the other one to the third wire on your taillight (brake light wire).
7. Your coils should have two small input wires (in most cases). Attach one from each (if you have more than one coil) to the backbone wire. The remaining wire connects to your points or chosen electronic ignition. The thick wire with the cap goes to the spark plug—but you already know that, right?
8. If you’re using electric start, connect one of the lugs of your starter solenoid to the positive (+) battery terminal with a 4-6 gauge wire. The other lug connects to the thick wire going to the starter. You also have two small wires or connector tabs on the solenoid. Connect one of these to the backbone wire and the other to your starter switch. Ground the other side of your starter switch to the frame if not already grounded through the handlebars.
9. Now for the charging system. Your new regulator/rectifier should have 3 yellow input wires. Connect these to the wires coming out of the stator (usually from the left side of the engine and the order doesn’t matter). Connect the Red wire from the reg/rec to the positive (+) battery terminal and the green wire to the negative (-) terminal.
Some bikes, like CB750s, will have an additional white field coil wire bundled with the yellow stator wires. On bikes like this, the reg/rec will have additional wires that connect to the field coil wire and powered backbone wire. Be sure to check the instructions that came with your unit.
10. That’s it! Turn the key, hit the starter button, and enjoy the sweet sound of success. You just rewired your bike!
Since this is just a basic system to get the bike running, I’ve left out things like turn signals, horn, and indicator lights. If you’d like to install these as well, just follow the same formula, power from the backbone wire, through your switch, and out to your light or accessory.
Lastly, you can wrap up your wiring masterpiece however you see fit. I like heatshrink tubing, but many people prefer to wrap using electrical tape or plastic wire looms.
Just remember to keep the wires secure and away from any sharp edges or heat sources. Broken or melted wires are the most common source of electrical failure I see.

[oVoPicasso]

I used this article to wire my vt500c. Worked very well:

Motorcycle Wiring 101
Now that you have the essentials, let’s get down to business.
It’s best to think of motorcycle wiring like a circle: Power leaves the battery from one terminal, passes through whatever will use that power (lights, horn, coil, whatever), and ends up back to the opposite terminal of the battery.
If that circle is ever broken, something won’t work. Here’s the basic step-by-step:
1. Connect the negative (-) terminal of the battery to a clean, bare metal part of the frame. Preferably this would be an engine mounting point. This makes the entire frame a grounding point so every light or accessory can be grounded anywhere on the frame to complete the circle of our electric circuit. On a kickstart only bike, this can be the same size as the other wires (14-16 gauge). If using electric start, it must be much thicker (4-6 gauge).
2. Connect the positive (+) terminal to an inline fuse holder. I prefer the newer blade style over the old glass tubes, and use between 20- to 30-amp fuses.
3. From the fuse holder, we’re running a wire to your ignition switch. It can be a keyed switch or just a toggle if you’re going to hide it somewhere discreet. Either way I recommend something that will handle at least 30 amps as all power to your electrical system is running through it.
4. Now that we have a way turn the power on and off, I like to run one power wire from the front of the bike to back. I call it the backbone. Every powered accessory will tap into this wire. In this case, start with the remaining wire from ignition switch and attach it to the backbone wire.
5. Attach the hot wire from the headlight to the backbone wire and ground the other wire to the frame. Do the same with the taillight.
6. Your front and rear brake light switches each have two wires. Attach one wire to the backbone wire and the other one to the third wire on your taillight (brake light wire).
7. Your coils should have two small input wires (in most cases). Attach one from each (if you have more than one coil) to the backbone wire. The remaining wire connects to your points or chosen electronic ignition. The thick wire with the cap goes to the spark plug—but you already know that, right?
8. If you’re using electric start, connect one of the lugs of your starter solenoid to the positive (+) battery terminal with a 4-6 gauge wire. The other lug connects to the thick wire going to the starter. You also have two small wires or connector tabs on the solenoid. Connect one of these to the backbone wire and the other to your starter switch. Ground the other side of your starter switch to the frame if not already grounded through the handlebars.
9. Now for the charging system. Your new regulator/rectifier should have 3 yellow input wires. Connect these to the wires coming out of the stator (usually from the left side of the engine and the order doesn’t matter). Connect the Red wire from the reg/rec to the positive (+) battery terminal and the green wire to the negative (-) terminal.
Some bikes, like CB750s, will have an additional white field coil wire bundled with the yellow stator wires. On bikes like this, the reg/rec will have additional wires that connect to the field coil wire and powered backbone wire. Be sure to check the instructions that came with your unit.
10. That’s it! Turn the key, hit the starter button, and enjoy the sweet sound of success. You just rewired your bike!
Since this is just a basic system to get the bike running, I’ve left out things like turn signals, horn, and indicator lights. If you’d like to install these as well, just follow the same formula, power from the backbone wire, through your switch, and out to your light or accessory.
Lastly, you can wrap up your wiring masterpiece however you see fit. I like heatshrink tubing, but many people prefer to wrap using electrical tape or plastic wire looms.
Just remember to keep the wires secure and away from any sharp edges or heat sources. Broken or melted wires are the most common source of electrical failure I see.

Oh man, good looking article but after reading through... Still feeling like re-wiring this bike is beyond me. Done all the work myself up till now. May have to pay someone to rewire though hah.

[oVoPicasso]

Woke up and re read this. It doesn't seem TOO hard. What gauge does the "backbone" wire need to be?

[3rdcoastthumper]

I used 12ga because I had extra lying around.

[mark83]

There's wiring diagrams in this site. Also, if you don't mind spending money, you can get an M-unit and rewire the bike. I don't know much about them, but from the videos I've seen they make wiring pretty easy while eliminating a few relays and crap. There's also a wiring kit you can buy for the unit. If you want to go it garage built, the wiring diagrams should do it. Just read a little on schematics so you get the symbols and shit. Then try, fuck up all weekend till it works. How I've learned what I know now which ain't jack shit.

[sdustin]

It's not hard at all really. I split the harness keep all the connectors you HAVE to have and get rid of the rest. Add in the headlight brake light and fan everything else you use the factory connectors. It is not nearly as hard as you think. And that m-unit is overpriced for something you can do all on your own with a dude block from orileys

[Mopar0422]

I honestly made this profile to say thank you for uploading this atricale. It is exactly what I needed to to wrap up my 2000 Honda Shadow vlx hard tail bobber.

Out of curiousity, how exactly did you splice your accessories to the back bone wire?

[farmall]

Study proper wire splicing here and on Youtube, and avoid common auto store splices and crimpers. You have some searching to do and its worth it. Build yourself a basic wiring kit and it will serve you for life on more than motorcycles.

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