:help: I love my old battered easyrider Kymco 150 – but it has always had electrical problems. The wiring system is tangled and ancient; blowing headlight bulbs daily and my indicators, starter motor and brake lights died months ago. I am a complete hazard.
Mr Zhang, Roosevelt Road, Section 5, Number 27 (mentioned in the ‘recommended mechanics’ thread) has over the years added more dodgy wiring bypasses than I can remember – and whenever I ask him for a quote on re-wiring he looks at me like I am an idiot and quickly disappears. I’ve asked a few other local mechanics if they would do it but they all have an excuse.
Other than the wiring the bike runs smoothly and is 100% reliable. So, does anyone know what the big problem is with getting a bike re-wired and how much it might cost when I find someone who is prepared to do it?
I supouse this bike has spare parts like anny else and you can buy a finished electrical system from a spear part dealership and just unplug the old one from it’s sockets and plug in the new one.
[quote=“Stian”]You can do it yourself in 5 minutes.
I supouse this bike has spare parts like anny else and you can buy a finished electrical system from a spear part dealership and just unplug the old one from it’s sockets and plug in the new one.[/quote]Yep. A complete wiring harness direct from Kymco would be somewhere around NT$1000 IIRC. This is the problem. The mechanics know that you know it’s a cheap part, but they can’t charge you enough for labor either. It’s the same problem trying to get them to replace swingarm bushings or steering bearings. Hours of fiddly work, no payoff. The upside is that Kymco will 100% sure have one in stock.
Changing the whole thing will take a bit more than 5 minutes, maybe a couple of hours if you’re okay spinning a wrench by yourself. Just be patient and budget a bit more time and it’s a low stress job. Just be sure the harness does not come into contact with suspension or driveline parts, or hot engine / exhaust parts on it’s journey from one end of the bike to the other. Take a little extra time to scrape or sand the grounding points to bare metal. Be sure that the harness doesn’t get pulled tight as you turn the handlebars from lock to lock. Once you’re finished be sure the brakes still work normally and the throttle still snaps closed by itself, again from lock to lock.
Wiring harnesses usually get messed up in the fork area by chafing on the frame or being stretched after being routed improperly. Another issue is battery emissions since the mechanics here never seem to bother connecting the vent hoses to the batteries and then the acid vapors destroy the harness where it passes by, and all sorts of other components. Then there are the ‘modifications’ they like to do to add bigger horns, sirens, flashing xmas lights and all the other bullshit parts they can think of.
[quote=“Northwood”]Any ideas where the Kymco spare part depot is?[/quote]They don’t advertise. I guess they are trying to protect their affiliates by not having to quote prices on parts to Joe Public…
You could try asking the mechanic that doesn’t want the job, maybe he would tell you. Most mechanics obviously don’t want to reveal where they buy all their parts… It took me both time and sneak tactics to find my local spares outlet, but they serve everyone. Be prepared for some funny looks as you queue with all the ‘black hands’!
