bare bones wiring

[JSharpPhoto]

Ideally, i'd only have the following things wired

1. Ignition (obviously)
2. Headlight
3. Brake light/tail light
4. Maybe a speedo/neutral light

no horn, no eStart, simple simple. I might even ditch the switch for the headlight so it's running whenever the bike is.

[mike horvath]

If I'm not mistaken, the horn is (at least in Calif.) required by law. Best to check your state vehicle code for motorcycles, then make your decision.

[JSharpPhoto]

If I'm not mistaken, the horn is (at least in Calif.) required by law. Best to check your state vehicle code for motorcycles, then make your decision.

i'm not in california. In Texas, we have this thing called "antique vehicle registration"

if it's 25+ years old....

no inspection
no emissions tests
and our $50 registration lasts for 5 years

[jleewebb]

antique registration carries significant restrictions:

Sec. 504.502. CERTAIN EXHIBITION VEHICLES; OFFENSE. (a) The department shall issue specialty license plates for a passenger car, truck, motorcycle, or former military vehicle that:(1) is at least 25 years old, if the vehicle is a passenger car, truck, or motorcycle;(2) is a collector's item;(3) is used exclusively for exhibitions, club activities, parades, and other functions of public interest and is not used for regular transportation; and(4) does not carry advertising.(b) The license plates must include the words "Antique Auto," "Antique Truck," "Antique Motorcycle," or "Military Vehicle," as appropriate.(c) A person eligible for the license plates may instead use license plates issued by this state in the same year as the model year of the vehicle and approved by the department, provided that a passenger car must bear passenger car or truck license plates and a truck must bear passenger car or truck license plates.

Enforcement probably varies with jurisdiction and individual LEOs. I have regular registration, insurance, inspection just to avoid possible hassles with speeding ticket that's bound to come eventually.

[mike in idaho]

You need to have an operating horn to legally license the bike for highyway use. Use a six pole double throw switch in the head light, off in the center, ignition on one way and ignition with lights the other way. Run your switched ignition power wire from the toggle switch to the brake light switch with a wire spliced in under the tank to feed the coils and the horn. Running a wire from the hot side of the brake light switch, along with the brake light wire, to the tail light would eliminate the need to run a tail light wire to the headlight shell.

[JSharpPhoto]

antique registration carries significant restrictions:

Sec. 504.502. CERTAIN EXHIBITION VEHICLES; OFFENSE. (a) The department shall issue specialty license plates for a passenger car, truck, motorcycle, or former military vehicle that:(1) is at least 25 years old, if the vehicle is a passenger car, truck, or motorcycle;(2) is a collector's item;(3) is used exclusively for exhibitions, club activities, parades, and other functions of public interest and is not used for regular transportation; and(4) does not carry advertising.(b) The license plates must include the words "Antique Auto," "Antique Truck," "Antique Motorcycle," or "Military Vehicle," as appropriate.(c) A person eligible for the license plates may instead use license plates issued by this state in the same year as the model year of the vehicle and approved by the department, provided that a passenger car must bear passenger car or truck license plates and a truck must bear passenger car or truck license plates.

Enforcement probably varies with jurisdiction and individual LEOs. I have regular registration, insurance, inspection just to avoid possible hassles with speeding ticket that's bound to come eventually.

I know what the law says. I have 3 vintage vespas, all registered as antiques. Everyone in our vespa club registers them as antiques. Do you actually think the average police officers know the code that well? No. As long as you're wearing a helmet and reasonably obeying the law, you'll be fine. In dallas, at least.

Besides... what happens if you let a vintage (or any carb'd) vehicle sit without use? The fuel system needs to be repaired. That being said, any riding you do can be considered "routine maintenance". You can always just say you're on your way to the shop, or to a club event.

Back to the original question, which seems to be answered... yes, you can run minimal wiring.