Orange warning light on rev counter dial?

[oilyrag]

Hello...
1980 R65... on the rev counter there is an orange warning light (near the 10000 rev figure), mine has come on for short periods of time, even though the maximum revs have never gone above 4000 or so!

What is it linked to and what is it warning?

Thanks

[thrang]

the top two warning lights on the rev counter are generator on the left, and oil on the right.

[Mr_Smart]

From memory I believe it`s an engine overspeed warning LED.
Difficult to imagine why it came on at such low RPM`s.....?

[Justin B.]

I have had ours blink with a grounding problem, I think someone else here also recently went through the same thing...

[oilyrag]

>From memory I believe it`s an engine overspeed warning LED.
>Difficult to imagine why it came on at such low RPM`s.....?


Well the bike has been off the road since 1982, so electrical glitches like this are to be expected.

After I posted my initial question I came across the earlier thread about the same problem. I will have a look at the wiring and clean up any ground points and connections that seem suspect. There is no danger of me over revving this bike, at 27 years of age it needs care and consideration if it is to last a few more years!

Thanks

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Check your front coil mount (I'm pretty sure yours' has the two separate coils).  They are pretty much guaranteed to break at some point, and when it does you will loose your main ground contact for most of the wiring harness.

edit: I just saw that this bike was only on the road for two years before being hidden away in storage?
Incredible!  In that case, the mount is probably OK, but still take the precautions below.

You would do well to relocate this ground to something more permanant.  I drilled a hole through the plate that holds all of the connectors, sanded off the paint, and bolted the ground wire there, with some dialectric grease.

You should also run a ground wire from this point, to a handy location on the forks, to allow a direct path for the headlight and instruments.