Motorcycle Repair: Electrical Problem, honda xl500r, regulator rectifier

Question
Hi, I have a 1982 Honda XL500R with very low miles. The bike was stored inside a garage and drained of all fluids and ran very good the last time I rode it which was about 8 years ago. I got reinterested in a last year and started to retore it. Anyway after trying tuning it up and trying to restart it I am unable to get a spark at the plug. I did as the motors manual suggest and started to check and replace the electrical parts. I first unwrapped and checked the electrical wires to see if any of them were damaged and they all checked out, I then replaced the ignition switch, kill switch, coil and wire, pulse generator, CDI, regulator, rectifier, and the battery. I have not replaced the alternator as my meter shows it to be inside the operating range per the manual. I asked a local motorcycle mechanic to verify that the alternator was within the specs and he came over and also agreed that it seemed ok but I still have no spark, can you help?

Thanks, Ray

Answer
Raymond...

Here is a Honda OEM manual page section with troubleshooting steps.

http://www.hondaxl.it/download/Manuali/76_89_HondaXL400R_XL500R.pdf

I worked on a bike like this some months ago and found some broken wire strands in the harness running between the front of the frame up to the ignition switch/kill switch. If you have the wires open from the harness sheath, pull on the wires in 6" sections and run your fingers across the wire sections, feeling for a weakness or depression in the wires. I found 3-4 wires like this in a harness connection length.

Bill Silver