- Electrical Repair Products for Japanese Motorcycles from the 1950's Through the 1980's -
- A small example of our products -
Welcome to Vintage Connections, your Internet resource for high quality OEM-style bullet/socket electrical terminals, molded nylon block connectors, insulating sleeves, installation tools, grommets, and sleeving for restoring the wiring harnesses of vintage Japanese motorcycles from the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's!
If you like what you see here, ordering information is provided toward the bottom of this page, or use one of the Express Links that are provided immediately below. We pride ourselves on quality products, excellent customer service, and rapid shipping. Thanks for dropping by to check us out!
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- An Important Note Regarding the Pricing and Availability of Vintage Connections Products -
If you follow the business news on TV or radio, you should be aware that the U.S. Dollar continues its seemingly relentless plunge against all major foreign currencies, including the Japanese Yen.
At the same time, anything created from crude oil, continues to inflate in price as the price of crude rises. The plastics used to create our connector shells, sleeving, kit boxes, packaging materials, etc., are all affected by these rapid and reasonably major commodity price increases.
As we make bulk semi-annual wholesale orders of goods from our overseas suppliers, we often get hit with major wholesale price increases, plus our shipping cost increases due to more costly jet fuel. We're doing our best to hold the line against retail price increases and to keep our full product line available. However, please be patient with the need to increase our retail pricing from time to time, or to drop a slow-moving item. We'd rather increase pricing a little bit, here and there, than to wait a year and have to raise a price by 25% or more.
Thank you for your understanding of this situation!
Express
Links
(Select a link to bypass the main page)
Domestic and Foreign Ordering Instructions
Order Page Connector Kits Grommet Kits Mail Order Page Harness Sleeving
Die-Sets Master Parts Listing Print Mail Order Form Order Loose Connectors Get Our Mailing Address
Many customers have asked for us to provide a smaller inner diameter of both our silver-gray and gloss black sleeving, for use in rewiring handlebar controls. We've just added to our Master Parts Listing some 4mm silver-gray sleeving and some 6mm gloss black sleeving. These are essentially the smallest inner diameters of sleeving that still allow the insertion of more than one wire. So, these are the smallest I.D.'s of sleeving that we will offer.
Vintage Connections: It's Your Source for Cool Hard-to-Get Stuff!
Scotch Super 33+ Professional Electrical Tape
Many customers have asked for us to provide a high-quality black electrical tape for use with our new high-gloss black sleeving. So, we're adding this 3M professional-grade, stretchy, black vinyl electrical tape to our inventory.
You'll find this new electrical tape (p/n STP) by scrolling down to near the bottom of our Mail Order Page.
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Factory OEM-Style Soft High-Gloss Black Harness Sleeving
You've asked for it since Day One and we've been trying to source it for the four years we've been in business. We finally found it right here in our own backyard in the San Francisco Bay Area. This stuff is as glossy as a waxed black lacquer paint job on a Honda Superhawk gas tank! It's a perfect replacement for that weathered and sun-hardened sleeving on your Japanese machine.
You'll find this new sleeving by going to our Metric Harness Sleeving Page, or to near the bottom of our Mail Order Page.
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A Reasonably Priced Terminal Extraction Tool for Multi-Pin Connector Shells
After a whole lot of searching, we've finally located a reasonably priced terminal-extraction tool to ease the task of removing both 2.8mm and 6.3mm spade terminals from the molded nylon shells they're installed in. In the photo below, the tips used for removing those two sizes of terminals are shown at the Noon and 2 o'clock positions. While this tool is designed for use with the electrical connectors on General Motors cars, it works perfectly with either size of our locking spade terminals and it costs about 20% as much as you'd have to pay to buy two separate dedicated screwdriver-type extraction tools at well over $20 each: one for a 2.8mm spade and a second one for a 6.3mm spade.
Our retail price for this tool is $15 and you can order it as our part number ETL. You'll find it by clicking on the following link and scrolling down toward the bottom of our Mail Order Page.
OEM Quality Silver-Gray Electrical Tape to Color Match Our Silver-Gray Sleeving
You've asked for
it! This is a faithful
reproduction of the original factory silver-gray tape used in early Honda wiring
harnesses. It's custom manufactured for us in Asia to color match our silver-gray
electrical sleeving! Scroll down for further details.
Click
Here to order (part number DTP)!
Supplemental Die-Sets for Our RTL Crimping Tool
You asked for a
selection of die-sets to expand the usefulness of your crimping tool and we have
them! You can now change the standard open-barrel modular die-set for our RTL
tool, to allow you to crimp brazed and butted barrel terminals, standard
insulated (red, blue, yellow) terminals, and miniature insulated (red, blue,
yellow) terminals.
Click
Here and scroll down to the Tools section to order part numbers DSB
through DSD. Or, you can order all three sets at a discount as part number DSE.
Terminals & Insulators (Bullet/Socket, M/F Spades, Eyelets, Nylon Block Connectors)
Our
professional-quality connector repair kits are based on OEM-style components for
the various styles of connectors that have been used on
Japanese cars, motorcycles, and stereo equipment, beginning in the 1950's.
The currently manufactured terminals and insulators that replace early parts actually are superior to the original parts. The terminals are tinned brass, rather than plain brass, providing a more reliable and corrosion resistant contact. The original insulating sleeves, which were fabricated from clear vinyl tubing, have been replaced with custom fitted pieces. They are molded from a chemically-stable clear soft plastic. These sleeves are very snug fitting, compared to the original insulators from the 60's. They serve to protect the connection inside of them from water, oil, dirt, and debris.
We also provide two different styles of molded nylon block connector kits. The first is based on 6.3mm wide M/F spade terminals and molded white nylon shells. This is the type of connector that was used from the mid 1970's to the present. Our other block connector kit is exact-match OEM parts that will interconnect perfectly with your 2.8mm M/F spade terminal based red, green, white, and black miniaturized shells in the factory harness.
We also offer male/female spade terminals in two different widths: 2.8mm and 6.3mm. The 6.3mm terminals are shown in the illustration at the left. These are the locking brass inserts that are used in molded plastic block connectors. That type of block connector is fitted in the electrical harnesses of newer Japanese road, cruising, and touring bikes.
The smaller 2.8mm male and female spade terminals are very similar in appearance and proportions. They fit into the miniaturized multi-pin connectors that are used on modern Japanese bikes. We offer our CK-5 connector kit for repairing these connectors. For more information and a digital photograph of this kit, scroll down to our Connector Kits section.
We sell packets of terminals/insulators as replacements for expended kit contents or for use with your own open-barrel crimping tool or Hero Electronics Connector Kit. For more details on pricing and quantities of individual terminals/insulators, click here.
Our New-and-Improved Ergonomic Ratcheting Crimp Tool
Makes Professional Crimping a Breeze!
Still only $35.00!
Even the highest quality terminal is no more reliable than the method that's used to attach it to the wire. We offer an industrial quality ergonomic hand tool that is the heart of our repair kits. The quality is phenomenal, yet it's reasonably priced. It's a dual crimp tool, meaning that it crimps both the conductor and strain relief (attachment to the insulation) in a single operation. It's a ratcheting tool, meaning that it's adjustable to deliver a uniform amount of force to each crimp compression, time and time again. It allows you to attach the terminals to your wiring with the same sort of precision that was typical from the factory, where it was done using compressed air-powered tools. With minimal practice, you'll be able to create crimp connections that will be equivalent in appearance, strength, and reliability to those that came on your factory wiring harness. And your friends will wonder why the terminals on your bike's 30 or 40 year old electrical harness look like new!
To order our RTL crimping tool, click here and scroll down to the Tools section.
Supplemental Die-Sets
We've added to our inventory three new supplemental die-sets to fit both our previous and our new RTL crimp tool. By simply changing the die-set with a Phillips screwdriver, you now can crimp Closed-Barrel (brazed or butted seam barrel) terminals, Standard insulated red/blue/yellow terminals, and Miniature insulated red/blue/yellow terminals.
For more details about the die sets, click here. To order one or more die-sets, click here and scroll down to the bottom of the order page.
$10.95 per set or all three sets for $27.95
Connector Kits
We offer professional-quality connector kits that include a selection of connectors and terminals in a compartmented storage case. Our CK-2, and CK-3 kits include our ratcheting crimping tool. Our connector kits are for bullet/socket terminals, eyelets, spades, and molded nylon block connectors. For more details regarding our connector kits, click here.
Our CK-5 connector kit that is shown to the left contains the multi-colored (black, white, red, and green) molded nylon block connectors that have been used on the wiring harnesses of virtually all contemporary models of Honda, Suzuki, and Kawasaki (but not Yamaha) for about the last decade.
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Metric Grommet Kit
We offer a metric grommet kit. This kit includes a selection of standard metric rubber grommets in a compartmented storage case. For more details regarding our grommet kit, click here.
Metric Harness Sleeving
We offer 6mm, 7mm, 11mm, and 14mm internal diameters of OEM-style soft high-gloss black PVC harness sleeving. For more details, click here.
We
offer 4mm (not shown), 6mm, 8mm, and 12mm internal diameters of soft shiny
silver-gray harness sleeving that is a precise reproduction of the type that was used on the early Japanese
imports into the U.S.
For
more details,
Our OEM-Quality electrical tape is a 25-meter roll of 19mm-wide, stretchy, silver-gray PVC tape that is an precise match for the silver-gray sleeving and the original factory electrical tape. It is modeled after the original tape used on Honda factory harnesses, and the harnesses of other manufacturers as well. For more details, click here.
Vintage Connections is strictly an Internet-based mail order business. We don't have a storefront operation in Fremont, so please don't drive to our UPS Store address in hopes of buying something over the counter. If you wish to do business with us, you either have to click on the following link to use the PayPal shopping cart system or print out the entire shopping cart page and fill it in by hand before submitting your order and payment by mail.
We realize that there are those potential customers who will find this situation inconvenient and perhaps even unacceptable. However, given the monthly sales volume of a small business like this one, and the high costs of simple day to day business survival here in the Silicon Valley, there is inadequate revenue stream from this business to spend thousands of dollars a month to rent commercial business space. And without having a commercial storefront operation, our bank will not grant us telephone credit card processing services. The other credit card processing services we've investigated charge high fees, are of questionable honesty, and may well transmit your sensitive personal financial information overseas while processing your purchase. We wouldn't want our financial information sent to Third World data processing centers and are confident that you will feel the same way.
Hopefully, you'll be happy enough to find the parts you need at reasonable prices that you'll be able to put up with our limitations.
How to Order
Placing Domestic Online Orders
U.S. purchasers can click on the following hyperlink to use our PayPal shopping cart system. This system allows you to make instant credit card purchases on this web site. Your shipping fees and any applicable California state sales tax will be calculated automatically by the shopping cart system. Any shipping fees that are charged that are $1.00 or more in excess of our actual shipping costs will be refunded by PayPal, at the time we ship your order. You will be notified by email of the shipping date and confirmation number (if any) of your order, provided that you give us an accurate email address.
Placing Domestic Postal Orders
We accept the following forms of payment by mail (please make them payable to Del Gundlach):
- - Money orders
- - Bank drafts from well-known banks
- - Personal checks (shipment for new customers may be delayed while the check clears our bank)
- - No cash payments by mail, please! We cannot, and will not, be held responsible for cash payments that are either stolen by postal employees or are lost in the mail.
If you prefer to order by mail, click here for a printer-friendly mail order form. Once you fill out the form by hand, mail it with your payment by money order or personal check to the address that is provided on the ordering page.
Placing Foreign Online Orders
Foreign purchasers should click on the following hyperlink to use our PayPal shopping cart system.
The system will calculate the international shipping charges automatically, after you enter an international address. If the fees you pay are $1 USD or greater than our actual shipping costs, we will refund the difference to you through PayPal. We will ship your order promptly, generally within one business day of our receipt of a payment verification for our PayPal invoice.Please note that we do NOT charge "handling" fees or extra fees for completing international postal forms and customs forms. All you pay for is the actual shipping cost of your order.
Sorry, but due to too many "Looky Lous" who request us to mock up a large order, calculate exact shipping fees, and then never actually place the order, we no longer will mock up orders. The shipping fee that our PayPal shopping cart calculates is the fee that you pay. If you don't like the shipping charges that PayPal calculates for the order you enter, close your browser and the order never is processed by PayPal.
Please bear in mind that international shipping is very expensive. The fee we charge is our actual wholesale cost for packaging materials and the actual postage by USPS International First Class mail service. We have zero pull with the USPS... if you think what they charge to ship a package to you is too high, then don't order.
Placing Foreign Postal Orders
International mail orders are welcomed, with payment accepted by Western Union BidPay, or international money orders, postal money orders in USD, or bank drafts in USD (Please DO NOT send cash. We
cannot and will not be held responsible for cash payments lost in the mail on their way to us from overseas!).We already have sold numerous kits into most of the European countries, Canada, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, and Japan. We can accept orders from most foreign countries, but shipment to certain of these countries will only be made at the customer's added expense by insured USPS Global Priority or Global Express mail, due to past problems with theft of shipments by criminals working in the postal system of that country. At present, this policy applies to France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and any Central American or South American country. We reserve the right to change this shipping policy at any time, with no advance notice.
If you prefer to order by mail, click here for a printer-friendly mail order form. You can email us by clicking on the e-mailbox graphic below to get the cost of shipping for a foreign postal order, once you know what you wish to order. Once you fill out the form by hand, mail it with your payment by international postal money order in USD (made payable to Del Gundlach) to the address that is provided on the ordering page.
Click on our e-mailbox to email us!
Need More Info?
If you have questions remaining, after reviewing this page of information, feel free to click on our e-mailbox graphic above and send us your inquiry. You should also use this same email contact, if you need shipping fees for some country other than those listed above.
CRUCIAL NOTE: If you email us for information, you need to add vintageconnections.com to your list of accepted incoming email sources. We can't send you information if your email spam filter blocks our reply. This is particularly true for Earthlink users. It's really frustrating to take the time to provide a detailed answer to someone's question and then have their spam filter reject it!
Links to Other Useful Resources for Vintage Japanese Bikes
Here are hyperlinks to some other useful Internet mail order resources for the restoration of older Japanese bikes.
- High quality OEM-style oval-head screw kits for Japanese
restorations:
Rimfire Engineering
- The best resource for a wide variety of colors, stripes, and gauges of
high-quality harness wire:
British Wiring
- Great source for new and reproduction parts
for vintage small displacement Japanese bikes:
Re-MX, Inc.
- Great source of parts and and high-quality services for Honda CT-Series trail bikes: CT Trailbikes.com
- Great reference for photos and details of over 40 years of Honda motorcycles: Honda Gallery
- The best online discussion group for restoring Kawasaki triple-cylinder motorcycles: Kawasaki Triples Worldwide Forum
- Superb online discussion group for restoring classic Yamaha enduro motorcycles: Yamaha Enduro
- A great source for reasonably priced
NOS and high quality reproduction vintage-Honda parts:
Retrobikes
-
The definitive organization for restorers of old Japanese
motorcycles:
Vintage
Japanese Motorcycle Club
- Innovative parts
for the Yamaha V-Max:
Quality Parts Online
- Superb,
reasonably priced, easily installed brakelight modulators for better visibility on
older bikes:
Vizi-Tec, Inc.
-
Vintage Connections -
40087 Mission Boulevard, Unit 212
Fremont, CA 94539
Entire
site design and contents © 2007-2008 by Del Gundlach
Copyright violators will be aggressively prosecuted.
This site last updated on April 27, 2008
Our Privacy Policy
As a California-based web site, we provide the following privacy information to our website visitors and customers.
This site collects only such personal information as is required for the fulfillment and shipment of orders. That information is strictly limited to: (1) the email address of the customer and (2) the customer's shipping address. The customer's email address is retained only long enough to serve as a means of obtaining missing or incorrect information that might be required for the timely completion of an order. The customer's shipping address is retained on our encrypted computer system by our online postal software (through Stamps.com), to simplify the process of completing subsequent orders for merchandise. Neither a customer's email address or his/her postal address is shared with any other private or business entity. We value our own private information and treat that of our customers with equal respect. We do not believe in, or practice, unsolicited mailing campaigns, either using email or postal mail.
For information about how PayPal might use the information that is collected during the completion of an order on our site, using our PayPal Shopping Cart System, please visit the PayPal web site by clicking here.