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Makotosun

1975 Yamaha Enduro 175 6v to 12v conversion questions/confusions/problems

  • MarkT
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Replied by MarkT on topic 1975 Yamaha Enduro 175 6v to 12v conversion questions/confusions/problems


RT180 was street legal in the rest of the world... Probably called a DT175 or DT180. Yamaha used a ballast resistor to simulate the load of the lights (to avoid overloading the regulator) and kept the low oil warning light system intact and working.

I have collected everything from the street legal version but the factory turn signals and horn to convert my RT180 to street legal use... even found the factory metal "under fender" to support the plastic fender when the taillight is added. Yay2

As far as what you're describing from the old forum... Search here for "headlight" posts by user pntrbl or Hammer. Both successfully converted the AC circuit on their 360's to run a 12v headlight and left the battery part 6v...same thing Socaldad did I think.

P.S. 12v AT125 was a generator and not a magneto... no way to swap coils.
1963 YG1-T, 1965 MG1-T, Allstate 250, 1970 CT1b, 1971 R5, 1973 AT3MX, 1974 TS400L, 1975 RD350, 1976 DT175C, 1976 Husqvarna 250CR, 1981 DT175G, 1988 DT50, 1990 "Super" DT50, 1991 RT180, 2017 XT250
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04 Apr 2020 22:00 #21

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Replied by Yamahamadingdong on topic 1975 Yamaha Enduro 175 6v to 12v conversion questions/confusions/problems

What service bulletin? I'm the 3rd or 4th owner of the bike. I wasn't even alive when it came out! I couldn't find anything 6V blinker related that looked like it would at least kind of fit the aesthetic of the bike.

It is an 87 watt light. The trouble I'm having is seeing how to get the headlight to be part of the "off the battery" system.
It's a regulator/rectifier combo unit. It's the one talked about here: yamahaclub.com/forums/topic/25945-dt-175...t-conversion/?page=2


Oh. I DO need a 2 wire flasher (the one with two tab terminals at right angles)? I had that and returned it today in favor of the 3 prong one after I saw that the flasher in the bike had the 3 wires. I need to use a 2 prong one, and just ground it somewhere else?
04 Apr 2020 22:05 #22

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Replied by EJRONAN on topic 1975 Yamaha Enduro 175 6v to 12v conversion questions/confusions/problems

i beleve what he was saying is the 3 wire one has a 3rd wire for ground where as the 2 wire grounds thru the frame
Last edit: 04 Apr 2020 22:22 by EJRONAN.
04 Apr 2020 22:21 #23

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Replied by Yamahamadingdong on topic 1975 Yamaha Enduro 175 6v to 12v conversion questions/confusions/problems

The flasher in my 175 has 3 wires, so I assumed I should be using the 3 prong flasher unit to match everything up. Is that not the case?
04 Apr 2020 22:28 #24

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Replied by MarkT on topic 1975 Yamaha Enduro 175 6v to 12v conversion questions/confusions/problems

Service bulletin is in the Tech Library here or Alan will probably be along to post a PDF copy here.

A 1975 175 stator might put out 60 watts total? (and that's being optimistic) So your headlight is a bit much... battery is going to go dead as you ride.

That Honda Cub conversion was done on a later model with an "always on" headlight that came with a factory 6v regulator. Your wiring would be a little different.

He's still running the headlight off AC power. That may or may not work with your LED. I've found LED bulbs that work on the AC headlight circuit but they don't last long. And with 87 watts of headlight nothing short of the Powerdynamo/VAPE system is likely to work well for you.

Sorry... but that's the reality.
1963 YG1-T, 1965 MG1-T, Allstate 250, 1970 CT1b, 1971 R5, 1973 AT3MX, 1974 TS400L, 1975 RD350, 1976 DT175C, 1976 Husqvarna 250CR, 1981 DT175G, 1988 DT50, 1990 "Super" DT50, 1991 RT180, 2017 XT250
04 Apr 2020 22:29 #25

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Replied by Yamahamadingdong on topic 1975 Yamaha Enduro 175 6v to 12v conversion questions/confusions/problems

Ah, I found it. Didn't know those were there.
I made the mistake of thinking the LED one would draw less power.

I didn't realize the difference between the two in terms of the headlight but started to assume this wasn't going as planned once the lack of a regulator was apparent.

I could always shelve the headlight for another bike or day, or see if I can return it somehow, and swap back after finding a 6V headlight. If you have a lead on good 6V blinkers, I can also just go that route and wire the old horn back to the back and give up.

I looked around for 6V LED (or 6V anything really) and didn't have a great deal of luck.

or I could close my eyes and pull the trigger on that whole VAPE system if it's that great.

What does VAPE stand for?

I really just need the bike to be street legal so I don't get pulled over, and so I can go take the license test... they will notice the lack of street legalness and probably ticket me for riding it up there anyways.
04 Apr 2020 22:37 #26

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Replied by EJRONAN on topic 1975 Yamaha Enduro 175 6v to 12v conversion questions/confusions/problems


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Replied by MarkT on topic 1975 Yamaha Enduro 175 6v to 12v conversion questions/confusions/problems

Do you need front signals or just rear?

I'll look and see if I have anything and get back to you tomorrow... I probably have a OEM 6v regulator too...

If headlight is blown, with a little trouble you can install a common H4 reflector and use a 6v replaceable halogen bulb. Way cheaper in the long run and works great. If you want to try 12v, you can install a 12v bulb too. Even LED if you go with the VAPE system (which runs everything on DC)

I think Pobit on ebay and/or Vintage Spoke sell 6v sealed beams for $30 to $40... but been a while since I looked for one.

VAPE is a Czech company that made components for Powerdynamo, a German company. Edgar, the founder of Powerdynamo had a dream of making modern ignitions for ANY vintage bike... if you sent him what you needed, he would try to build it. Great man. When his health started to fail, he decided to sell his company to his main supplier, VAPE. They continue to sell the Powerdynamo line of ignitions... usually it's cheapest to buy from VAPE direct.
1963 YG1-T, 1965 MG1-T, Allstate 250, 1970 CT1b, 1971 R5, 1973 AT3MX, 1974 TS400L, 1975 RD350, 1976 DT175C, 1976 Husqvarna 250CR, 1981 DT175G, 1988 DT50, 1990 "Super" DT50, 1991 RT180, 2017 XT250
04 Apr 2020 22:54 #28

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Replied by Yamahamadingdong on topic 1975 Yamaha Enduro 175 6v to 12v conversion questions/confusions/problems

Yeah I have been hunting for chrome 6V ones with little luck.

I can put 12v bulbs in (or leave them all in right now), I think. As I've been told, they draw less power anyways so in the case of my gauges and such they might just be a little dimmer?

I am not sure what wiring a 12V led blinker setup to 6v is going to do. They might just be really weak.

It sounds like I could at the very least just wire this mess up and mimic the service manual's regulator instructions with this rectifier/regulator unit, so my big problem after doing all of this would just be that my headlight will be eating my battery and I'll be charging it every day.

The original 6V bulb I pulled out is really cruddy and you can't see any info on it. How many watts is a stock 6V bulb, or anything that won't kill my battery? If there is a similar wattage LED one, I can just switch.

I'm dumb and didn't think of that detail really and just got the blue one that matched the bike, lol.


I am just in need of rear ones. If I could've found the damn original looking chrome ones I would've just went that route, but had no luck.
Yeah the headlight is blown, and I have a feeling I'll blow many more because those flooded acid batteries always give me trouble and I'll end up frying 500$ worth of bulbs when I could've just paid to swap over. I planned to use this in the cold as well, but those batteries don't seem to really agree with cold weather.

Yeah I knew all that, I was just curious what VAPE stood for. I couldn't find anything, and only know of it being related to the e-cigarettes, which makes googling for VAPE systems a bit annoying sometimes!

I looked at those kits. It doesn't look awful, but it's definitely a new thing for me, and I have no tools for the job. It requires a puller, and a few other things it looks like.
Last edit: 04 Apr 2020 23:02 by Yamahamadingdong. Reason: combined posts!
04 Apr 2020 22:57 #29

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Replied by Papawhellie on topic 1975 Yamaha Enduro 175 6v to 12v conversion questions/confusions/problems

Any signal that you like that takes an 1157 bulb you can get them 6 or 12 volt.
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04 Apr 2020 23:21 #30

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