Wednesday 5 October 2011

Finding the right electrical schematics

You've got to have your wits about you in this game.  There is a lot of documentation about the Manurhin (for which I am very grateful) but I cant afford to make assumptions that I might have read it all carefully.

As much as I might try, I still haven't got my head completely round all the variants of DKW Hobby and Manurhin Scooter models and variants.  I get the sense that it was all a bit of a free-for-all at the Manurhin Scooter factory with everybody trying a little modification here and a redesign there, and in doing so the technical authors must have had a hell of a job trying to keep up with creating appropriate handbooks.

One example of a variant is the HT coil.  Some scooters have them, some don't.  Mine doesn't, but does that mean my scooter has a particular model number?

Wiring schematic for bike with mechanical 'clutch'
Another example - and the one thats been bugging me is the Beltomatic "electric safety device" clutch control.  Its ingenious no doubt, but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme nor reason as to what bikes had this style of clutch while others had the manually operated lever clutch device.
Note; I may have my facts all of a muddle here - I hold my hand up to that - but I will investigate further and try to create a time line of how and when models and variants came about.  However, just as an example of how messy all the terms are, I read the following in one brochure;

"Manurhin - The only scooter in The World with completely automatic transmission (Uher Beltomatic system) known as the "Variator"

My own scooter has the 'electric safety device' style of 'clutch' - which some brochures refer to as "Beltomatic Integral" - as introduced at the 1957-58 Motor show.
Although the original switch part was snapped off my engine when I bought it - I have since managed to buy a replacement, and as I get closer to wanting to start my engine I began to wonder about how this electrical switch is wired into the running circuit of the bike.... and this is where my assumptions have made a bit of a fool of me.

Wiring schematic for bike with 'electrical safety' clutch
I had been reading the Manurhin Scooter owners manual with great interest, but frustratingly couldn't find any reference to the 'electric safety device'.  The manual only talks about the mechanical lever type.
It never occurred to me that Manurhin in their wisdom might have produce exactly the same Manurhin Scooter owners manual BUT with just a couple of pages differing to cover this clutch difference..... there's not even a little reference number or identification on the alternative booklet to help a dealer know which manual is which.  Its a modern-day data-management nightmare!

It was only after plenty of scouring through the many different copies of manuals that I have (gratefully received from various other Manurhin owners) that I suddenly noticed - with great delight and relief - the differences in publications. [I hope I have made this clear now in the reproducing of the two different owner manuals on the Manurhin Scooter Interest Group website]

So I now have a wiring schematic for how the 'electrical safety switch' clutch control is wired in.  And it looks to me to be a simple case of grounding the LT to intermittently stall the engine and prevent it from revving too hard and thus engaging the belt drive.

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