Revised 8-6-2019
The GL500 and GL650 Silverwing motorcycles use a 30 Amp fusible link for the main fuse. This fusible link often becomes brittle with age and will sometimes develop a hairline fracture. When this happens, the engine will cut out and run erratically as the connection is made and broken due to vibration. The problem is often mistakenly diagnosed as a carburetion issue as the symptoms can be similar. To further complicate troubleshooting, the fracture may be so small that it is overlooked during a simple visual inspection; a slight push on the fusible link will reveal if it is broken, though.
As this is the main fuse, if it becomes completely open the bike's electrical power will appear to be completely dead.
The fusible link is located inside this plastic cover, which is an integral
part of the starter solenoid. This connector must be removed to open the cover.
The yellow arrow points to the fusible link.
A popular modification is to replace the fusible link with a modern automotive ATC or ATO blade fuse and fuseholder. Several variations of this basic idea exist; my implementation is described below.
An ATC blade fuse, waterproof high current fuseholder, ring wire terminals,
and heat shrink tubing are shown below.
The new main fuse assembly was fabricated as shown.
The fusible link was removed and the new main fuse assembly was connected in
its place. The folding cover was trimmed at the locations shown by the arrows
to allow the wires to exit.
The new main fuse assembly was held in place with a couple of black plastic
wire ties.
The main fuse assembly should have some form of support; it should not simply be left hanging by the wires. Otherwise the wires will flex under normal vibration and may eventually break, possibly at a very inconvenient time.