Hey guys. I am new to Harleys but am still trying to rewire my 77 Sporty. All of the wires in the headlight bucket are either fried or broke so I bought a new set of wires for the job. My problem is, (heres the stupid part) I know there is a ground wire going to the forks but I cant seem to find anywhere that it would go from there. Does it go into the bucket somewhere or directly to the frame? Thanks for any responses.

 

I don't know all Harleys but I'm used to seeing the ground welded or riveted to the backside of the bucket and covered in some kind of rubbery goo. The bucket is bolted to the forks and, therefore, grounded through the frame to neg. If the whole inside of the bucket looks clean and no evidence of anything but a wiring harness access hole at the back, then your ground is dependent somewhere in the harness connection. If you have an isolated ground wire apart from a harness, then my opinion is to ground it anywhere that presents the cleanest appearance and allows for full front end movement without pinching, binding, or rubbing. The back of the headlight bucket is ideal.

 

Sounds good to me. Thanks for the reply. There is already a wire on the trees but the other end has been broken off. By the way, where would someone get the "rubbery goo" LOL. Sorry had to ask.

 

The purpose of this ground is to bypass the rubber mount in the riser assembly. The ground wire goes from the upper fork down to the left side riser bolt. Use a large ring terminal to attach the ground wire to that bolt. No gue necessary. The stock ground wire is bare, braided wire. I replaced mine with 12 gauge coated wire as that is what i had available.

 

Thanks Mick. Will give it a try. Like the no goo needed idea.

 

The goo is silicon caulk added to insulate the bare connection and seal the harness passthrough from weather. I agree it's not needed but feel it may help prevent a short from wear over the years. Mine also has been replaced with coated wire. I only have a '60 (no rubber in the riser) and a '96 to look at. There seems to be plenty of metal contact through the headlight mount/forks/steering head/and frame that the riser rubber shouldn't matter. But I've read a lot of IronMick's posts and believe he is very authoritative. Plus, if you see the old connection then your best bet is to find a way to re-connect to it. You could add a weather-proof wire connector for pennies at the auto store to splice the old to the new. Solder the male/female ends and the outer rubber covering seals out weather when you push them together. Good luck. Oh! If you turn it all on and something pops with smoke rising...you did it wrong.

 

Gotcha... smoke bad!!! Thanks guys