How to do handlebar internal wiring
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Stage IV
Joined: Nov 2006
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How to do handlebar internal wiring
Can anyone tell me how to wir my handlebars internal without cutting my wiring? It is 2003 dyna superglide, I know how to drill bar. Someone said there was a switch under tank, but I followed wires from bar and they go through frame into the harness uner seat. Can anyone tell me how and maybe diagram.
jmaxx24indy@yahoo.com
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jmaxx24indy@yahoo.com
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Road Captain
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 631
Likes: 6
From: Indiana
RE: How to do handlebar internal wiring
Very easily but with a lot of patience.
Your wires go into the frame and just under the tank inside of the frame is a connector for each left and right wire harness. You need to unhook your harnesses and pull the wiring out through the neck hole. Then you disconnect your wires from the harness connector and run them through the bars. Then reconnect the wires to the connector and run them back into the neck and reconnect with the other side of the connector.
If you're getting taller bars you may need to get a wire extension kit. It's a simple plug and play kit. Novello makes different sizes in like 4, 8, 12, and 16 inch extensions. I used 12's when I installed ape hangers but probably could have easily went with 8's.
FYI it's easier to run the wires through the bar starting at the switch housing ends. In fact you never have to disconnect anything inside the housings at all.
Your wires go into the frame and just under the tank inside of the frame is a connector for each left and right wire harness. You need to unhook your harnesses and pull the wiring out through the neck hole. Then you disconnect your wires from the harness connector and run them through the bars. Then reconnect the wires to the connector and run them back into the neck and reconnect with the other side of the connector.
If you're getting taller bars you may need to get a wire extension kit. It's a simple plug and play kit. Novello makes different sizes in like 4, 8, 12, and 16 inch extensions. I used 12's when I installed ape hangers but probably could have easily went with 8's.
FYI it's easier to run the wires through the bar starting at the switch housing ends. In fact you never have to disconnect anything inside the housings at all.
Advanced
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 79
Likes: 1
From:
RE: How to do handlebar internal wiring
The hardest part about internal wiring if you are using stock bars is drilling the darn holes in them and filing the burrs off. Other than that just like the above post. You may have to loosen the tank to get to the wire loom in the frame. You'll have to take the wire leads out of each connector by disassembling the connector (remember where each wire went- the connector has each hole numbered) Unless you are using an oversized aftermarket bar, I found it easier to remove the protective sheath over the wires to fish them through the bars. Once the wires were through the bars, I reinstalled the sheath pushing it all the way back up to the control covers. Silicone lubricant works wonders. Set aside a good afternoon to do this. There is an excellent "How To Guide" in the do it yourself forum.
Road Master
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 881
Likes: 2
RE: How to do handlebar internal wiring
Why not cut them? Its idiot proof seriously all you have to do is remove the plastic panel under the backbome and you'll find 4 plugs all color coded simply twist tie them together so you can remember which side was which. Next lob them off you may want to cut them at differnent places as it prevents a bulge there. Add the wire again they are color coded so there no chance of a cross wire use some high quality wire and heat shrink wrap. Presto your almost done. Just a note you might want to put some more thought into drilling those bars. Ask around and I'll bet you can easily find some ppl who tried this and learned the hard way that the metal used to make stock bars isn't very friendly to the heat of drilling and the stress will cause them to break and bend. You can buy bars all dy long on ebay for under 100 bucks all pre drilled. Anyhow back to the instruction get yourself a long peice of bailers twine or maybe some fencing wire. Connect it to your extended wiring bundle and feed it down through your bars. A dental pick will be very handy to have standing by to fish out your lead. Work them through its gonna take some pulling so don't be shy. AAlso what I like to do is take a peice of the old wire cover and slide the wires through it in order to help them wires go through the hole without f'ing them all up. when you get them through reconnect yourplugs and reinstall. I wired my new apes in about 1.5 and 3 beer lol with my 5 year old son "helping". or you can buy this wiring extension for like 50 bucks f around trying to get all the pins out of the old plug and then into the new plug. I dunno about you but thats a huge pain in the a**. Anyhow good luck
Road Warrior
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,346
Likes: 3
From: Texarkana, TX
RE: How to do handlebar internal wiring
I cut, splice and solder and then use heat shrink on each wire and then use a large piece over the area of the harness that i cut into. If its good enough for all those big name guys building those bikes valued at over 6 figures then its good enough for my bike. Screw all that extra hassle of pulling the harness lose and then removing the connector pins from the plug without screwing one of them up.
John
John
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Tourer
Joined: Jun 2006
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RE: How to do handlebar internal wiring
One additional tip, don't know if I read it here or somewhere else. I just did the internal wiring and if you cover all the holes including the bar ends with masking tape. Take the tape off the two holes you will run the wire through. Use a vacuum cleaner to suck a string through the bars, attach the wire to the string, and pull it through. It went real quick doing it that way.
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Road Captain
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 593
Likes: 0
From: Central IL
RE: How to do handlebar internal wiring
Here is a link to my successful experience going from low bars to mini-apes without adding any extra wire or splicing/cutting anything.
Evolved to the Apes
Evolved to the Apes
Road Captain
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 591
Likes: 1
From: Land O'Lakes, FL
RE: How to do handlebar internal wiring
Don't even think about doing this project without buying the service manual. This is just opinion, but it is the opinion of someone that has rewired internally, and then later I replaced the entire front end and had to rewire again including headlight and blinkers.
I've had every type of connector on the bike disassembled (including that big ECM connector) multiple times. With the details in the manual about the different type of connectors it is easy to take them apart. And I don't have any special tools either, just a paper clip usually. Any splice is just another potential point of failure later. It's not some kind of "sin" but I just don't think it is worth it.
That manual will also tell you for certain where the connectors are and what type of connector for each bundle. It will also tell you wire colors so you will always know for sure you are dealing with the right connectors.
The vacuum and string trick is a good one for getting the wires through the bars. The newer Dynas have those connectors under the neck and tank area. The manual will tell you for sure where they are. But if they really are under the seat, use the wires to pull a "puller" through the frame as you extract them. After you run them through the bars, you can use the puller to get them back through the frame.
Kevin
I've had every type of connector on the bike disassembled (including that big ECM connector) multiple times. With the details in the manual about the different type of connectors it is easy to take them apart. And I don't have any special tools either, just a paper clip usually. Any splice is just another potential point of failure later. It's not some kind of "sin" but I just don't think it is worth it.
That manual will also tell you for certain where the connectors are and what type of connector for each bundle. It will also tell you wire colors so you will always know for sure you are dealing with the right connectors.
The vacuum and string trick is a good one for getting the wires through the bars. The newer Dynas have those connectors under the neck and tank area. The manual will tell you for sure where they are. But if they really are under the seat, use the wires to pull a "puller" through the frame as you extract them. After you run them through the bars, you can use the puller to get them back through the frame.
Kevin