Internal wiring is giving me hell
Road Master
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 821
Likes: 0
From: Nor Cal East Bay
When I had apes on my bike , I used a little dielectric lube on them and I had no issues getting them threw the sharp corners. Push and pull at the same time. Just takes some patients. Good luck.
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Cruiser
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 104
Likes: 0
I may just get this done quicker than I was expecting but no I was not going to mount them up until I have the wires routed through. I only put them on there so I could see it since I was getting fed up of them not wanting to work haha
Road Master
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 964
Likes: 9
From: Acme Pa.
I used a guitar string and some grease and alot of foul language.
I tied a cotton ball to the smallest guitar string and sucked it up through with a shop vac. wrapped the string around my bundle of wires in a spiral and duct taped it . Greased it up and pushed a little pulled a little after about an hour I stopped and drank a couple beers. Then got back to work pushing a little and pulling a little, about an hour later I started the other side. It's a bitch, should be alot easier for you with the rounded corners. good luck. but as someone else stated," If I can do it you can do it."
I tied a cotton ball to the smallest guitar string and sucked it up through with a shop vac. wrapped the string around my bundle of wires in a spiral and duct taped it . Greased it up and pushed a little pulled a little after about an hour I stopped and drank a couple beers. Then got back to work pushing a little and pulling a little, about an hour later I started the other side. It's a bitch, should be alot easier for you with the rounded corners. good luck. but as someone else stated," If I can do it you can do it."
Tourer
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 323
Likes: 0
From: Mishawaka, IN
Nothing to add but thanks everyone for all the tips. Supposed to warm up enough I can get out in the garage this week & so it's a good time to tackle this. This was my main "goal" for the bike over winter. The rest is simple stuff.
Glad to hear T-Bars are worse since that's what I have. : \
Glad to hear T-Bars are worse since that's what I have. : \
Road Warrior
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,251
Likes: 30
From: Ashburn, VA
The ball-chain idea is what I did. Its the same stuff used for ceiling fan lights and to hold your dog-tags around your neck, if you were in the military.
Doing it with the bars off the bike is way easier. Just drop the chain in on one bar end and let gravity do all the work as you turn-twist the bars and let the chain slide down to the bottom. After this is done, just tape your wires to the chain and pull it thru. DONE!
Doing it with the bars off the bike is way easier. Just drop the chain in on one bar end and let gravity do all the work as you turn-twist the bars and let the chain slide down to the bottom. After this is done, just tape your wires to the chain and pull it thru. DONE!
Road Master
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,097
Likes: 11
From: Huntley, IL
I made some videos of my bike project. I made three having to do with wiring the bars. The bars are not apes but still a little work. Videos 5, 6, and 7 shows how I did it.
Here is a link to my You Tube channel.
http://www.youtube.com/results?searc....1.Gw1ykR0sBRA
Here is a link to my You Tube channel.
http://www.youtube.com/results?searc....1.Gw1ykR0sBRA
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,286
Likes: 5
From: Arizona
Don't expect to pull/yank the wires through from the exit end with the string/fishtape. An alternating push/pull technique works best to inch the switch wires past the 90 degree bend. Use finesse not force and the switch harness will glide right through....without having to remove the factory black casing that protects the wires.
It wouldn't be a bad idea to deburr the harness exit holes in the bars before you start. I've seen many bars that have a sharp opening that file away at the wiring casing when the bars are turned lock to lock. If you have your bars internally wired and you didn't do this step look at the top triple clamp and look for black powder just below the wire exit holes. If there is black powder laying on the top clamp the harness is slowly chaffing/wearing away. Deburring the holes and using rubber grommets on the harness at the exit hole is the best way to prevent chaffed switch wiring and the possibility of a short circuit.
I mounted my T bars to a block of wood and clamped the block of wood in my bench vice. I wired the bars and mounted the switches on the work bench then took the assembled bars over to the bike to complete the installation.
Tech23
It wouldn't be a bad idea to deburr the harness exit holes in the bars before you start. I've seen many bars that have a sharp opening that file away at the wiring casing when the bars are turned lock to lock. If you have your bars internally wired and you didn't do this step look at the top triple clamp and look for black powder just below the wire exit holes. If there is black powder laying on the top clamp the harness is slowly chaffing/wearing away. Deburring the holes and using rubber grommets on the harness at the exit hole is the best way to prevent chaffed switch wiring and the possibility of a short circuit.
I mounted my T bars to a block of wood and clamped the block of wood in my bench vice. I wired the bars and mounted the switches on the work bench then took the assembled bars over to the bike to complete the installation.
Tech23
Last edited by Tech23; Jan 6, 2013 at 05:39 PM.
Cruiser
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 192
Likes: 0
From: Seattle, WA
Don't mean to hijack the thread but I will also be tackling this same upgrade in about a month or so (parts are trickling in as we speak..), and I am wondering on which end you guys extended the wires. I was thinking if you extended em on the end closer to the controls/bars, you don't have to pull the fatter/heat shrinked part through as much...?
Or do I have the who concept of extending wires completely wrong?
Or do I have the who concept of extending wires completely wrong?