Just wondering if any of you guys have had the guts to drill holes in your frame and run the wiring inside the frame? How did it work out and did it affect the strength?

 

I did on this bike (my rigid Evo project) in 1995 or so.
Looked good, but I would advise you consult a professional to make sure the frame's strength isn't compromised.
There are reasons to put the holes in specific spots.

 

guy by the name of cosmo kramer over on xlforums did it and a couple others followed suit. full tear down required and looked like a mother fvcker of a job. cosmo is a friggen electrical engineer i think so i can see why it wouldn't seem so crazy to him.

 

thanks for the advice so far, the main thing I'm worried about it making sure that I'm not going to mess up the strength of the frame. I'm planning on doing a full tear down next fall, to stretch my frame, and paint my bike, just trying to get everything ready now, and it would be awesome to hide all the wiring.

 

well that would be the time to do it. seriously, go on xlforums and talk to cosmo. cool dude too.

 

cool, I'll sign up now, thanks man

 

no problemo.....

 

Ok.. let me throw this idea at ya.. first... I rewired all the cables internally through the frame .. opening holes in the frame is not an issue if you buy good quality bimetal hole saw.. now.. rewiring the trillion cables these little bikes have was beyond painful.. (don't rewire your cables if you don't know exactly what you are doing, otherwise you can burn your ECM )... before I had the "brilliant" idea of rewiring the cables through the frame (I hardly believe the pain of rewiring the cables internally through the frame is worth the marginal gain in looks.. IMHO)...... I played with a simpler option: rewire the cables over the top of the battery, then under the seat, then over the seat mount, then under the tank support mount going on top of the frame right under the tank.. let me explain the idea with some doctored images I just created:

VERY IMPORTANT!!!: before you even touch a cable.. DISCONNECT THE 30AMP Main Fuse... or the battery... OR BOTH!!.. please do not forget this step..

for my original rewiring idea, I decided to open a "tunnel" by grinding off the center of the front seat mount (the one at the center of the frame that also supports the rear of the tank):





now... remove the original long bolt and substitute it with short bolts/nuts on each side of the mount:



this approach (or the wiring though the frame) requires that you remove the plastic cover in front of the battery (the one that covers the cables .while they exit the battery compartment from each side).. why? first. the cables are secured to it, so you need to detach them from that cover, second.. why leave that cover there? once you reroute the cables the cover becomes meaningless and an eye sore.... this is how it looks after removing, definitely much cleaner (sorry, these are the best pics I have)









reroute the cables over the battery, route them forward and through the "tunnel":





Once you reinstall the tank.. the cables are going to be sandwiched between the the tank mount and the frame and routed on top of the backbone... effectively hiding the cables.. mission accomplished ..

this is an approach that does not require drilling holes in the frame... just some grinding off the seat/tank mount... and a lot of annoying cable rerouting (at this point I am not certain the cables are going to be long enough to go over the battery, U turn and then go on top of the frame.. but worst case scenario, cut / solder / extend the cable is a way easier task than drilling holes in the frame and routing the cables through it) . of course.. I never finished the idea.. but I am almost certain this idea works.. also.. i did this on a spring seat bike... I have no idea if this works on a stock seat (perhaps some grinding off the plastic base of the seat will allow to route the cables through the tunnel... and... if you are concerned that grinding off all that material from the seat/tank mount can weaken it.. well.. I have been running the bike hard for months like this.. and I do not see any cracking of weakening of the mount so far... but if you are concerned about it then perhaps we can discuss some other ideas (like lifting the rear of the tank a bit to allow the cables to pass under it) ... so.. what do you guys think of this idea?.. doable? idiotic? I had too many Irish Car Bombs? :-)

 

Wow JoeBo that's real insiteful Looks like I got a summer hobby now ^.^ not meaning to hijack this but how did you move your ignition so close to the battery if you can PM the how too if you've done one that'll be cool

 

you never cease to amaze me joebots!