Well I went riding with my neighbor the other day and he said my brake light was blinking on and off? We stopped at a leather store then continued and at one stop sign I asked him if it was still doing it and he said nope what did you do? I replied ...nothing.... As I had planned to make a 150 one way ride over the weekend and it seemed to be ok now I figured id look at it next week.. Well on thursday I was standing in the drive chatting with the neighbor after riding in to town and back and I remembered the light issue so I layed down on the ground and stuck my hand up over the tire in the fender and wow.. Came out with some wire in my finger ? Seems the rubber piece that the wires run thru and is I think glued with sticky tape to the inside of the rear fender came loose allowing the wires to rub on the tire!.. I put the bike on the jack pulled the rear axle and let the tire fall as far as it would then pulled the tail light lense unhooked the wires and damn they were all but 1 rubbed thru the insulation.. I got my electrical tape out and taped then all then taped them back in the rubber they go thru and sized up what I was going to do for a permanent fix.. I ended up pulling the rear fender chrome piece that runs down the side of the fender to the bag support and I drilled a hole and tapped it 10/32 for a button head screw.. I did this so it would be easier to put the screw in and have it stay then install a nut.. I didnt want the screw to show thats why I hid it under the chrome piece. I then found an adel clamp (wire clamp with rubber on it) and along with the screw I put it in the fender pointing up to keep the sires as high as possible in the fender.. It worked and we tested it thursday evening on a ride and I left friday in the am rode 150 miles camped with my kids and rode 150 back today and all is well.. I still need to fix the wires better but for now and hopefully the summer it should be good.. I want to splice in new wire with soldered joints and heat shrink tube over the joints .. I didnt have time to take any pics but watch your scoots as im sure it will happen to more bikes than just mine..

 

hey n8dc, replacement looms are available which would prevent anything from shorting when riding through rain. check with your local harley shop and see what they sell the rear loom for the taillights for. it plugs in under the seat and is only a small portion of the loom. it's a plug in item, and would be just like new again. i believe they're under 30 bucks. just a thought.