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[naitram]

i know how that goes. got a pile of parts waiting on some warm weather to go on

[Twolanerider]

Chatting on the phone with a member last night was asked about the bank of auxiliary switches mentioned earlier.  What they look like and, more specifically, if the extra wires went inside the bars ok.

Apparently HD's instructions for the extra switches somehow suggest internal routing can't be done.  It can if you're willing to adjust things a bit.

The front half of the new switch housing replaces the bracket that is normally the front clamp (the part that bolts to either the clutch perch or the master cylinder).  The wiring for the switches exits the housing adjacent to the hole in the handlebars for the switch wiring.  So it's in the ballpark to begin with.

Only problem was the full casting of the clutch perch makes for a blockage.  The switch wiring would be smashed between the new switch housing being added and the regular switch housing for the signals/horn/etc.  Grind a little off the corner of the clutch perch and you've created a channel for the wiring to run that funnels it directly in to the wide area on the adjacent switch housing.  The arrow highlights where the casting was ground down a bit.

Only other thing the helped to make it all slide easier in the bars was replacing the plastic sheath around the large switch harness with heat shrink tube and also using heat shrink tube to wrap the six new wires for the aux switches.  Much smaller OD for each harness than using the normal plastic sheath.  Still plenty of room this way to pull through the extra runs for the heated grips.

[Twolanerider]

And from the front.  Unless you're on your back on the ground looking up at the bottom of the bars with magnifiying binoculars the body and fender work done to the clutch perch will never be seen.  The switc bank may not be the most attractive thing to hang on a handlebar.  But with extra lights and not lighing the toggles on the rear of the nacelle they're a satisfactory option.

[Spiderman]

Don
      HOLY chit that's a bunch of switches  

Why can't you drill a hole that lines up directly with the inside of the switch housing and pull the wires into the bars through that vice trying to grind down your housings and squeezing the wires into the dimple and hole already in the bars. I understand that too much grinding and drilling can seriously weaken your handlebars, but I think if you size the hole properly and pit a grommet on it so the wires don't vibrate against bare metal, you could do this.

B B

     PS, another option would be to have a local fab shop make you a set of custom bars from heavier bar stock, do all your cutting, grinding and fitting and send em out for chrome.

[naitram]

when i did mine i opted to drill through






drilled matching holes in the bars had to position everything to mark the bars and take it all apart again






it all worked great until a dumbass at the stealer rotated everything about 25 degrees while he had the throttle housing open and pinched the wires.

[Spiderman]

Obi Won - - - - The 1st lesson in doing your own work is either you do it all or you do none. Your story of some idiot at an H-D dealership screwing up your work is so typical it's sad. It's almost as if they do it on purpose because they resent you doing your own work and "cheating" them out of it. In any event, your post is exactly what I was trying to explain to Twolane. As they say, one picture is worth a thousand words.

B B

[Twolanerider]

Could have drilled it.  But was concerned the limited rotation might later be a problem.  This way both pieces move together and the harnesses feed through a wide hole.  This was also easier.  But that was less of a factor.  It's still all hidden.  Doing it on a different day in a different frame of mind might have tacked differently.  But that was the solution this time  .

[Twolanerider]

Had an evening that didn't absolutely require being somewhere or doing something.  First time that's been remotely an option since the storm.  So screwed around in the shop for a couple hours.

The someday-gonna-be-a-SERK still doesn't have an engine.  So it can't be a roller yet.  But 99% of everything else is here.  With the goal of only clearing the feeble mind a bit put the frame up on the table lift and laid the harnesses generally in place.  Battery box to help guide things a bit and some modules to make accurate termination points for some of the plugs.

Under no illusion that everything now laying on/around the frame will come back off a time or three before final assembly actually happens.  But it was fun to mess with it a bit.

[Twolanerider]

Might be starting down the path toward being overly anal retentive when there's already 12 point chrome hardware on the ECM and chrome acorn nuts sized to the ECM caddy....    

[Twolanerider]

Was nice to see anything actually done to it though.  Also got taps run through all the threaded holes.  It's all progress...

[Twolanerider]

Ok, you know it's going to be bad when even the nut for the master cylinder gets color coated; because, of course, black oxide would just never do...

[Twolanerider]

May not have an engine but a couple weeks ago rebuilt this thing that will eventually hang behind it.

[Twolanerider]

One more angle; just because I had the picture.  Hardware is all chrome 12 bolt again.


Now it'll all set back out of the way again.  Hopefully sooner rather than later more fun will be had with the project.

[naitram]

the contrast between the red and the gray really jumps out at you

[sadunbar]

Might be starting down the path toward being overly anal retentive when there's already 12 point chrome hardware on the ECM and chrome acorn nuts sized to the ECM caddy....    

What did you do...rub up against d00d!