Little did I know that meant not only building the bike and ordering the parts from all the great sponsors; that was the great part, no problem. But there was a catch. Bandit and Chris wanted us to help write the tech articles. I needed to remind them constantly, “Hey, we are bike builders not writers.”
But deadlines are deadlines. It’s “Let it be written, let it be done.” You know the code—or die trying! With lots of help from them, they made us look like pros. Now, back to this wiring thing. The cool thing about building a sponsored give-a-way bike is all the cool parts we receive. This is where another problem surfaced. We don’t pick the sponsors. We had to work with whatever parts might show up, delivered by a uniformed agent.
That’s where Wire Plus came in. I have historically handled all of my own wiring–my way. My father was a college professor and guess what he taught? Just one hint– automotive electrical, so as you can guess, I know my way around a 12-volt system. I started wiring very young. Dad hauled me to his classes before I could even drive a car.
Since Wire Plus was a sponsor, I ordered a wiring kit with the box and speedo tach combo. The parts showed up in the dead of winter, and Bandit called all excited that I ordered these great parts and wanted my impression. I told him I was going to cut off this entire rat’s nest of wires and gut the billet box, reuse the empty box and the ignition key switch and speedo. There was silence on the phone line.
I think that was the first time Bandit was speechless. The only thing that was making noise was his brain ticking. How was he going to write about a well thought-out professional wiring system, knowing I gutted the harness and junked it? He came back and convinced me to review the schematic. I reluctantly agreed. I open the boxes, and I thought there were more wires than the space shuttle– time to start cutting wires.
I slowed down, reviewed the schematics and took into consideration Wire Plus and well-researched products. I needed to show them the proper respect and give them a closer look. I scrutinized the instructions the components, and inspected the wiring harness planning. This was a simple chopper and my simple brain told me less was more. After I spilled all this wire out on the bench, something became sort of obvious. This could be brutally intimidating to most people, but not me.
There was one specific, neatly bound group of wires designed for the rear, and one directed to the front, and yet another for the center components. Wire Plus configured all the wires in the proper gauges in neatly bound looms. Not that I would ever admit it, but I looked at the instructions (so should you). They were broke down by categories and systems, such as lighting, handlebars, starting, ignition, etc. Each one was easy to read and follow. All the wires were color-coordinated, a must when you wire. Wire Plus had everything covered and organized including high beam, low beam, starter, taillight, brake lights, etc. They didn’t miss a thing, and believe it or not, I only cut out four wires.
Wire Plus even interconnected with the Accel ignition system, with the same colored wires. The tach and speedo were plug and play. The key was a true ignition, with key start like your car. I know this is the best wiring kit ever; since it was easy to install all the correct wires and instructions were a breeze to follow.
I am glad that I opened my mind to trying something new. I will use Wire Plus systems on my other builds. I know it looks like a lot of wires but you will use most all of them. But once you lay it out on the bench, read the instructions, and take a deep breath, you will be wired and riding within a day.
