hidden wiring

I made a start on re-wiring my bars last night. Like many things you try for the first time, it was just not going to go easy.

everything ready to get started

I stripped the insulation and cut the connector off the wires, staggering the cuts so I wouldn't end up with a clump of joins. I was sure that I would have enough length to make the join away from the bars. Ideally it would sit where the loom runs alongside the frame.

connectors cut from the loom

I then taped the wires onto a length of cord which I had previously threaded through the bars, hooking it out with a straightened coat-hanger. I used this to pull and push the wiring through the bars. Care has to be taken in order not to strip any of the wires on the sharp edges of the holes in the bars. When I got the wire through I realised that the bends in the handle-bars make the length of wires needed to go through longer than I had allowed for.
Luckily I had a wiring extension kit so I could use that to get me out of a hole. I had bought this when I first considered putting on the higher bars but decided against using it when I did some research and discovered that most folk who have extended their wiring recommend that you cut and solder the wires rather than to dismantle the connector. Having tried to do that, unsuccessfully, with the rear indicators I fully concur with them.

extension wires soldered on and fed through the bars

Using the same technique of staggering where I cut the wires, I snipped them closer to the switchgear. I then soldered on the new wires, covered the soldered joints with heat-shrink tubing, partly covered them in cable wrap and fed them through the bars again. As the extension wires don't exactly match the colours of the original loom I had to mark which was which to ensure I connect them correctly at the other end.
This time it worked. The joins are safely tucked inside the bars between the top hole and the first bend and the wires inside the bars are covered in cable wrap. All I have to do now is measure how long I need the cable to be cut it and re-solder the wires with the connector back on.

one half fed through

Then do the other side of course!