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"Mil-spec" wiring?

Skits

Skits

I'm the white rabbit
Joined
Apr 1, 2008
Location
OK
Moto(s)
ex-ZRX1100
So I'm pretty much set on getting an older 900SS...my masochism trumps my practicality when it comes to buying bikes.

I'm a bit paranoid about some of the wiring failures, and honestly haven't been impressed with the wiring on any of the bikes I've owned. Seems like they use some super-cheap connectors considering that they're subjected to lots of heat, weather, and vibration. So I'm thinking of re-wiring the whole thing, because it will give me peace of mind, and I just kind of like to improve on whats there on any mechanical thing I own.

Has anyone have experience with wiring connectors that would be high quality, and weather and heat resistant? I've used weatherpack-style connectors in the past on stuff, and I liked 'em. But is that my best option or is there something else? Maybe something lighter??

Also, anyone have a clever way of running wiring on a Ducati without using the cheesy factory method of zip-tying it to the frame?
 
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Agree the connectors are minimal. For connections exposed to elements as on motorcycles, better would be sealed connectors. Also connectors with more then 5 amps running through them autta have redundant jack connectors.

Best you can do with existing wiring is parallel the heavy load wiring with a second line and connector.
Help keep connections from corroding, use dielectric grease on jacks in the connector.

http://www.pacificelectronicsusa.com/
In Concord is well supplied with electronics components.

Allied Electrons catalog is huge, size of LA phone book. Definitely find what you looking for, http://www.alliedelec.com/ .

I've done redundancy wiring for the Headlights front fairing. With highbeams average bike is pulling 10 amps. Seen one common ground connector that you could fry a small egg on it. Wire was heavy enough to handle the current, just the connector was lacking.
 
AMP

However 90% of the bike wiring is control and signal wiring, which carries milliamperes. You are totally wasting your time on this. If you want to replace high stress areas, just redo the load wiring, which is basically the lighting.
 
I know that the controls and stuff are overkill, and in most cases I won't have a choice with the connectors without going way overboard modifying the stock switches. But its going to be a 10+ year old bike, and I don't want anything going wrong that I could have prevented. Plus, I'm kinda OCD about this kind of stuff...I start looking at stuff and wonder why it wasn't done better and then it nags at me until I do something about it.

Anyway, thanks for the ideas. :thumbup I don't even have the bike yet, but when I get around to all this I'll probably post up what I ended up doing.
 
afm199 said:
AMP

However 90% of the bike wiring is control and signal wiring, which carries milliamperes. You are totally wasting your time on this. If you want to replace high stress areas, just redo the load wiring, which is basically the lighting.
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Agree. And I would add to rewire the charging circuit. Whatever connectors you use, crimp, then solder, and then use heatshrink if appropriate. Don't use crimp connectors that already have the insulation on them.

Also, if you're going to bother rewiring, you should actually change the schematic in a few places. For instance, on many bikes all current goes through the ignition switch. Even the headlights. This usually means a trip from the positive terminal through a main fuse, up to the ignition switch, back to the fuse box where it gets distributed, and in the case of the headlights bakc up to the lights. There's usually lots of voltage loss through that long length of barely adequately sized wire. Similar improments can be made in the charging system.

What I recommend is not redoing all the wiring. Keep the stock wiring intact. And instead of running the headlights and alternator through the stock wiring, use the stock wiring to trigger relays that will tied into new wiring schemes. You'll get the same good results as rewiring everything. Probably better because these critical circuits will be wired more sensibly.
 
bingo , relays and heavier wire. Spoken like a pro
 
West Marine also has some pretty good electrical components, and there are several stores around the bay
 
humbug612 said:
www.aircraftspruce.com
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Maybe I shoulda been more clear but I thought we all pointed and clicked from time to time, Aircraft Spruce and Specialty Co. has been selling EVERYTHING necessary to build complete aircraft for 50 years or so, They will have everything you could want or need, and the prices are more often than not better than anyplace else, I've been dealing with them for over 20 years, the only time I need to shop anywhere else is for "special" (read expensive) parts.
 
Rock on Apollo and ST Guy! I wired up an entire bike with DTM connectors in place so everything was quick disconnect. 'Course, it helps that I own the right crimping tools for those mini pins, haha. It's far from the mil-spec (and better) connectors I use now, but for the street and the track, I think they're great.
 
MotoLiam said:
Rock on Apollo and ST Guy! I wired up an entire bike with DTM connectors in place so everything was quick disconnect. 'Course, it helps that I own the right crimping tools for those mini pins, haha. It's far from the mil-spec (and better) connectors I use now, but for the street and the track, I think they're great.
Click to expand...

That is the other part. Use the specified crimper with any aftermarket parts. A good one will cost $75 to $250. You can buy a cheapie at the hardware store for nine bucks, but they are shit. I found a fairly decent replaceable jaw crimper on ebay for $40, but if I were to need one for a commercial job, I'd buy one made by the manufacturer of the connectors.
 
MotoLiam said:
Rock on Apollo and ST Guy! I wired up an entire bike with DTM connectors in place so everything was quick disconnect. 'Course, it helps that I own the right crimping tools for those mini pins, haha. It's far from the mil-spec (and better) connectors I use now, but for the street and the track, I think they're great.
Click to expand...

What type of connectors do you use now in GP? Or is that a trade secret too? :p

I bet they're probably 10+ bucks a connector?
 
They're a lot more than 10 USD per, hahaha, and like mil-spec they are completely waterproof (fully submersible for more than a minute).
 
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