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Handlebars - drilling and wiring

1K views 17 replies 7 participants last post by  highroller152 
#1 ·
Hi guys - Bill this is just a call for any and all tips, tricks, experience, must-dos, don't-dos, etc.

I am going to attempt to drill my new Flanders bars, both for the locator pins on the switch housings, and to internally wire them.

So ANYTHING you have to offer, let 'er rip. I've read up on it, but still I've never done it before.

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#3 ·
This vid is a pretty good overview. They may have others as well.
 
#4 ·
Do NOT cut the wires at the same length. Make them all different lengths so that when you splice new wires, you will not end up with a huge just fed snake look in one spot
This vid is a pretty good overview. They may have others as well.

Thanks guys! One question...I have to drill the handlebars for wiring, they are not already set up for it. Should I drill the holes so they are inside the switch housing, or outside the housing when it's all assembled?

I'm thinking for looks it should be on the inside, but I know there's little clamps that hold the wires in place and prevent shorts. How is it normally done?
 
#5 ·
I drilled my bars, one hole in the center and one on each side near grips. Been on the bike for years and no issues. The holes for the switches are jut outside of the grip as I had wiring for my mirrors also that needed run through the bars. Small holes you really cannot see them unless you are looking for them.
 
#8 ·
Another tip

One tip I've seen is using a length of chain similar to a dog chain (small enough to drop out of the hole drilled into the bars) and one end is secured to the wire harness (use a small tie-wrap) and then you drop that chain down inside your bar end and the weight of the chain will fall/flow over the bends of the bars to where the hole is drilled for the harness to come out of at the risers. You then just pull the tip of the chain that drops out of the hole and your wire harness will follow.

:tools:You can pick a chain up at most hardware stores or buy a dog chain. With the chain, gravity is your friend. :thumbup:

I've seen this work even on Z bars.

Good Luck! :thumbup:
 
#9 ·
All the advice above is what I did during my apes install years ago, especially the chain dangling and NOT soldering all connections in one place.

Below is an extreme close-up of the throttle side from a seated point of view. A thick and dark wire bundle is barely visible between the switch housing on the right and clamp on the left. Obviously, I nestled the clamp right up to the hole in the bar so that exposed wiring is at an extreme minimum.




Because I'm a neat freak, I dressed up the wire bundles emerging from the bottom of my bars, as shown below in the three pictures. All wires from each side are (1) heat shrink-tubed with standard black tubing, (2) encased in a faux-metal sheathing, and then (3) heat shrinked with colorless tubing to keep it all together. Ain't nothing is going to get to those wires. Still looks perfect today, years after install.







:doorag:
 
#10 ·
All the advice above is what I did during my apes install years ago, especially the chain dangling and NOT soldering all connections in one place.

Below is an extreme close-up of the throttle side from a seated point of view. A thick and dark wire bundle is barely visible between the switch housing on the right and clamp on the left. Obviously, I nestled the clamp right up to the hole in the bar so that exposed wiring is at an extreme minimum.




Because I'm a neat freak, I dressed up the wire bundles emerging from the bottom of my bars, as shown below in the three pictures. All wires from each side are (1) heat shrink-tubed with standard black tubing, (2) encased in a faux-metal sheathing, and then (3) heat shrinked with colorless tubing to keep it all together. Ain't nothing is going to get to those wires. Still looks perfect today, years after install.







:doorag:
Nice pics...thanks! I had actually been wondering about how to dress up the lines out of the bottom of the bars...I like this idea.
 
#11 ·
Nice pics...thanks! I had actually been wondering about how to dress up the lines out of the bottom of the bars...I like this idea.
What you have to think about for your covering is this, Do I want to draw attention to them by putting a bright shiny cover on them. Or do I want them to fade away into the bike. Black covering, no one will notice them coming out the bottom of the bars as they quickly go under the trees. Stainless steel, you see the wire bundle clearly. It's a personal choice, but I chose black and you never saw them. Yes, I knew they were there, but no one else when asked, saw those wires. Just another thought :thumbup:
 
#12 ·
What you have to think about for your covering is this, Do I want to draw attention to them by putting a bright shiny cover on them. Or do I want them to fade away into the bike. Black covering, no one will notice them coming out the bottom of the bars as they quickly go under the trees. Stainless steel, you see the wire bundle clearly. It's a personal choice, but I chose black and you never saw them. Yes, I knew they were there, but no one else when asked, saw those wires. Just another thought
Not a square centimeter of my front end lacks chrome (oh my, the polishing woes), so in my case a little bling really doesn't beg for attention. I even have SS brake, clutch, and throttle lines. Good advice, nonetheless. :thumbup:

BTW, that shiny sheathing is pretty sensitive to heat, making the colorless heat shrinking (outer layer) a bit tricky to get right without making a melted mess. If presented with the project again, I might just opt for black as Spike advised.
 
#18 ·
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