How difficult is it to install the Mikes XS wiring harness? Any Tips?

bret

'81 Special
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I am thinking about buying the full wiring system for my '81 Special. If you have done it before can you tell me how difficult it is? Do you have to remove a bunch of parts or can you work around everything? I need to save $ and don't want to bring it to a shop

Bret
 
Save alot of money and make your own with one of the skematics here. They can be found in the tech or search sections at the top of the pages.

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bought one some time back for my 79. easy to install. a couple of pins were switched in a connector. might have been in the turn signals. cant remember. easy enough to correct.
 
I fried the harness on my 75' and just ordered one from mike's. I'll let you know how it goes. The headlight bucket wiring is going to be the biggest pain. I was able to unplug the old harness without removing much. the side panels and gas tank had to come off, and the headlight bucket had to come out.
 
Thank you all for the help. Clockwork, let me know how that goes. I think I'm going to order the wiring harness for mine soon too
 
Did mine on my 80 Special last year. It was pretty easy.
How I did it;
Removed the gas tank and headlight. Unplugged everything inside the headlight bucket and pulled the old wire harness out of the headlight bucket. Then fed the new harness in the headlight bucket like the old one was, plugged stuff in. Then I just followed the two harnesses back through the bike, unplugging the old and plugging in the new. Did it this way so that all the wires went in their stock locations. Then add zip ties every so often, put the headlight and tank back on and I was done.
It was real simple and took me probably less 20 minutes. No more electrical issues!
Only if I could find a new wire harness for my GF's CB650, that bike has been an electrical nightmare.
 
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That is so great to hear. Placing my order today! Thanks everybody. Hopefully removing the gas tank isn't too hard. Never done it before.
 
removing the gas tank was as easy as two screws and sliding it backward an inch. the harness went together very easily. just make sure you neatly tuck the wiring behind the headlight bucket so nothing can touch the headlight. that's what happened when i burned up my stock harness. i ended up drilling the back of the bucket in a few places and running zip ties through to keep the wires stuck against the back of the headlight bucket. It took me about 2 hours to install the harness.
 
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