What kind of wire to rewire bike?

Why do you think wire comes in different colors, lol.
 
Lmao... Here we go. Ive seen some guys use all black wire to hide easier. And I havent ran across a store that sells an assortment of colors. Hence the question of where to get it from...
 
You have not run across anyplace that has a variety? I go to any local auto parts store and get colored wire. If you run black to everything it is hard to trace what wire goes where unless you label them all and then you better hope you don't lose the labels. Just my opinion.
 
I use marine grade wire. I live in an area that caters to boat repairs so my selection is great. They use tinned copper with many small strands so it is super flexible and great quality. I did wire my last project with all black to help with the appearance and my budget. Only need to buy one or 2 gage wres. It can be a problem if trouble shooting is needed but a simple tug on the wire makes it easy to follow on the simple circuts and short runs.
 
Haha I think he means he only needs 1 or 2 different gauges to wire the bike. I did most of mine with 16ga I believe, as that's what I had available at my work here. Some 14ga and some 12ga too. I used multiple colors, but if I ever rewire it again I might run all black and add colored vinyl strips at the ends and where there is an "intersection" of wires, just for a cleaner look.
 
I run 14 gage for stuff dealing with the battery and charging system
18 gage for lighting.

Colors are a personal choice. I like black for ground wires, red for +. Then different colors for lighting so I can trace it.
 
retroLS1 said:
I might run all black and add colored vinyl strips at the ends and where there is an "intersection" of wires, just for a cleaner look.
Click to expand...
Do you mean something like narrow bands of heat shrink tubing? Like two narrow blue bands or say a red/ white/ blue to mark the wires at both ends?
 
weekendrider said:
Do you mean something like narrow bands of heat shrink tubing? Like two narrow blue bands or say a red/ white/ blue to mark the wires at both ends?
Click to expand...

Sort of. I would cut strips of colored vinyl (I do graphics/vinyl for work so I have access to it) and wrap a small section at the end of a wire to identify it (have a matching diagram of course). Say 1/4" blue section at the end of one wire, 1/4" red, 1/4" yellow, etc. Just have them at the ends but if/when they meet up with other wires in a "bundle" or if they T-off anywhere, run another strip there so it's easy to trace. Just a thought I had.
 
I guess what I have done when building a harness is to get the correct colors according to what the manual calls for, lay them out, string them to where they need to go, wrap black tape around where they Y out to different places and then put black heat shrink tube over them. It is basically how they look from the factory. If you ever sell it, people will appreciate it, believe me. LOL
 
retroLS1 said:
Haha I think he means he only needs 1 or 2 different gauges to wire the bike. I did most of mine with 16ga I believe, as that's what I had available at my work here. Some 16ga and some 12ga too. I used multiple colors, but if I ever rewire it again I might run all black and add colored vinyl strips at the ends and where there is an "intersection" of wires, just for a cleaner look.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the back up. Yes I used mostly 18 ga on LED lighting and 16ga on other items. Some 12ga for battery charging system. I bought some black shrink tube in a very large size. Ran all wires down backbone tube from headlight through the insulation and shrinked it down to the ID I wanted. Lose enough to slide wiring through but still looks neat. No problem for me tracing wires even though they are black.


Check out http://www.vintageconnections.com/ for great stuff. Buying the tool that does the crimping is really a must have to get it right.
 
With a little imagination and initiative you can find color coded wiring on discarded appliance's. Or buy new now and your future generations can mine the landfills.
 

Similar threads

C
Wiring Gauge
Replies
4
Views
273
halfmile
halfmile
motormike
Advice... opinion
Replies
12
Views
669
motormike
motormike
N
What gauge wire for starter motor?
Replies
5
Views
187
Nelson
N
N
What is the Value of the resistor in the lighting circuit of an XS650D
Replies
9
Views
221
Nelson
N
D
custom wiring
Replies
10
Views
1K
lakeview
lakeview
Back
Top