The Yamaha Road Star Warrior Forum

Gilly:

 Looks great Brandon. What size wire are you useing for extending the tach?I plan to do the same thing once I finish my custom hand controls.Thanks.

I am using 20 guage wire. I took a piece of the stock wire up to a wire shop here in OKC and that is what it was. The stock wireing (the little copper wire itself) is really fine, as in stringy. The wire I bought is much beefier. I belive it will work nicely.I just bought a 100' roll of black and am just labeling everything before I put it in looms. There are too many colors on this bike to try and match up.  I also got some 14 guage to extend my ignition back to the left side of my motor. I was surprised how cheap the wire was. The 100' roll of 20 guage was like $5 and the 50' roll of 14 gauge was about the same. Thanks for the encouragement guys and I will update as I proceed. I am having a hard time finding the material I want to make my left side cover out of without buying a 8 ft piece of it.

Did a little more work today. Finished up the wireing to the tach.

I originally planned on just running the wires from the speedo and switch box housings under the front of the tank. That way I wouldn't have to cut a hole in the top of my neck like others have. I see now why that wont work. The wire bundles you end up with get smashed between the tank and the frame and wont allow them to move when you turn. So I popped the speedo off and cut a hole for everything to run through. My hole is about 1"x2". I just used a hole saw and made the holes barely touch and then just filed them into one oblong hole. I never realized how thick the aluminum in the neck is. It is some heavy duty stuff.

By claypool782, shot with DSC-W170 at 2009-09-18

The hand control wires will eventually run through here as well.

By claypool782, shot with DSC-W170 at 2009-09-18

I am back to waiting on my switch box housings before I can do anymore on the wireing. I am still on the lookout for material to make my ignition plate out of.

That'll clean up the main harness, excellent.  Do you plan to line the edge of the holes against wire abrasion?

May I ask how you determined hole sizes and if they could have been cut smaller?  Since they all have round corners there's little chance of cracking.  But more material here is probably better over the long run, so I figured I'd ask.

You plan to leave the neck's left and right side plates stock (not cut) right?

Arizona Warrior:

Do you plan to line the edge of the holes against wire abrasion?

Yes I have a rubber grommet for the holes.

Arizona Warrior:

May I ask how you determined hole sizes and if they could have been cut smaller?  Since they all have round corners there's little chance of cracking.  But more material here is probably better over the long run, so I figured I'd ask.

The one in the back of the neck is about as small as you can realistically make it. It is 1 7/8".  There is just enough room to make your connections and get everything stuffed in there. The hole in the top of the neck could be smaller front to back. It needs to be wide though to allow the speedo and switch housing wires to sweep back and forth when you turn. My hole is about 1" front to back and 2" wide. I believe brians is about 3/4 front to back and a little wider. His has been fine for several years now so I'm not too worried about it. The neck really is beefy on these things. I believe there is still plenty there. We shall see.

Arizona Warrior:

You plan to leave the neck's left and right side plates stock (not cut) right?

Correct, I opted not to drill the access hole in the side cover. I figured since my neck has already been cut and raked in that area I wouldn't mess with that part.

It looks like it is coming along great Brandon.  Your Warrior is going to be super clean after this mod, can't wait to see the final product.

" I figured since my neck has already been cut and raked in that area I wouldn't mess with that part."

I think this was a good decision on your part especially if you are able to get all the wiring in the neck without the access hole in the side of the neck.

That's good info to have, thank you!

baclay9:

Arizona Warrior:

Do you plan to line the edge of the holes against wire abrasion?

 

Yes I have a rubber grommet for the holes.

Arizona Warrior:

May I ask how you determined hole sizes and if they could have been cut smaller?  Since they all have round corners there's little chance of cracking.  But more material here is probably better over the long run, so I figured I'd ask.

The one in the back of the neck is about as small as you can realistically make it. It is 1 7/8".  There is just enough room to make your connections and get everything stuffed in there. The hole in the top of the neck could be smaller front to back. It needs to be wide though to allow the speedo and switch housing wires to sweep back and forth when you turn. My hole is about 1" front to back and 2" wide. I believe brians is about 3/4 front to back and a little wider. His has been fine for several years now so I'm not too worried about it. The neck really is beefy on these things. I believe there is still plenty there. We shall see.

Arizona Warrior:

You plan to leave the neck's left and right side plates stock (not cut) right?

Correct, I opted not to drill the access hole in the side cover. I figured since my neck has already been cut and raked in that area I wouldn't mess with that part.

Here is another update. I started on my ignition plate. It started as a peice of 2"x4" angle. I am going to box the sides in with some 1" strap later this week. I like the way it is coming together. It is 4" across the top and tapers down to 2".

Here is a tip. The ignition requires a 3/4" hole to mount it. I found a 3/4 bit at Lowes for $20. Thought it was crazy to pay that for one hole so I went by a machine shop to see if they would punch it out right quick. They had a $25 minimum and wanted me to leave it with them. So it might be cheaper to just buy yourself a bit. I went back to Lowes and bought my own after telling the machinist he had lost his mind.

My ignition is the same one Brian used in his build.

By claypool782, shot with DSC-T300 at 2009-09-22

By claypool782, shot with DSC-T300 at 2009-09-22

By claypool782, shot with DSC-T300 at 2009-09-22

By claypool782, shot with DSC-T300 at 2009-09-22

very cool!  Hey by any chance does that silver speedo case bother you?

Brandon, The tach works fine without the reset switches. You will not be able to reset the low fuel milage odometer but it resets in 4 miles and to set the time you have to disconnect the batter at 1:00 (defalt time) Other than these two items you dont need the resets. I have not had them on my gages for 7500 miles.

Brandon, you are an inspiration! I have wanted to clean up the front end/ handle bar area ever since I got the bike. This post is great and will be a huge help over the winter months when I try to make this happen.

Jon

 I don't want to hi jack this thread but anyone that is considering doing this kind of mod please consider donating any of the aluminum parts that you remove to my polishing exchange program.  I can sure use them.

 Got some ***BLING*** today! Should be able to complete assembly within the next few days now.

baclay9:

 Got some ***BLING*** today! Should be able to complete assembly within the next few days now.

Nothing like some more BLING .... I call it Chrome-itis and it's contagious

If you run into a problem with the MC reservoir sight-glass leaking or not useable then contact Brian @ NOPORK as he offers a custom machined semi-flush plug that will fill the existing hole and doesn't look bad at all! I don't remember if it's polished AL or chromed

AlanH:

If you run into a problem with the MC reservoir sight-glass leaking or not useable then contact Brian @ NOPORK as he offers a custom machined semi-flush plug that will fill the existing hole and doesn't look bad at all! I don't remember if it's polished AL or chromed

Thanks for the tip!