Wiring up speedo - crimp or solder, or both?

[Craigore]

Wiring up my MikesXS speedo... Was thinking about getting some little mini crimp m/f terminals instead of soldering- I especially like this idea since my wiring does not match the known schematic nor the Haynes Manual.

problem is, I only have one of those shitty crimp tools

I'm not sure that this is going to be sufficient. any suggestions?

 

[Speed3Chris]

Rule of thumb is, if you don't need to take it apart for service once in a while, best to solder. For areas of the harness you think you will take apart again...say to remove the instruments...bullet connectors available at Radio Shack work fine Craig. Choose them based upon the gauge wire you are using....they come with crimp size based upon wire gauge.
Wiring with 16-20 gauge for your Speedo is fine.
The tool you show above is all you need.
A further tip is use di-electric paste on the bullets of your bullet connectors. This helps seal them and prevent corrosion.
Hope that helps.
Below is a very poor picture of the male side of the bullet connector that will suit your purpose. I have rewired a fair amount and have these on the bike where I will be pulling the harness back apart at some point.
Best to solder and use shrink tube with a heat gun if it won't be coming back apart is the best tip I can give.

 

[Craigore]

Thanks for the advice mate. should have grabbed the 22-18 gauge... the aftermarket tach wires are thin. isn't staying crimped... shit.
here it is, future dash:

thanks to rodburner for the bracket. lach, just got back from vaca, am sending your piece out tomorrow

anyone wanna buy some 1" clip-ons and modded headlight brackets? these $30 ebay clubmans (seller SPORTING FOR LESS) are pretty beefy and the powder coating on them is of good quality, better than on the m-bars which I got from newbonneville (no surprise there).

 

[Craigore]

by the way, does anyone know where i can get some of those 6mm blanking caps ? my bolt heads are rusty, looks like crap

 

[Speed3Chris]

Thanks for the advice mate. should have grabbed the 22-18 gauge... the aftermarket tach wires are thin. isn't staying crimped... shit.
here it is, future dash:

thanks to rodburner for the bracket. lach, just got back from vaca, am sending your piece out tomorrow

anyone wanna buy some 1" clip-ons and modded headlight brackets? these $30 ebay clubmans (seller SPORTING FOR LESS) are pretty beefy and the powder coating on them is of good quality, better than on the m-bars which I got from newbonneville (no surprise there).

Looks good Craig.
Yeah...won't stay crimped if connector is the wrong size because the braided wire will swim in the ID of the crimp section...no matter how good the crimping tool. Your local Radio Shack should have the right bullet connectors...you need the small size.
Good luck with your project. Speaking of projects...everybody has one...afterall it is springtime....below is my latest. Mocking up the rear fender chop. Dialing in the right radius before I take the dremmel to it.
That reflector has to go.
Cheers.

 

[Craigore]

I sometimes wish that I still had a rear fender


hell yeah, UPS man just brought me my thruxton length ikon 7610's

 

[Speed3Chris]

I'd like to try those on my bike.

 

[Craigore]

yeah but unfortunately my jack is 100 miles away so this mod will have to wait.


..as will the wiring of the speedo, can't make it back to radioshack until tomorrow

 

[MES]

any dealer should have a few blanking caps laying around. If you can't get them then I'll get some for you, no worries.

are the 1" clip-ons offset? I might be interested. got a pic?

 

[Craigore]

yeah, they are from LSL. They once belonged to Carlos TPUSA and then localmotion411. I think I paid him $175 total for them and the modded headlight bracket.

I'm gonna try these bars out to see how I like them first, I'll give you dibs if you're interested. I'd like to get at least $150 shipped

 

[rodburner]

I crimp everything,and use the little male/female spade connectors. The .187s work fine as do the .250s on nearly every wire on the Bonnie. If a wire is too small for the crimp to hold,I strip twice as much insulation off,twist the wire and then fold it over and crimp.
As far as the caps,just borrow some fingernail polish or model paint and dab it in there.Hell ,do the letters in your top clamp too...
Oh,and the scissor jack from your car,under the center stand lug [right side],and the kickstand down,is more than enough to change your shocks,your only raising it 3/4". The tire won't even come off the ground.

 

[loxpump]

I have that same speedo, and I soldered wires directly into the wires of the stock plug so I can unplug it if I had to. Used a little heat shrink tubing around the diodes to hold them in place. One thing I did last night was switch the turn signal and high beam lights. I had a hard time seeing the turn signal indicator light in the sunlight but that high beam light was very bright, almost too bright at night anyway.