Wire Choice? (For rewiring)

Im about to order some wire in the next few days for rewiring my bike, i have 2 choices & i wondered which would suit best;

Choice no 1
010703 Thin Wall cable 28/0.30, 2.0mm2, 25.0A - cable OD 2.7mm
www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/70/category/114



That seemed a logical enough choice but i then seen this at the same price,

Choice no 2
Tinned Copper Wire 21/0.30, 1.5mm2, 21A, cable OD 2.4mm
www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/884/category/159


I know the tinned cable is rated for 4A less but my fuses are 20A so both cables should be adequate. The tinned cable is thinner and is apparently more corrosion resistant, are there any disadvantages to using it?

Also interested in opinions on wire as I'll be wiring everything from scratch in the near future.

For lighting circuits like turn signals, 18 gauge will work. Use 16 gauge for heavier current draws like headlight lights. 12 gauge should be used for supplying voltage/current to the battery from the reulator/rectifier.

For a good battery cables, use 6 gauge welding cable, it comes in two colors,Red and Black. The terminal ends might be found at welding supply stores, or at some electric fork lift shops & batery supply places for car batteries. They should be able to crimp/swage the terminal ends using dedicated tools.

MFolks, i agree with your post. What im asking though is if the 2 types of wiring are the same price & carry nearly the same current am i safer going for the Tinned wire instead of the ordinary wire? The tinned wire is supposed to be more corrosion resistant and it is thinner (Outer diameter & the wire inside), i do not know what its disadvantages are.

Over this side of the pond, the US Coast Guard sets the requirments for wiring on the boats. Tinned wire is required(that is each strand is coated with solder, and then twisted up to form the conductors of the wire). It is more corrosion resistant than bare copper, but it's slightly heavier.

Kawasaki used uncoated(solder tinned)wire in the motorcycles as it's very flexible, permitting ease of use in tight routed wiring(like where the main wire bundle/loom goes up toward the headlight housing(an area known for breaking the conductors of wire due to repeated flexing).

Ah, thank you, so the tinned wire is less flexible, i simply didn't see that. I'm just thinking for my application extreme flexibility should not be an issue, i will not be shoving a birds nest of wires into the headlight bucket like Kawasaki did, i will have 4 wires going in there & 1 will be the earth wire.

Maybe these will help ya...

Old Man Rock wrote: Maybe these will help ya...

Hey Dave
Sent ya a PM about a non KZ related technical issue, hope ya can help me out sir!!
Thanks
ED

ED... Pm'd ya with link....

Pulling Wire Bundles Inside Handlebars

Before running any wiring inside the bars, take time to see if any sharp "Burrs" are there, otherwise they will quickly strip any insulation away from the wire's conductors, resulting in an electrical short.

A Dremel tool with a small stone grinding bit will smooth most burrs away. If a Dremel is not available, a small round rat tail file works just as good.

When preparing to pull the wire bundle through the bars, carefully taper the bundles end with masking tape as this makes for a better pulling situation.

I use aircraft 0.032" diameter safety wire secured to the wire bundle as a pulling medium, Nylon string or small diameter cord will work for this too.

Silicone spray or electricians pulling lubricant should be applied to the end of the wires to ease the operation. It's best to have a helper while doing this to avoid problems of possible pinched or damaged wires. Have your helper apply a steady pulling effort while you carefully feed the wire bundle into the handlebars.

After the job of pulling is done, get a multimeter, set it on the lowest ohm setting, open up the switch housings to access the wire ends and then see if a wire of two has shorted out.

Put one probe on the handlebar and the other on any soldered wire ends on the switches and see if the meter indicates continuity by either making a buzz(some meters have built in buzzers) or a display on the meter face.

An analog meter(the type with the needle indicator) will act similar (except no buzzer) by showing usually a full deflection(needle movement)if there is a short by again, checking with the lowest setting on the ohm scale of the meter.

Finding a short now is a whole lot better than when it's wired up & blowing fuses or possible stranding you on the road.....

Then there's this unit:
www.phatperformanceparts.com/Motogadget_...er_p/moto-m-unit.htm

MFolks wrote: Then there's this unit:
www.phatperformanceparts.com/Motogadget_...er_p/moto-m-unit.htm

Goddammit, thats expensive, i can see where it would be usefull though!




...........so, which wire do i use, tin plated or not?? :laugh: