Clearwater Darlas -- Almost

[Phil Tarman]

After being all paralyzed about the installation of my Darlas for a month and with my departure for Caldwell and the SE Ohio gathering on Monday morning, I finally got serious about the job yesterday. What I realized quickly was that there have been two different wiring diagrams for these. I can see that they can be interpreted to be the same, but they don't look the same and neither one of them had the relay that was in the wiring that I got. I called and the woman who I was talking to couldn't figure out what I was saying. So, I sent her pictures and she couldn't figure them out because I hadn't labeled the wires. So we got together on the phone with both of us looking at my picture. Then she replied with a simple, easy to understand statement of where each wire went. So, after Joanne's daughter and her husband left after coming here for Mother's Day, I got after it.

Everything was, in fact, simple. Until I started to hook the power to the battery. I lost the cotton-picking nut from the positive terminal so I'm stymied until I can get to the parts store in the morning.

Does anybody have any handy tips on a way to keep that nut in place while I corral all the positive terminal connections and get them lined up?

I'm fairly confident that I've wired everything correctly, but you never really know until you turn things on and see them light up!

 

[Warren]

To keep the nut in place I usually cut off a piece of zip tie, fold it in half and push it behind the nut. When folded in half it becomes sort of a spring that holds the nut in position.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Thanks, Warren! I think you (or someone) has posted this tip before, but I could not, for the life of me, remember what it had been!

If I'm lucky, I'll get through installing the lights, put the bike back together, get packed, and be on the road Monday by 8. If I'm really lucky, I'll stay ahead of the snow predicted for a later in the day!

 

[ST1100Y]

When folded in half it becomes sort of a spring that holds the nut in position.

Some piece of foam (like adhesive window seal) does the job too...
(aftermarket batteries come with sorter screws then the YUASA, just enough the thread won't bite...)

 

[Nick Wilkinson]

There is an elegant solution to the rats’ nest look. Follow the thick positive lead from the battery. The other end attaches to a terminal on the starter motor relay. Hook up there. It is then much easier to remove the battery.

To retain the nut on the battery, I stuff a very short length of PVC pipe into the terminal. Also, the bolt is held on the lead with a starlock washer. After 35 years away from motorcycling, I forgot these solutions. I had plenty of time to remember during my 45 minute search.

 

[DirtFlier]

I've always used a short section of small diameter, vinyl hose stuffed behind the nut to keep it close enough for the bolt to be easily started. Or if you only have scraps of larger diameter, vinyl hose, use diagonal pliers to cut it into a useable section.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Well, CRAP!!! I finally thought I had everything wired up this afternoon. I started the bike and...no Clearwaters. Also, no power to my GPS or my heated gear. But the bike ran and I figured I could do layers for the 3-4 days when the mornings were going to be cool. But then I realized my right fork is leaking...a lot. So, I don't think the stars are aligned for me to start a 3800 mile trip tomorrow. I was going to be pushing to get to Caldwell in time for supper Thursday night, but I'm not going to even try now.

 

[mikesim]

Damn the bad luck! I thought you would be on your way....... The best laid plans of mice and men.......

Mike

 

[Nick Wilkinson]

 

[Coyote Chris]

I have found the seal mate to work but its still important to have guards that keep rocks from dinging the tubes and damaging the seals. You can stone a ding out....

 

[Phil Tarman]

I had fork gaiters from an early oughties Triumph Bonneville on Dudley. Frosty had NOJ fork protectors on Horse. I'll get some of the Triumph gaiters for Horse. I don't see how a rock or dried bugs (which messed up forks on my Connie once) could have done anything. I think I'll have them both repaired/replaced at the dealers and change fork oil weight to 15.

 

[mikesim]

Did you get your electrical woes figgered out? If you don't have one, I was thinking that you oughta look into a Fuze Box type device. Makes wiring accessories a piece of cake, provides over current protection for each circuit and enables you to select an always on circuit or switched circuit. I put one on Traveller years ago and it has worked very well.

Mike

 

[Phil Tarman]

No, I didn't. I have a Fuze Box (have had one since my first Concour). But not only do the Darlas not work (they're wired directly to the battery), but my heated grips, my heated jacket and my GPS (wired to the Fuze Box), plus the ambient temperature gauge and the voltmeter (Frosty installed those and I don't know if they're wired to the Fuze Box or not.

So, it's not just my hands not so good working with fiddly things, it my brain is also not such a good fiddly worker so much no more.

 

[mikesim]

No, I didn't. I have a Fuze Box (have had one since my first Concour). But not only do the Darlas not work (they're wired directly to the battery), but my heated grips, my heated jacket and my GPS (wired to the Fuze Box), plus the ambient temperature gauge and the voltmeter (Frosty installed those and I don't know if they're wired to the Fuze Box or not.

So, it's not just my hands not so good working with fiddly things, it my brain is also not such a good fiddly worker so much no more.

If I am not mistaken the Darla's are LED's, correct? LED's are diodes which are polarity sensitive. If you have 'em hooked up backwards electrically, they wont work. Reverse the Darla wiring on the battery and see if they illuminate. As far as the other accessories if they are hooked to the fuze box, my fuze box can let you wire a circuit to be on all the time or switched with the ignition. The switched with the ignition circuit is controlled by a relay. The coil of the relay must be triggered by a voltage that is present when the ignition is on. Did you perhaps disturb the trigger voltage somehow?


Mike

 

[Phil Tarman]

If I am not mistaken the Darla's are LED's, correct? LED's are diodes which are polarity sensitive. If you have 'em hooked up backwards electrically, they wont work. Reverse the Darla wiring on the battery and see if they illuminate. As far as the other accessories if they are hooked to the fuze box, my fuze box can let you wire a circuit to be on all the time or switched with the ignition. The switched with the ignition circuit is controlled by a relay. The coil of the relay must be triggered by a voltage that is present when the ignition is on. Did you perhaps disturb the trigger voltage somehow?

Mike

The Darlas are LEDs, but the polarity isn't wrong. I don't know what's going on with the Fuzeblock. I've got all the circuits set as switched except for the GPS.

 

[Coyote Chris]

I think it was Joe Minton who did the article on how rocks destroy fork seals. When a sharp rock his your fork tube, some of the metal displaced may "rise" and indeed can even be felt. He described how you can then take a very fine whetting stone and take off the burr.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Except for the fact that my fork tube doesn't show any evidence of having been hit. At some point (I don't know which point), Frosty had put NOX rubber fork protectors on the bike.

 

[DirtFlier]

I also had fork boots on my NT when one of the fork seals failed at approx 50k miles. Sometimes s___ happens. :-(

 

[Phil Tarman]

I went to the Triumph dealer in Ft Collins this afternoon and got a pair of '12 Triumph Bonneville fork gaiters. That's what I had on Dudley from about 2012 on. They're still there. I had the forks serviced once at about 50K and again at about 100K. I thought that even if the seals were still good (and they were), it was worth replacing bushings and fork oil.

 

[DirtFlier]

Even though it's not on any maintenance schedule, I try and change the fork oil about every two years. And while the forks are off the bike, give them a good flush and cleaning. The only way to do it properly is to completely diasassemble the forks but it's a lot of additional work so I only do that about every other time.