MAKE YOUR OWN LOOM

With prices of new parts escalating Scoop makes his own wiring loom from scratch. Is he mad?

Wiring worries? Ask Scoop!

It’s probably fair to say that few of us get any real pleasure out of mucking about with the electrical systems of our machines. Many of us probably regard the rat’s nest inside our headlamps, fairing and frames as something akin to magic coloured string and we’re just blissfully happy it works. Well, until it doesn’t. Where that blind trust falls down is if you’re into a restoration and the existing loom is falling apart or has obvious faults. In this instance it was the infamous Suzuki Stinger that perpetuated the ascent of a rather steep learning curve. My good mate and fellow Stinger afflictee Mike Corcoran had kindly sent me a used loom but upon investigation it wasn’t quite up the job either. A chat with wiring guru Ferret went along the lines of: ‘…it’s really a very simple loom to replicate; you’ll suss it no problem.’ Well I suppose one job on the hateful T125 ought to be simple and straightforward. With sufficient strength summoned, here’s what happened. So after building myself a new loom and persuading a good mate to help in fitting it, was it worth the effort? Unquestionably the answer has to be yes. Fresh copper conductors, corrosion free connectors and a decent battery saw the bike’s lights

significantly better than I’d ever dared hope for. Working systematically and methodically it was surprising just how straightforward building a loom was with a pattern to follow. Doing the same from scratch with nothing to copy is the work of experts and in such cases you might be better off calling in outside help if this is your first time. That said every day can be a school day if you pace yourself and learn by your mistakes. Cabling and connectors are relatively cheap so perhaps wiring up from scratch might be on the cards next time, who knows? I’ll just make sure I have a good supply of fuses in stock just in case!

The original loom needed replacing.

15/ Working with a mate the new replica loom is carefully worked in among the frame tubes before being connected up and tested. 15

9 9/ Use quality crimping tools or the joint will fail. Practice with some spare terminals until you’re confident of making a quality connection.

8 8/ With modern thin walled, high capacity cable it’s often necessary to fold over the conductive copper in order to ensure a good crimped joint.

12 12/ Inelegant but period correct: sometimes wires are spliced into one another where space is tight. Solder these joints and wrap with insulating tape.

13/ Modern connectors may differ from OEM but will do the same job. These connectors have one crimped ‘power in’ terminal and three female ‘power out’ connections. 13

11 11/ This is a lead to the coils that also feeds other components with power. Two double females are produced using a flying lead.

7 7/ Always strip new cable using the correct tools. Never use a knife or you may risk cutting through into the copper strands.

14/ The loom is wrapped with loom tape not insulation tape; only the ends are secured with the sticky stuff. It’s often easier to wrap looms with an extra pair of hands. 14

10 10/ Copper trapped in the first crimp and insulation caught in the second. This is what we’re aiming for.