TOOL OF THE MONTH
Ralph on wire strippers.
When repairing electrical faults or fully rewiring a bike the first thing you will want is a method of cutting the wire and removing the insulation.
It sounds simple but many home mechanics admit to knowing little about electrics, but this doesn’t stop them ‘repairing’ broken electrical systems on their bikes with the most unsuitable tools available.
I have seen lads use a pair of pliers to cut, strip and crimp wire on bikes, cover them with cheap insulating tape and then they are surprised when their bike spectacularly lets them down in the middle of nowhere.
Motorcycle wiring is not to be attempted by those without patience or who are too tight to buy the proper tools for the job. For classic bikes the list of required tools is really not that deleterious to one’s personal wealth, but as in all things buying, the cheapest tools will not make life easier and will not last very long.
The first tool to buy will be a decent set of side cutters, which you will never stop using. I have various types, makes and sizes. I personally like VDE cutters. VDE actually refers to insulation that will be safe if used on live circuits with 1000 volts AC or 1500 volts DC, which you are highly unlikely to come across on a classic motorcycle, but they are so much more comfortable to use. They cut the wire between two angle jaws that meet precisely. Conversely, for heavy wire or cable you tend to use shear type cutters. By heavy I mean 10mm², which is used on motorcycle battery and starter leads.
I have always liked electrician’s scissors, which often have a cut-out in the blades which you can use to cut thinner wire if the side cuts aren’t handy. The actual blade has a slight serration, which makes them perfect for cutting all types of sleeving. Ordinary scissors tend to push the sleeve out rather than cut it. Laser Tools have seriously impressed me by showing me their take on electrician’s scissors. They will cut cable up to 70mm²! I don’t have any cable that thick, but they sliced a piece of 10mm² battery cable off as though it were made of butter. It also claims to be able to crimp terminals, but I was unimpressed with that feature, though that shouldn’t detract for its extraordinary ability to hack off battery cable, leaving a clean square end. I did find that it cuts flexible fuel line rather neatly as well. One thing that should be noted is that none of your electrical cutters should be used to cut steel cables, particularly not Bowden cables.
Once wire is cut to length, insulation needs to be removed and there are many types of insulation stripping tools on the market. For my money I like automatic strippers as they make the job easier. My first automatic stripper had two dies one side, which have various round cut-outs to suit different wire sizes. You lay the wire in the applicable hole for the wire gauge and squeeze the handles. The insulation is gripped one side and the split dies close up on the other and pull away from the gripping side. Once the handles have closed the insulation is neatly removed and one releases the handles; job done. See pic 6.
My current favourite is a tool I have been using for the best part of 20 years, and is effortless to use. See Pic 7. You simple lay the wire between two jaws and squeeze. As with the previous tool, one side has a jaw that comes down and grips the insulation, and the other side has a cutter, but on this one you don’t have to get the wire in the right hole; rather the flat blade has just the right amount of pressure to strip off the insulation without harming the delicate conductors underneath. I was initially sceptical that such a tool could be so good. It is, and if it ever wears out, I will buy another pair immediately. Next month: terminal crimp tools.