wiring loom issues

[Guest standish honda]

The blackbird wiring loom has two test connectors located on the nearside/main loom one near the air filter housing and one near the top pivot for the rear shock, they are terminal type boxes and not a male/female type arrangement used to joint out various wires instead of running wires straight from A-B in one length. They are not easy to find if you don't know they are there as they are wound up in loom tape and just look like two bulges in the loom. Their purpose is for testing in the factory and have no use once the bike has left the factory. They can be a problem on birds as water settles in the connector block and gives all kinds of strange electrical faults, this has never surfaced as a problem on X11 that i know of possibly due to the lack of fairing to direct and trap water where it is not needed. There is a permanent fix to stop it happening, this involves removing the plastic boxes and soldering the cables up in the correct coloured bunches then insulating them. Worth bearing in mind as your bike gets older and starts to degrade, just imagine if the X11 was made in an Italian factory (on second thoughts no don't) nightmare.

[fast_eddy 712]

The x11 doesn't have 'em...

[Guest standish honda]

yes it does Eddy, i have to disagree with you, lift your seat and look under the tank, on the left hand side, or i have a blackbird loom on mine.

[fast_eddy 712]

Oh well maybe it does... It's my fault for deciding that 2nd hand information is gospel but someone mailed me about this years ago and I pointed them to the discussion about this on the ixxra site. Afterwards they told me they'd cut into the loom insulation and couldn't find any connector - but thinking about it I'm sure that was supposed to be behind the rear brake reservoir area, maybe that's the top shock one you mention? Also, just because they couldn't find it doesn't mean they don't exist... I suppose!

Oh well, just another reason to avoid the blackbird then! However, summat else to consider and investigate if the gremlins do bite... so cheers for the heads up!