Wiring harness suggestions

I am looking ahead to restoring my 74 Commando which is now totally torn down. My original wiring harness does not look too bad, other than a lot of grime and being old. I am wondering about buying a new harness and looking for any suggestions you may have from who to buy from to making my own. Thank you in advance as I know you will, as always, be helpful.

A new harness is a good idea, if your harness is the original, replace it, no question. If you have the time and skills to make a harness you can easily add some custom features especially if you plan to upgrade the electronics or want to employ a few relays, such as for the horn, high/low beam, and power to same.

A good quality harnesses are available and they are, to a large extent, plug and play. If you do not plan on adding many alterations, this is the better route and they install rather quickly.

Your call.

Best.

RoadScholar said:

A new harness is a good idea, if your harness is the original, replace it, no question. If you have the time and skills to make a harness you can easily add some custom features especially if you plan to upgrade the electronics or want to employ a few relays, such as for the horn, high/low beam, and power to same.

A good quality harnesses are available and they are, to a large extent, plug and play. If you do not plan on adding many alterations, this is the better route and they install rather quickly.

Your call.

Best.

Click to expand...

Thank you for your input, I appreciate it. I’ve seen that Andover Norton and CNW sell harnesses. I could make one from a kit with instructions if available, but not from scratch.

I used to build industrial control panels. Thus every job required building a harness.

If I had to replace a harness for my bike, I would buy one, the savings by doing it myself are not worth the effort, unless you are one who derives immense satisfaction from DIY.

Re-read Reply #2.

I would (and have) re-use the original harness, unless there is a lot of destroyed parts. Repair as needed. Replace all the rubber encased female snap connectors as you go.

If nothing else the original wiring now is over 45yrs old and the jacketing over the copper is junk. get a new harness, recognize that many of the new harness are still focused on the failling electrical/electronic items used in the 70's and they were out of date then. when my 74 norton was new the only electrical item that did not fail was the alternator. i replaced the wiring harness and made my own using the latest in wiring for automotive underhood use, with a modern R/R and mini relays and a fuse panel, and none of these items are considered in the "new" replacement wiring harness you buy off the shelf (not sure what CNW does)

i'd suggest TXL wire from https://www.wirebarn.com/

Like concours, if the wiring and binding tape are in good nick, I would chop off the unused Interpol stuff then replace all of the connectors with Japanese style 3.9mm bullets. The Lucas bullets are bulky, a pig to separate, and even worse to connect again.

Open up the harness and strip some wires, they will have a black coating and best for the bin.

jamesp said:

I am looking ahead to restoring my 74 Commando which is now totally torn down. My original wiring harness does not look too bad, other than a lot of grime and being old. I am wondering about buying a new harness and looking for any suggestions you may have from who to buy from to making my own. Thank you in advance as I know you will, as always, be helpful.

Click to expand...

If I were rebuilding a bike completely stock, I would consider a replacement harness. However, I always use a Tri-Spark Ignition, Tri-spark Regulator, eliminate the assimilator, install an oil pressure switch, and eliminate all possible connections and extra wires. Therefore, I make my own harnesses.

I detest the clump of connections under the tank so I eliminate them by wiring "Triumph Style" (most connections in the headlight shell). This means that most wires are too short on a Norton to be reused unless you splice them. Splicing is OK if the wires are still flexible and copper colored - I never reuse a wire with a discolored or hard spot.

All my supplies come from http://www.britishwiring.com/Default.asp

Look here for more: https://www.gregmarsh.com/MC/Norton/Norton_1974_Wiring.aspx on how I do it.