Here is an example of some of the wiring I've done that I think has very good results.
My V-strom
Here's the front end of my V-strom with ample wiring for the following accessories:
1. Denali Sound Bomb Horn (relay visible on the left)
2. Voltmeter/Thermometer gauge for monitoring my battery and watching for ice
3. Grip heaters
4. My cigarette port and USB ports
There is just something really satisfying about actually doing this stuff right, using good quality connectors, and having every component connected through a connector and not just hard wired in, so they can be easily removed, replaced, or just swapped out temporarily.
Here's the small panel of 3 2-wire deutsch connectors for accessories I added. This gives me easy access right underneath the apron fairing under my handlebars to plug and unplug my accessories. I have the fairings off in this picture, but this is mounted on my V-strom, bolted to the underside of the metal panel that the gauge set mounts onto using a piece of aluminum bar stock I bought for another project, and a couple nylon spacers from HD.
Here's the business end of the connectors. These are easily accessible perfectly below the apron fairing, so it's surprisingly easy access when everything is assembled. I can barely even see the wires down there while riding, so it really came out almost perfectly.
I have currently plugged in these 3 connectors: My digital voltmeter/thermometer, my grip heaters, and my cigarette port and USB ports. I have a dedicated 18ga harness running from by fuse block to these 3 connectors. I have a separate 18ga harness from the fuse box to my Denali Sound Bomb, but that uses spade terminals right now. I may re-wire that at some point to use one of these Deutsch connectors, but I'll need to re-wire the relay at that point too, it's working great as it is right now.
My XJ600
I still need to do some major clean up on this bike. Here it is at present:
I have used a 12-pin Deutsch connector for my Acewell gauges set, which I think works really well, though I wish it were smaller. I have used a 12-pin Deutsch connector for my Acewell gauges set, which I think works really well, though I wish it were smaller.
Ok, now that I've given you some pictures to entertain you, here is the nitty-gritty...
Connector Systems
Deutsch
I personally really like the Deutsch system of connectors. They are not the smallest in size, but they have good sealing, they are easy to use, they are pretty abundant and cheap on Ebay and other sources now (though there are definitely higher and lower quality ones out there, so be careful). It kind of does require you to buy a crimper tool, but it's a pretty universal tool that will crimp both the sheathing and wire at the same time, and will fit other systems that have that same kind of crimp design. You can also get Deutsch connectors in solid terminals too which requires a different, more expensive crimper, but I don't have experience with this type. I think the solid contacts are probably better/stronger though.
Here are some sources for Deutsch connectors:
Cycleterminal.com
deutschconnector.com
Wirecare.com
Eastern Beaver
New one: Corsa-Techic Appears pretty low cost, but maybe a little limited on selection.
And of course E-bay has tons of them. There are some very cheap set on there, so be careful of what you are ordering. I have gotten many of the standard grey ones and they seem very good quality, good tolerances, etc. I got some of the darker grey/black ones and they are definitely lower tolerance, and the seals are not quite right, as the male side seals are way larger than the female side, but i got around this by just putting some heat shrink on the wire to enlarge it to fit the seals.
There are also nice panel mount clips, dust caps, etc available for these connectors, which I am finding is very useful for cleaning up the wiring.
MOLEX ML-XT Deutsch Compatible
So a coworker just showed me a new connector system from Molex to compete with Deutsch. The Deutsch patent has apparently expired, and Molex now has a seemingly better alternative. Some of the key features is simplified housings, wire seals integrated into the housing and recessed, and the environmental seal is molded into the plastic, so it can't come off. That was a common problem with the Deutsch connectors.
I got a piece in my hand, and the female housing feels great. I am going to order a couple and see what I think of the whole system, and if it really interchanges with my existing deutsch connectors.
OEM
OEM connectors are obviously fine too, though I've always kind of hated that they aren't sealed (or at least not all of them). I have found a couple sources for OEM connectors, and I think this is great if you're just doing a repair job and aren't actually re-wiring everything.
Cycle terminals, Eastern Beaver, Vintage bike connectors, and other have most all of the japanese connector systems. Eastern Beaver is very well respected on my V-strom forum, though he ships from Japan. Cycle terminal apparently ripped EB off of his supplier information and at first copied EB's entire website, but he has a nicer website now (IMO), has pretty cheap shipping, and ships from the US.
I would like to put together a list of the models used on every application on the XJ for easy replacement info, but I need to get my bike out of storage and figure out which specific ones they all are. I'll get to that soon.
Tips
Just a list of tips that I have come up with from my experience...
1. Plan ahead. Plan it all out in your head or on paper before you start. Figure out the wires (color, ga, length, etc), the routing (lay it out before you but the wires, cut the wires in-place, in your practice routing), the sheathing, the heat shrink, the terminations, etc.
2. Use sheathing for your wires. Expanded braid sheathing, heat shrink, spiral wrap, kuryakan, electrical tape, whatever... Sheathing cleans up the look, protects the wires from rubbing and heat, and really makes the whole thing look very professional. Also, it's not expensive, it just takes a little planning ahead
3. Don't be stingy on heat shrink, sheathing, terminations, etc. Have extra stuff and don't worry about the cost. If you fudge up a crimp, pull it off and do it again, or solder it in place. Don't accept a marginal crimp. This stuff is not very expensive and it's way better to spend a tiny bit more to do it right than to have it fail while riding.
4. Put your heat shrink on before you crimp/solder/etc... Get your plan in place before you start crimping. so many times I've crimped something on just to realize I forgot to put the heat shrink on first, so now I can't heat shrink over the crimp. The same goes for any other things that must be done in the right order
5. Use a proper heat gun for heat shrink. They're like $12 on amazon, and they do such a better job than rubbing the heat shrink with your soldering iron, or using a lighter.
6. Don't get cheap on electrical tape. Cheap vinyl electrical tape is garbage. With age, the adhesive will either degrade into sticky black gunk that doesn't hold the vinyl, or it will harden into a non-adhesive curl of vinyl strip that has no adhesive properties whatsoever. 3M/Scotch Super33+; this is the only electrical tape out there. Seriously. It's stretchy, it doesn't break down nearly as easily, I've pulled it off clean after 3-4 years and it could go back on again.
7. Don't cheap out on the crimper either. Get a good crimper, not the cheap-o red-handled multi-tool ones for spade terminals you get at HD. I do use those for spade terminals, ring terminals, etc, but not for deutsch or other actual connector systems.
8. Don't leave lots of extra wire. Route it first, and cut it to the correct length. Extra length ends up making it messy.
9. Hard mount connectors and relays whenever possible. Use the mounting clips if available, and hard mount stuff. It solidifies the position of the connector so you can get the length cut right, and really helps to keep the wires clean. For relays, get one that has a mounting tab, and even better, grab a relay connector from cycleterminal so you have a connector for your relays instead of a bunch of spade terminals
Here's a small automotive relay on amazon. CT has connectors for this too.
10. If you're hard mounting, be sure you attach the mounted end to the bike-side, not the component side. I did this backwards on my Deutsch gauge connector above, so I can't really mount this connector to the bike. My bad.
11. Use dielectric grease, especially for sealed connectors. A little silicone grease goes a long way to make the seals slide smoothly and easily and do a good job of sealing.
I think that's about it for now. If you guys post up more tips, sources, or find the model #'s for the OEM connectors, post them up and I'll update the original post. I'll add more pictures of the harnesses I've made. I wish I took pics before I installed them, but oh well. It'll be cooler when I get my XJ back and can take pictures on our actual bike.