Big Boy Harness Installation

The diagram above is an example of how the standard American Hard Bag Harnesses can be used. The Big Boy harnesses are very similar except that all of the parts have been up-scaled. 
  • 4 gauge power and ground wire
  • 4 gauge fuse holders
  • 14 gauge SAEJ1128-TWP speaker wire

Additionally the layout of the harness is slightly different in order to accommodate the thicker power wire. On our standard wire harnesses the fuse holders are located on the left side of the bike for both left and right bags. On the Big Boy kit however the fuse holders are located on each side of the bike closest to the corresponding bag. 

6 Points of the Harness

The harness has six points of destination. 

  • Battery terminals
  • left side plastic
  • Left bag
  • Right side plastic
  • Right bag
  • Fairing

Begin your installation by installing the stainless wire clamps on the bags. The clamps should be pointed slightly forward so that the wire will not have to bend sharply to reach the side plastic. The Big Boy harness comes with two wire clamps per bag in order to accommodate the larger wire. But first, sort the various harness sections so that you know which parts will be fed through each bag.

The bag containing the HD600/4 will have:

  • Amplifier Power/Ground
  • Remote, Power/Ground for Crossover
  • 2 Channel RCA
  • Left and Right speaker channels out for fairing (White/Black & Red/Black)
  • 3 Channel Speaker Inputs from Crosslink (White/Black, Yellow/Black, & Red/Black). The three channels are for the three speakers in that bag that are being powered by the amplifier on the opposite side of the bike. Which wire colors correspond to which speakers is up to you. Both 8" speakers can be paralleled to share a channel at the amplifier on the other side of the bike. The speaker wires are left extra long on this side of the bike so that they will reach each speaker. Cut to length. Extra wire loom has been added to the kit so that you can keep it all pretty. 

The bag containing the XD700/5 will have:

  • Amplifier Power/Ground
  • Remote, Power/Ground for Crossover
  • 2 Channel RCA
  • 3 Channel Crosslink for bag speakers on the opposite side of the bike. The speaker lines on this harness are shorter than the same harness on the other side of the bike. This is because the speaker lines only have to reach the amplifier and not each individual speaker. Cut to length. 

Also an iPod 30 pin dock connector has been provided. Run this cable in the bag of your choice along with the other cables.

Once you have all of the various harness parts sorted out, group them in to two bundles for each bag. Drill a hole in the bag just large enough to pass all of the wires through and cap with the wire clamp. Tip: Start with the RCAs, since they are the largest that you will be running into the bag. Drill three small holes for the wire clamp mounting screws. Later in you installation you will remove the wire clamps and seal the hole with silicone. The wire clamp will then be screwed back into place to cover the silicone. Don't do that part now because you want to make sure that the length of your wire runs exiting the bag are all perfect be for committing. The length of the wire from the bag to the plugs exiting the bag should be about 13". At that length the plugs all end up nicely under the side plastic with a small amount of slack for service.  

Run the Crosslink

The crosslink can be run either in front of or behind the battery. We suggest running behind the battery. The front of the battery already has enough going on in that area. 

Run the Backbone Harnesses

 Harnesses that need to be run from the side plastics, under the gas tank and to the fairing.

  • Left & Right speaker
  • Remote Turn-Ons
  • RCAs

The speaker wires have been left long for ease of installation. Cut to length. 

Mount the Fuse Holders

Find a good location to mount each fuse holder. The correct fuse size for each of your amplifiers has already been installed into each fuse holder. Make sure that your fuse holder is secure and zip tie the fuse holders clear plastic cover in place. Do not under estimate the danger of high current power cables and their connections. If shorted out these cables and connections could easily start a fire!

The power leads for your battery connections have been left long for ease of installation. Cut to length and crimp on supplied ring terminals. Tip: if you are using the factory plastic battery cover, you may want to grind a small amount of the plastic out in order to accommodate the large ring terminals on the positive side. 

Finishing Up with the Wire Clamps

Once you have all of the harnesses in place, remove the fuses from the fuse holders and plug everything in. Now with the bags in place determine a final length for the harnesses exiting each bag. The harnesses should flow smoothly from the bag to the connections at each side of the bike. The harnesses should have enough slack in them so that the bags can be tilted back enough to remove the side plastics when needed for service. The harnesses should not come close to any moving parts. 

Once you have a good length worked out, remove the bags and seal the wire holes with silicone. Then cover with the wire clamps and allow to fully cure. When done right there will be no silicone visible. The holes and the silicone will be completely concealed under the wire clamps. 

 

Feel free to contact me directly with any questions that you might have.

Rob Gomez

1(800) 892-6430
AmericanHardBag@gmail.com