Harness routing under tank kicking my butt

1982 XJ750 Maxim. Putting the harness back in and I can't seem to get it routed to clear the bottom of the tank. The fuzzier photo below is how it laid before I removed it, and seems to be the correct path from diagrams I can find. The wires were definitely smashed before...not rubbed thru, but I'd like to not have to flatten them with the tank if possible.

I've had it flipped and scooted back and forth. In this photo the left handle control pigtail is hanging below instead of crossing over the top as original. I removed the tape wrap to try to flatten the bundle, but it still doesn't help.

Is there a compelling reason why I couldn't go under the frame bar instead of over? Valve cover removal clearance would need to be looked at for sure. Or is there something I'm missing to make the original route work?

 

Well this is extremely discouraging.

I have a second identical bike to this, other than the frame had been bobbed, so I chose to rebuild the original bike with the complete frame. I went back and forth between the two frames this morning trying to resolve this wire clearance issue, and discovered significant frame damage. The top, main frame tube is bent up, so the area where the wire passes through is about 5/8" higher than it should be, causing the pinching. Clearly this bike had a major front end collision at some point. Not sure how I didn't see this when cleaning/painting, other than there's no creases in the steel so nothing jumps out as being bent.

In the photo, that tube should be flat under the straight edge.

What an absolute pisser. Really not sure where to proceed with this from here.

 

One step forward. 42 steps back. Stripped the bike back down after taking more measurements. Here's the two frames side by side with swing arm and motor mount holes lined up. You can see the difference in the angle of the steering stem. It's about 5 degrees. If it was only the fitment of the tank, I'd deal with the frame issue, but changing the steering angle this much...bleggghhhh. And of course I hacksawed the stem of the bobber frame, thinking it was scrap metal anyhow, to get bearings out that I never used. Otherwise I'd be chopping and welding the two together already. But I might investigate that option more...

I'd try straightening it, but the rest of the frame is wet noodles compared to the stiffness in this piece up front. And still wouldn't care for the idea of possibly screwing up steering geometry.

Guess I'm on the hunt for a frame. What a mess.

 

I'm still pondering my bent frame situation and considering first trying to straighten the full frame before chopping and welding. My Yamaha service manual for the DT250 has a page with all the frame dimensions. Has anybody ever seen something like this for the XJ's?? I don't have an actual Yamaha service manual for the XJ, only the Haynes.

Side note...I really don't miss my two stroke, teeth rattling, front drum braking Enduro.

 

I have XJ750RH Service Manual and looks like the closest it gets is cable routing, didn't see any frame dimensions

 

Thanks for checking, Rooster. I have the other unbent frame I can get dimensions from. Haven't completely talked myself into trying this, but I don't suppose I can make it worse than it is now.

 

My best guess (from a frail memory) is to route the harness under (instead of over) the first cross member,

 

Wow, that bike took a good solid ka-chunk.......odd that the damage wasn't more significant or noticeable. If the steering headpipe still in alignment with that central frame tube? If so, then it was a head-on hit of significant force.....

P.S. good thing you noticed it now rather than much, much later.....

 

I'm sure the forks got trashed when it happened. Funny thing, the only frame damage I noticed previously was a shallow dent on the lower cross tube, near the oil filter. I figured that was an odd place to get a dent. Now I'm thinking that was probably from the front tire folding up into the frame. Probably was not a pleasant afternoon for somebody.

Yes, the steering head still looks straight. But who knows, maybe they did some twisty repair long ago. If we only knew all the history of our 40 year old bikes....

 

So I attempted some frame straightening today. Built a jig on the shop table to secure the frame by the motor mounts and pushed on the steering head with a bottle jack. I tried to do it without heat at first, but the frame wasn't budging, so I started relieving the bends with the rosebud while under pressure. Ultimately I moved it back a little over 4 degrees. Probably could have gone another degree, but it was a hell of a lot of stress on the frame, even with heat. I made a giant angle finder protractor thing to check progress.

It looks a lot better and would certainly be usable. My first inclination was to cut the two frames I have and weld them together, and I still may decide to go that route. But we'll see. More pondering and measuring needed.

One takeaway from this....it takes a lot of force to bend the frame. Hitting a pothole or racoon probably isn't going to tweak your frame.

Pardon the mess, it's a busy corner of the shop.

 

Cancel the frame straightening!

Commence the frame chopping!

So I thought about it and just wasn't happy with the straightening effort. There were a couple spots where a single bend in the tube became a double bend, albeit more straight overall. But, in a further attempt to make a usable frame or scrap metal, I went ahead and chopped the tail off the "straightened" frame to attach to the other frame that was bobbed when I got it.

The simplest way would have been to just add what was missing, from the rear shock mounts outward, but it had been gnawed off with a Sawzall and possibly a hangover. So I picked a cleaner spot further forward.

Here is the bobbed frame, which will receive the good tail from the other. First step is to mark both frames in the same spot measuring from the upper shock mounts.



Then snip snip...



Same treatment for the other frame. Here is the good tail end after removal.



I didn't want to weld the frame tube without some kind of backer, and it was just dumb luck that 1/2" pipe fits the I. D. perfectly. So four stubs, and some plug welds to hold them in position.



Then pop the tail end on. It was a little bit of a fight to get it lined up as I'm sure there's some residual stress in the frame from assembly that relieves itself.



Then hammer to fit, paint to match. I'm still going to sandblast this frame and repaint, but it'll keep the rust off for now. Pretty happy with how it turned out. I think I'll keep the front half of the discarded frame around to make an engine test stand. Or not.

Now I've just got to rebuild another set of forks and brake calipers, tires, wheels, wiring......

 

Most people don't realize that so many of the world's problems can be fixed in exactly this way.

Good job!

 

Nice result.
I was going to suggest just that type of straightening, but didn't know if you had a portable hydraulic power pack or not.
In the end, the 2 -into- 1 approach is probably better and safer.

 

Nice work!

 

Nice job on all the repairs.... Another thought would be a chain hoist to add some tension & help pull that top tube back in line.

This is an older thread & I imagine this bike is already back on the road. Just wanted to add this thought which could help others down the line.