This article is written for beginners with little electrical experience; however, some knowledge of electricity and mechanics are assumed. This information is provided by West Coast Cycle free of charge and on an "as is" basis, without any representation or warranty to the products being installed. It is your responsibility to insure proper installation. West Coast Cycle assumes no responsibility with regards to the accuracy or currency of this information. Proper installation in every case is and remains the responsibility of the installer.

We think youve made a good choice in deciding to use an alarm system to protect your motorcycle, after all, in 2005 over 70,000 motorcycles were stolen. Now the question is: How in the world am I going to install this there are so many wires. What seems like a hard task is actually not too bad; however, you need to have a least some mechanical ability. You will need to know how to test the polarity of a wire using a digital multi-meter. So if you dont have a clue as to what a multi-meter is, save yourself the headache and take it to a motorcycle shop. Lastly, you will need basic tools to remove some side panels and covers to access the motorcycles wiring.

Gathering Information and Reference Material.

Information is the backbone of your soon to be successful installation. You should gather documents with vehicle specific wiring colors, locations and polarities. These charts are available in a multitude of places, generally free of charge. You can locate this information in the bike's shop manual, at the dealership of the motorcycle, or possibly online.

Planning the Alarm Install.

Your plan will be the difference between a finished product and a job left for next weekend. A few minutes of planning and prepping will yield at least an hour and a half less install time. Its not fun, but it needs to be done! Begin by studying your motorcycles specific diagram side by side with your bike alarm installation diagram. Identify which features you plan to use on the alarm, not all features are necessary. (e.g., engine immobilizer, remote starting)

Preparing the Wiring.

Before installing, be sure to disconnect the () negative terminal of the motorcycles battery. This will eliminate the possibility of accidental electrical shorts and/or unnecessary battery drain.

Once you identify which features you will install, eliminate the unused wires, if any, to prevent clutter. It is common practice to twist the wires of a same plug together then secure them to each other with black electrical tape. Do not wrap the entire bundle, as different wires go to different locations. Once you finish wrapping all the harnesses, tape them to each other to create one large pigtail containing all of the used wires. This keeps the wires together, secure and free from frays and obstruction. You will now want to identify the locations of the wires which you will connect to on your bike. Here is a hint: the majority of your wires will run from the ignition of your motorcycle back toward the center of motorcycle where the fuse box is usually located. The easiest way to locate these wires is to open the ignition key switch, and test the wires at this point to verify it is the correct wire. You wont want to tap into the wire right next to the ignition. Rather, trace the wire back toward the fuse box or center of the bike where it is closer to the mounting location of the alarm system. This way you wont have to run wires as far. The further you have to run wires the greater chance for something to go wrong.