So you need to wire your bike for a trailer

[Mountain rider]

So you finally got yourself a trailer but need to figure out how to wire it up to your bike. You could pull the seat and just start splicing wires all over the place, hoping you get it right, and creating a spider web of wires to sort through when something really needs attention. Or, you could have someone who knows what they're doing put one together for you. The wiring harnesses custom built by M61A1MECH are second to none. Steve has been making plug and play harnesses for some time, and turned it into an art form. When I got the Starlite trailer to go behind Black Beauty, I needed the proper wiring. Steve had a plug-n-play setup for the 06 and newer Goldwings figured out and ready to go with just a quick PM, but I showed up with an 03, and the wiring is different. Posing a question elsewhere, Steve contacted me and offered to fix me up. After some discussion about what he needed, I pulled the seat, located the plugs he pointed me toward, and took some pictures. With that info in hand, he put together a test light that would plug in and insure we had the correct pins and wires identified and mailed it out. Once I received it, a quick test verified everything was happy. Next was to let him know what kind of plug I had on my trailer, in my case a flat 4, so he could finish my harness with all the correct connections. When all was said and done, a couple days later I had my harness in hand, which means for all you guys and gals with 01 through 05 Wings, he has what he needs to make you a plug-n-play harness as well. As I've said earlier, his harnesses are true plug-n-play short of you telling him which plug you need. Easy to install, provides a very clean look, no Scotch Locks, electrical tape, and birds nest of wire to clutter things up. I might also mention the price ain't bad either. If you're in the market for a trailer and want the wiring done right, or you inherited the result of a previous owners attempt at DYI, Steve is your guy! Thanks for such a fine product.
Here's some pics of the harness and where the connections were made.

[gford]

And if you have a 1500 this harness works great and the cost is great.

https://wingstuff.com/products/3028-tra ... arness-kit

[M61A1MECH]

Mountain Rider,
Thanks for that very nice write up and endorsement.

[tamathumper]

OK, I'm sold. I ordered mine

[emwarrenfeltz]

Remember if you are wiring up a trailer harness to a 2018 or newer Goldwing to use the isolator like on the Show Chrome harness that includes direct connect plugs, so no wiring cutting or splicing. The complete kit is well worth the time, trouble, and cost. Everything is included. (Show Chrome Accessories 52-928 Trailer Harness for Honda GL1800 2018+) The new bike's CAN Bus system is very particular as to what gets attached.

Just my 2 cents.

Em

[Wildwilly018]

My trailer has been wired to 3 bikes in the 11 yrs I have had it. The first 2 bikes (86 Yama Venture & 2000 Kawi voyager) were a nightmare to wire yrs ago. With the GL1500, i ordered the plug & play harness from Cyclemax and it was a breeze.

[Hondadoc]

Remember if you are wiring up a trailer harness to a 2018 or newer Goldwing to use the isolator like on the Show Chrome harness that includes direct connect plugs, so no wiring cutting or splicing. The complete kit is well worth the time, trouble, and cost. Everything is included. (Show Chrome Accessories 52-928 Trailer Harness for Honda GL1800 2018+) The new bike's CAN Bus system is very particular as to what gets attached.

Just my 2 cents.

Em

Pathfinder is coming out with a new "waterproof" fuse block in the near future!

[Pastor Shawn]

Hello, how may locate a M61A1MECH? Thank you in advance.

[M61A1MECH]

Hello, how may locate a M61A1MECH? Thank you in advance.

PM sent

[ducktruck]

I also got my wiring harness from Steve. My trailer has a 5 plug but I also pull different trailer every now and then that a 4 plug. Steve made a switch in my harness so I can pull either trailer and have the lights working fine. Great guy to work with.

[Scoty79]

Hi Steve K. Here are the pics of the plug I am using for my Bushtec trailer. If you’re still building the wire harness’ let me know how much and how to make payment. Thanks.

Scotty

[M61A1MECH]

Hi Steve K. Here are the pics of the plug I am using for my Bushtec trailer. If you’re still building the wire harness’ let me know how much and how to make payment. Thanks.
Scotty

PM sent with quote and payment details.

[JVRODGERS]

Thank you for your helpful information. I do have a question. I have a lumina XL trailer that I am in the process of outfitting for camping and multiday trips. I have been watching several Youtube videos on battery power sources and solar charging of the battery. My question is, is it possible to connect into the motorcycles (2016 GL1800) electrical system to charge the trailer battery while riding down the road? I have a 12V 100AH LiFePO4 Lithium Battery with Max.1280Wh Energy. With the proper connects, fuses, regulators, etc. is this possible?
Thanks,

JR

[Andy Cote]

Yes, there are several trailer brands that have batteries in them. You can contact Steve and he can build a plug and play harness for you or you can source out other options. In addition to providing a plug for each light, you will need a constant 12 volt supply to the battery. Does your trailer have amber turn signals separate fron the brake lights? Does it have a plug already? Probably need to change the trailer plug for this extra power supply wire.

[WingAdmin]

Thank you for your helpful information. I do have a question. I have a lumina XL trailer that I am in the process of outfitting for camping and multiday trips. I have been watching several Youtube videos on battery power sources and solar charging of the battery. My question is, is it possible to connect into the motorcycles (2016 GL1800) electrical system to charge the trailer battery while riding down the road? I have a 12V 100AH LiFePO4 Lithium Battery with Max.1280Wh Energy. With the proper connects, fuses, regulators, etc. is this possible?
Thanks,

JR

You can...some people wire both batteries in parallel, this isn't a great way of doing it. You can overload your alternator, and if one battery is not as healthy as the other, or has a higher resting voltage, etc...basically it's not a great idea.

What I did was to add a DC to DC isolating charger for the second battery. It works great, and if you want to wire in a solar cell to keep it topped up, it can do that as well.

Find This Item on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5DFK5W7?tag=goldwingdocs-20

[tamathumper]

I deal with trailer batteries a lot in the RV space, so the tow vehicle is usually a pickup truck and the batteries are generally large 100+AH multi-battery configurations with Victron (or other) solar packages.

That said, even trucks aren't very good at charging RV batteries due to the minimal wire size and long distance from the alternator.

A 100AH lithium battery in a motorcycle trailer seems like a *big* battery, and I would not expect the alternator or the wiring on the GL1800 to be designed for the amount of current that it would take to bring that thing back up from a healthy state of discharge.

Being lithium it's not 12V it's 14.4 nominal and 14.7+ to charge, and I don't think the Wing is going to put that out over the OEM wiring?

[WingAdmin]

Being lithium it's not 12V it's 14.4 nominal and 14.7+ to charge, and I don't think the Wing is going to put that out over the OEM wiring?

Definitely not, which is why I mentioned the DC-DC charger. It will take whatever voltage the bike provides, and boost/regulate it to the voltage needed for the battery type connected to it.