A common issue on Energica (and Zero) motorcycles is a difficult to reach cruise control button. I rode BMW motorcycles before and those have a button on the non throttle side (which is a no brainer) but also an up and down option. Anyway this is a very short description of how I relocated the Energica cruise control button using someone else ‘s design and a completely reversable wiring loom.

Materials needed

The creator of the button housing shared his design on thingiverse and even included all details of the plugs needed to create this wiring loom. This is just a recap of everything needed in terms of hardware:

• 1 or 2 push buttons EOZ FL12NN (https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/push-button-switches/9131718 )
• 1m protective cable sleeve 4mm black (https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/cable-sleeves/0404180/ )*
• 1m wire brown*
• 1m wire green*
• 10x male terminal JST SWPT-001T-025 ( https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/crimp-contacts/8201324P )
• 10x femal terminal JSP SWPR-001T-P025 ( https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/crimp-contacts/8201327 )
• 1x JST connector housing female 8 way (08T-JWPF-VSLE-D): https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/wire-housings-plugs/8201270
  1x JST connector housing male 8 way (08R-JWPF-VSLE-D) : https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/wire-housings-plugs/8201276
• some heat-shrink tube
• soldering material
• crimp tool for JST pins (24-28 AWG wire)

*Instead of using separate wires and a cable sleeve you can also opt for (re)using an already sleeved cable like a USB cable. USB has 4 leads (2 if it’s power only) and has proper protection so I used that.

I originally ordered these connectors and pins from be.farnell.com but got an estimated delivery time of 1 year :O. So I looked elsewhere and found out this is the case for most big vendors. Instead I ordered from amazon and paid way too much. But they were delivered (directly from china) a week later. Make sure to pick the 8 PIN version, it comes with all metal connectors included (10 each).

Instructions

Start by printing the STL file from thingiverse linked above. Use some material that is UV resistant like PETG or ABS. I made my own version of the button housing with an extension in the back so that there is room for a second button. That one also has a flat surface so that you can easily print from that side.

Next prepare the small extension for the plug on the bike. Take 7 leads of 24-28 AWG sized wire of around 15 cm length and crimp the acquired pins to these. Then insert the pins in the connector housings. Double check not to swap wires, so pin 1 on female goes to pin 1 on male connector. Also double check the connectors once in place for shorts cause these housings are very small.

Then prepare some longer wires to go from that extension to the button. If you have the extra button you need 3 to 4 wires (you can share ground if you want), otherwise 2 wires are enough. These will be soldered onto the buttons. Before screwing the buttons in place make sure to twist the wires into the reverse direction so that you unwind them again when screwing in the button. This will prevent stressing the wires. Also don’t forget the rubber washer on the buttons to keep water out.

On the other side you want to locate the 3 wires on the extension that are on the same row that is missing a pin on the connectors. One is ground, the other 2 are plus for the cruise control buttons. I believe my connector was using brown for ground and green and blue for CC buttons. But best to check with a multimeter on your bike to be sure. Remove some of the cable sleeves of these 3 cables and solder on the longer wires that go to the button.

Connecting everything

Add shrink tube where needed and wrap the complete extension loom in some wiring loom tape or electrical tape. Now locate the same 8 pin JST connector on the bike by removing the right side tank cover. In the front there are a few connectors secured to the frame. In my case there were a few very big black ones and a few white smaller ones.

Route the wire you create through the small triangle in the front of your frame on the left side, where the other cables go through. Bring it to the other side where that connector is located. Press the tab on the 8 pin connector and release it. Put your own extension loom in between.

Now before securing everything in place start up your bike and check that your killswitch is working as expected. Cause that is what the other wires in that connector are used for. For the cruise control buttons you need a minimal speed of 30 kph so you can’t test these without riding. Still see if there is no error thrown if you trigger them. They should do nothing standing still.

Put the cover back in place, route the wire to the handle bars leaving enough slack for full steering and attach the button housing to the left controls. Then go ride!