and winch control was provided by a rack mounted switch that actually operated the full load (compared to the tiny handle bar mounted micro switches of newer winches). Everything checked out with my meter and I diagnosed a burnt out winch motor. Not bad for 18 years of hard work and an awful lot of hard extractions over the years, including pulling Maffer's 800lb+ Can Am out of a deep hole on its side using my trusty WARN and a snatchblock.

I made a few phone calls and determined the best value was to replace my tired WARN 2000lb as oppose to repair it. Islander RV had a smoking deal on a WARN ProVantage 2500lb kit which is a nice upgrade over my old winch. This winch features a patented disc brake and all metal gears and metal end housing which is an upgrade over my old winch.

The old contactor was mounted next to the gas tank, since I'm not running a factory intake snorkel, the larger 2500lb contactor also fits nice in this space. If your still running a stock intake snorkel, you'll have to trim it to fit the contactor here. I utilized one existing bolt and drilled/tapped a second mounting bolt.

The new mini rocker switch bolted to the handlebar with the included bracket, I may add another piece to move it to the left a little later on. As it sits its already more convenient than my old winch control. The wiring was neatly routed following the factory harness through the steering stem.

Rather than fight and wrestle the old winch out of the bike I decided to scrap the front removing the front rack, snorkel, plastics, gas tank and gas tank heat shield to easily access the winch mount and all the wiring.

Out with the old and in with the new. The new winch came with a steel cable, I swapped over my WARN synthetic rope kit to the new winch as it's still in fantastic shape. I highly recommend the Synthetic Rope over the old steel, its better in every way imaginable.

Like all my projects, I like to take the time to do them right. While everything was apart I took the time to repaint the winch mount, and some parts of the bike chassis I couldn't get to last year with the winch bolted in place. This keeps the frame of the bike in great shape and the rust at bay.

Bolted in place and ready to wire!

I installed the complete new wiring harness as opposed to reusing any of the old wiring. The new wiring is a heavier gauge and more reliable than the 18 year old cables it replaced. I chose to install split loom on the winch harness, this will help protect against abrasion, especially where I ty-wrapped the cables to the frame. Securing the cables is important so they don't get snagged by trail obstacles. All connection points were liberally coated in dielectric grease.

With the gas tank removed I could easily and neatly run the wiring following the factory Honda wiring harness, this keeps the winch wires away from trail obstacles, abrasions, and heat from the engine.

I chose to shorten the heavy cables running to the winch by re-crimping new heavy duty wire terminals to the shortened wires. I also cut 5 feet of wire from the Handle bar micro switch to keep all the wiring neat and tidy. The shortened micro switch wiring was soldered and heat shrunk for a reliable connection.

With everything hooked up it was time for a test, and my installation passed with flying colours. I wound in the cable as per the instructions that came with the winch, neat and tidy to prevent tangles.

I tested the fit before drilling mounting holes earlier, but the contactor fits beautifully next to the gas tank and leaves my trunk free for my tool kit & tire patch kit.

The new winch came with the optional snow plow fairlead which has a larger bottom roller to aid in cable wear from lifting a snowplow. Since I use my blade occasionally I threw it on for good measure.

Even though a new winch wasn't in the plans for this year, when something breaks I like to fix it asap and not be the guy looking for assistance in the woods. Its also nice to get an upgrade along with replacing a broken part as was the case in upgrading from an old 2000lb to a new style 2500.

Cheers, MIKE