Take it off, I did, no issues whatsoever.

Jaison

 

Ground wires don't normally "do" anything. They're there for when a wire gets nicked/pinched/pulled loose or otherwise comes in contact with metal that it shouldn't. If the ground wire is there, you simply blow a fuse and something stops working. If the ground wire is gone, your handlebar becomes "hot" and strange things can happen.
I make my living designing electrical control systems for industrial machinery and I believe in ground wires.

 

This is true in an AC systems, NOT in a DC system such as you have on a bike. Without a ground (negative from the battery) nothing works, since you don't have a complete circuit.
If for instance you did not ground the turn signal housing (one side of the lamp) somehow, you could apply all the power you want to the lamp and it would not light.
Actually it's not even true technically speaking in an AC system since you have to have a neutral, which is technically a "grounded conductor". The ground wire as we all know it is a "grounding conductor". The hot wire is known as the "ungrounded conductor".

 

mines gone, 1000 miles no issues yet, course I left my front/rear signals in the garage where they belong.

 

Yep, thats what I did! Works great and wire gone!

 

The front end needs to have a seperate ground to the frame. I believe there is a ground in the wiring harness that goes to the hand controls on the handlebars, but most handlebars are rubber mounted.

Not kidding about this, if there is no seperate ground the ground will go through the steering bearings and there is potential for premature bearing failure.

 

Murphdog is exactly right. Thes other posters are partialy right.
The 'grounding' wire in question is not & will not do 'anything' UNTIL a 'hot' wire from the hand controls "comes in contact with the bars".
If this happens the grond wire in question WILL complete the curcuit to ground which SHOULD blow a fuse which is there to protect the wiring from becoming overloaded and/or keep you from receiving an electrical shock.

Yes, the wire IS required as an inherant design in the electrical system. Whenever an individual item is present in the design of a completed unit it's usally there for a reason.

Yes, if you leave it off... nothing will happen... UNTIL it needs to be there!

It's better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air... rather than being in the air wishing you were on the ground.

 

NO, he's not exactly right for a DC system. A blanket statement as he made is wrong. You are correct in your statement about this particular wire.

 

murphdog is correct in his statement. He is saying that if a live wire in the bars made contact with the bars the bars would be live. And he is correct.

You are saying it will not complete the circuit till connected to the ground on the battery. You are correct too.

No pinched wires all working as should a Volt meter will read 0 volts battery ground to bars. Murphdog is saying if you have a shorted wire to bars and no ground you will read voltage from battery ground to bars and he is correct.

Now if there is a direct path to ground (ground wire, etc) it will/should blow the fuse making the problem obvious or more obvious.

 

Ahhh. the memories of third year apprenticeship class, grounding and grounded and deciphering NFPA 70 Article 250! Fun Times!