Left Handlebar Switch

bd43

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The left handle bar switch is of interest because a few people are doing their headlight mod around it, either by tapping into the harness directly after the switch or somewhere down the line closer to the headlights. The manual is pretty clear about what lies further down from the switch itself along the wiring harness, and that’s a connector. The reason for the connector is, when the left switch goes faulty, a replacement assembly is required and to make the repair easier is to add a connector. So why am I looking at this area? I want to do a permanent right-side low beam installation which functions such that when the high beam switch is off, the low beam filament on the right side is on. When the high beam switch is on, the low beam filament is off and the high beam is on. I’m not a big fan of splicing into a wiring harness it affects the integrity of the wire in a bad way and also subjects the splice area to corrosion and possibly loss of circuit depending how the splice was done. Why not place the low beam wire on the other side of the connector? :D Two good reasons; to eliminate the need for a splice, and secondly, should there be a need to replace the switch, it’s easier not having to mess with removal of the splice and re-splicing the new harness. The connector is hidden in the frame and not hard to get to. You need to remove the air box, battery, and shift the battery tray toward the back to get to the connector. I’ve included some pictures of the connectors and what the pin of the connector would look like. Food for thought.... :thumbup:
 
S

sportrider

Good post. I think if I ever do the duel headlight mod, I'll be adding a pin to the plug seeing how its availible right there. :thumbup:
 

arcata2

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Why didn't you modify it for 2 high beams while you were at it? That is the mod I want to do. The goal being to have 2 low beam and 2 high beam. I see that the hole is smaller in the light bucket for the smaller high beam bulb but it appears that you may be able to get another bucket with the H4 hole and flip it over for that side. I haven't torn into mine yet so I don't know if that would work. Also it may be possible to ream out the smaller bulb hole. Did you investigate any of this? If not has anyone else out there explored this? Also why not just do the wiring modification at the headlight plugs? Is there a reason why it can't be done there?
 
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Kilbane83

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The problem I ran into trying to do dual low/high is aiming. They way the filaments sit (high beem on top, lowbeam below) I couldn't figure out a way to make the lows remain viable as useable lights at night, and use the highs w/o blinding oncomming traffic. Anyone figure out a way to do this with some creative bulb placement or something?
 

GConn

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I take it you did the mod. How did you address the issues in my note above? i.e. the light bucket with the smaller hole and the wiring?

I just did the dual headlight mod the old-fashioned way...I wouldn't know how to answer your question. I remember that people searched for a way to turn the low beam side to fit a H4 bulb or a H4 bulb to fit into H7 position, not quite sure. Search, you'll find it eventually.
 

antijoy

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The problem I ran into trying to do dual low/high is aiming. They way the filaments sit (high beem on top, lowbeam below) I couldn't figure out a way to make the lows remain viable as useable lights at night, and use the highs w/o blinding oncomming traffic. Anyone figure out a way to do this with some creative bulb placement or something?

But high beams should be aimed where they would blind the oncoming traffic, that's why high beams should only be used when there is no oncoming traffic.

Some people may like riding their bikes with the high beams always on, but if you do it at night your asking for it. It's better if the cagers can still see where they're going when heading towards your general direction, than if they're blind while driving towards you.
 

rtist

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You are right. I am having this problem. Great tutorial but I would rather use 2 low and high beams as opposed to 1 low light and 1 high beam while high beam is switched on.
 
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