Sackmonkey
New Member
I've been a lurker on here for a couple years and thought I'd try to finally contribute instead of just sucking knowledge from you guys, so here goes...
As I anxiously await the Michigan weather to warm back up and dry out, I've been tinkering with my bike to pass the time. Yesterday, I painted the radiator guards satin black (SO MUCH BETTER!), and added some LED daytime lights. I have a buddy I ride with who has cheap LEDs on his Super Tenere and I'm always shocked as how much more visible he is from really far away, even on bright sunny days, so I decided to do the same.
I got a set of these from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078V66BRD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They seem to be decent quality (waterproof, machined aluminum housings), and very small for the amount of light output. I really wanted something pretty small/discreet. I decided on two possible mounting locations: one of the brake caliper bolts, or the lower radiator guard bolt. The caliper location seemed a less discreet, and I don't want to see another set of lines running up the forks, so I went with the radiator guards. I know some others have suggested that this might cause strain on the radiator, but I'll take my chances.
To make it fit, all I did was replace the guard bolts with longer ones, then shim out the LED bracket using 4 washers so it's not smashing into the guard. I then wired it all up and tied it into my headlamp wiring using a sealed 2-way connector so that I can still easily remove the whole fairing in the future if I ever need to. I think the extra load (20W total) shouldn't be a problem for blowing fuses, so I didn't add an auxiliary relay to power them. I was torn about whether to add a separate switch (to turn off at night if it's too bright), but I hardly ever ride at night so I decided to skip the switch for now. I may add one later if I find it's necessary.
Is it just me, or does the front view pic with the LEDs on make it look like one of the small spaceships in the Close Encounters move??
Please ignore that wire hanging off the rear blinker in the side photos. I'm in the middle of swapping in new LED blinkers to replace the tiny junk ones I have now (to improve brightness).
If the weather doesn't warm up soon, I may get desperate and start polishing my dirty headers!
Rob
As I anxiously await the Michigan weather to warm back up and dry out, I've been tinkering with my bike to pass the time. Yesterday, I painted the radiator guards satin black (SO MUCH BETTER!), and added some LED daytime lights. I have a buddy I ride with who has cheap LEDs on his Super Tenere and I'm always shocked as how much more visible he is from really far away, even on bright sunny days, so I decided to do the same.
I got a set of these from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078V66BRD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They seem to be decent quality (waterproof, machined aluminum housings), and very small for the amount of light output. I really wanted something pretty small/discreet. I decided on two possible mounting locations: one of the brake caliper bolts, or the lower radiator guard bolt. The caliper location seemed a less discreet, and I don't want to see another set of lines running up the forks, so I went with the radiator guards. I know some others have suggested that this might cause strain on the radiator, but I'll take my chances.
To make it fit, all I did was replace the guard bolts with longer ones, then shim out the LED bracket using 4 washers so it's not smashing into the guard. I then wired it all up and tied it into my headlamp wiring using a sealed 2-way connector so that I can still easily remove the whole fairing in the future if I ever need to. I think the extra load (20W total) shouldn't be a problem for blowing fuses, so I didn't add an auxiliary relay to power them. I was torn about whether to add a separate switch (to turn off at night if it's too bright), but I hardly ever ride at night so I decided to skip the switch for now. I may add one later if I find it's necessary.
Is it just me, or does the front view pic with the LEDs on make it look like one of the small spaceships in the Close Encounters move??
Please ignore that wire hanging off the rear blinker in the side photos. I'm in the middle of swapping in new LED blinkers to replace the tiny junk ones I have now (to improve brightness).
If the weather doesn't warm up soon, I may get desperate and start polishing my dirty headers!
Rob
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