Ken does BD's Headlight mod - Day 1

[KensFz6]

Today I started on the dual headlight mod using BD43's wire harness and instructions.

For starters, It should be known that I'm an exceptionally slow worker when it comes to working on cars. For example, it takes me a good 2 hours to do an oil change and nearly 3 to change a set of brake pads on both front sides.

I've got the house for the weekend and since I have a gimp social life, I decided what better way to spend the time than to begin working on the mod?


Well anyway, getting to the point... I decided to chronicle as much of the experience as I can for educational purposes (and for mine and your amusement)

So basically, What we need to do is to get all the way underneath the tank and battery and stuff to get to the wiring. Ok no problem...

Having never done this before but having read many threads about what to watch out for, I began working.

Panels A and B need to be removed.
The hex wrench needed is in the toolkit beneath the seat.

Next, we loosen these 2 bolts so we can lift the tank.

Instead of fully disconnecting everything beneath the tank so that It can be tied upright, I decided to remove the air box cover and battery while holding the tank up (which is why it took me nearly 3 hours to do )

With the battery removed and brought inside, I ran into my next hurdle and I'm going to take a break till tomorrow before continuing. I'm not sure how to remove this...battery cradle thing yet.

I've got a nice neat pile of parts accumulating on the ground next to the bike so I'm happy for now...

 

[chimneydoc]

Hang in there, I did the mod in a few hours with a friend who used to work at a bike shop. The connector I made did not fit the wire harness very well, so we went down to the bike shop to the service counter not the parts counter. They gave me two male connectors, BD's mod is easy to do ifens you follow the directions, it just takes time.


Good Luck

Doc

 

[MemphisTaco]

Just hang in there and read Biker Dude's write up. Take your time. It took me about 3 hours to do it. The end result is well worth it!:thumbup:

 

[YamahaMAXdRPMs]

its very very very simple to disconnect the tank.. its only two plugs beneath. just remember green on the bottom. and make sure you dont have a full tank! i found that helpful tip out last week while doing the airbox mod. apparently those breather hoses arnt just for show

 

[KensFz6]

Day 2:

I disconnected the 2 tank wires so I could set the tank upright, I used my bungee net for a bit but it also stayed upright with no help too.

I managed to remove the button-shaped bolt pin thing on the left side of the battery cradle but the other side seems different. Hidden beneath a wire connection is what appears to be a bolt or screw with no way for me to remove it since it faces the front of the bike and there doesn't seem to be any path to get a tool near it.

At this point I decided to check BD's instructions again and maybe see if it's actually necessary to remove the battery cradle in the first place.
Only to realize that I have absolutely no idea where I put them when I finished up the other day!

Foiled again by my own organizational powers. :surrender:

 

[Fred]

You don't need to remove that bolt. It holds the coils on to the battery box. Just pull the battery box toward the rear of the bike and the coils will move too. Then you'll be able to reach the connector that you need.

 

[KensFz6]

In that case, it would appear that I've missed a step.

The battery cradle is trapped under the airbox which on first inspection, seems to be held on by at least 2 hard to reach hex bolts.

I'm trying to search for more info on how to remove it but the search function seems to be broken atm.

 

[Postal1979]

The airbox is easy to remove.. undo the few hoses to it, and lift up. use a wiggle motion to get it up.

 

[KensFz6]

It took me a while, but it's finally finished.

As expected, once I finally got up to the actual installation of the wire it was really easy. I didn't get too fancy with running the wire all the way through the front fairing but I made sure that it won't fall out

Thanks again, Daryl for your write up on this mod. The instructions and the hardware really are well made. :bow:

Now I just have to wait for spring so I can fully appreciate it (and to make sure I put the rest of the bike back together correctly:rof

 

[Smittyboy]

Glad it all worked out for ya... When I read the part about the bolt holding the coil I felt my butt tighten up a little and a little voice in my head screamed NOOO!!!! Happy it went well for you. No new threads so I did some surfing...