Received replacement parts and installed adjustable footrest for passenger. Going to install auxiliary 5 way rear access point today, power vision cable for handlebar mount,bars removed waiting on grips,
Wow, and I thought I took a lot of stuff off of mine! But that will be tomorrow when I start changing to the new handlebars, the Ergo Backs. Scary.
I got the CiriusUSA polished amber LEDs on the engine guard today; holy carp are those things bright! Hooked them up to power from one of the new switches on the dash, on the 2 Amp circuit.
Got it done; wow are these things bright! They light up stuff over a very wide angle, and are hard to look at. Doesn't add much to what you can see ahead of and beside you (at least sitting in my garage), but they sure will get you noticed, which is exactly what I was after. Since I canted them out 15 degrees, side visibility is also good to about 45 degrees back, which is what I was hoping.
I'll describe the process best I can, in case anyone wants to try these things; no sense reinventing the wheel. Pics below.
I made a jig to drill all the holes at the right spacing, angle and height; some oak V-blocks cut and drilled, hose clamped on and cross tied together to keep the blocks from moving from the desired angle.
You have to drill two 3/32" mounting holes, tapped to 4-40, and a 1/4" smoothed-over hole for the wires to go through. The jig worked extremely well.
I had to drill an access hole for the wires to come out of. Using an angle drill adapter and a step bit, I made a 7/16" hole on top of the tubing on the left side of the guard, about 1.5" from where it ties to the frame. Also ground off all the edges inside and out.
The wires were spliced about a foot from the LED assemblies (all the wire they came with) so I had to be tidy with the splices to fit in the 1/4" holes. I used a shop vac to pull dental floss up to the access hole, pulled some string with that, and then the wires, which were then plenty long enough to reach back behind the tank, under the seat.
The LED assemblies fit inside a clear plastic housing which are the same size as the metal covers; they are siliconed all the way around to make a good seal and snap on the tubing. The metal covers snap over them snugly, and the screws are installed with blue locktite to hold everything in place.
Where the wires come out of the access hole, I covered them with a couple of layers of heat shrink, and gooped the hole shut with silicone, making sure to get plenty on the under side of the hole. They then run up the front of the frame, under the tank in the tray, and come out under the seat. That was a pain.
After testing with a bench supply, I tied them in to the Accessory Harness that I installed earlier. They are tied to the 2 Amp circuit, and use the center button on the dash.
Took quite a while, fairly challenging for me. Definitely not a plug and play project. But I think I got what I was after. Sorry for taking up the bandwidth, but someone may find it useful.
Oak V-block drilling template/bushings hose clamped at the right height, and tied together to hold them at the correct angle, canted out 15 degrees on each side.
The LED assembly, mounting and wiring holes.
The clear plastic part houses the LED assembly snaps over the tubing and is sealed to the tubing all the way around with a squished layer of silicone. You can see if it seals. Then the metal cover snaps in place and is screwed down. The clear plastic is visible all the way around the metal cover (it's the same size) and light gets out around the edges, which is cool. The clear part sticks out past the metal by about 1/8" or so, adding to side visibility.
Testing with a DC bench supply before final hookup.
Like I said, very bright and very noticeable, which is what I was hoping to get. Compare them to the CD LED turn signals.
Last edited by Oogie Wa Wa; 03-09-2015 at 12:20 PM.
Reason: fixed my goofups
Removed the black rubber parking brake pad and replaced it with a Chrome and Rubber colletion small brake pad. Hardest part was getting the OEM pad off. Now all my floor boards and parking brake match ! It looks like HD planned it that way.
if it is HD stuff I go to HD.COM , if it is other stuff like after market I just do a search of what I am looking for , but most of the time it is stuff I read about on this Damm fourm and the pt#s are with it LOL
Oogie I gotta ask where did you find the connections for the windshield trim, how difficult was it to install, and of coarse the cost of the trim? Great video BTW The trim looks terrific! Will it fit the '13?
First, I found this on eBay, someone must have bought it and changed their mind, so I got it for $149; they retail at $199 and you can find them for $189, some times a little less.
Second, they do make them for the 13 and before, the one for the 14s are different. Those may be less expensive, but I'm sure not by much.
OK, the connectors; the kit comes with "everything you need"; the strip, the LEDs, a couple of in-line assemblies that go between your turn signals and their connector; basically a fancy Tee fitting. Plus EIGHT neat twist-lock connectors. And three fasteners if you go with the polished one (one of which didn't fit the '14, by the way, you must have to find one to match.)
Here's where it fell short, and what I did. They way they have you do the install, you put it on temporarily and drill through the fairing and windshield at the marked locations. It's a stainless (or black) strip of metal, and it comes FLAT, not curved. Backed with a double-sided automotive trim grade adhesive strip. You drill through your fairing AND THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD for each of the four LED strips. EACH LED has four wires (one white for daytime running light plus black ground, one yellow and a black ground for it, each ground must follow it's partner, not a common ground!)
Then you put the LEDs on it; not in the slots, mind you, they sit on top; another strip of adhesive tape fills the gap and holds them there. Hopefully. And hopefully you positioned them to cover any gaps or it's too late.
So, to install; get this: Hold the front of the fairing; insert the 4 quads of wires though the holes in the fairing; thread them through the 4 windshield holes while holding it (or have someone else preferably) while doing that, connect them to the wires from the in-line adapters with the eight twist-locks; four wires from the adapters, to the white, black, yellow and black from both LEDs on that side!!! And don't mix up the black wires or it won't work; the motorcycle equivalent of crossing streams, I guess. Then mount your windshield and front fairing while not screwing anything up.
That was nuts, screw that! You'd need four plus hands every time you took the outer fairing or windshield off! No wonder the guy didn't want it.
So I made it better and did it other than as directed. But that's another post. Their way will work, and if you don't plan on opening it up any more, it's fine. But beware your mechanic may want to shoot you if it ever needs service!
Anyway, you can see how bright they are and how well they work, but beware it isn't an easy install; simple but very clumsy at best. Great concept, works as advertised, so-so engineering, but lame design. Sure should get us noticed, though.
Last edited by Oogie Wa Wa; 03-13-2015 at 01:35 AM.
Reason: fixed my screwups
03-08-2015, 08:48 AM
