Link to all my Gen II mods
I’ll be completely honest - my wife and I don’t like to ride our bikes much at night. We just feel that the likelihood of a motorist not seeing you is greater. So I didn’t necessarily buy this for nighttime riding, but mainly just to be a bit more visible during the day. I’m sure other forum members can give their opinions on the best nighttime lighting packages - I really can’t.
Last year I got a great deal on a Martin Fabrication light set and they turned out to be a quality product. The metallic silver paint matches other bits on the bike, and the ribs cast into the housing even matches the front turn signal lines. The kit came with plenty of adapters so I didn’t have to scavenge the parts bins to mount them (actually leftover parts when in the bins!). Mounting them down low on the forks gives a nice “triangle of light” as some call it, for good conspicuity.
Though the main power for the lights comes directly from the battery, I elected to switch the relay via the power lead to the OEM heated grips. The unused connector is located down below the glove box. This wire powers up after the engine starts so the aux lights come on when the main headlights do, thus giving you full cranking power. See my wiring diagram for color coding of the connector body and wire you need to hook to. Eastern Beaver can supply the mating connector half if you want an OEM style hook-up to the heated grip connector.
I had a little trouble figuring out how to mount the lighted ON/OFF switch that came with the kit, but eventually came up with something I liked. The switch doesn’t have any mounting screws so you must cable tie it down. I cut out a piece of black plastic that the switch could tie to and then this plate slips over some bolt heads (friction fit) to hold it secure.
I’ll be completely honest - my wife and I don’t like to ride our bikes much at night. We just feel that the likelihood of a motorist not seeing you is greater. So I didn’t necessarily buy this for nighttime riding, but mainly just to be a bit more visible during the day. I’m sure other forum members can give their opinions on the best nighttime lighting packages - I really can’t.
Last year I got a great deal on a Martin Fabrication light set and they turned out to be a quality product. The metallic silver paint matches other bits on the bike, and the ribs cast into the housing even matches the front turn signal lines. The kit came with plenty of adapters so I didn’t have to scavenge the parts bins to mount them (actually leftover parts when in the bins!). Mounting them down low on the forks gives a nice “triangle of light” as some call it, for good conspicuity.
Though the main power for the lights comes directly from the battery, I elected to switch the relay via the power lead to the OEM heated grips. The unused connector is located down below the glove box. This wire powers up after the engine starts so the aux lights come on when the main headlights do, thus giving you full cranking power. See my wiring diagram for color coding of the connector body and wire you need to hook to. Eastern Beaver can supply the mating connector half if you want an OEM style hook-up to the heated grip connector.
I had a little trouble figuring out how to mount the lighted ON/OFF switch that came with the kit, but eventually came up with something I liked. The switch doesn’t have any mounting screws so you must cable tie it down. I cut out a piece of black plastic that the switch could tie to and then this plate slips over some bolt heads (friction fit) to hold it secure.
