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I have two Saddlesores planned for April and a Coat-to-Caost planned in Sept. so I figured it was finally time to get my lighting taken care of.
Like Ottomatic, I bought the Krista/Erica hybrid setup. I'll post pics once I get them installed.
I see you have what looks like the OEM tires on your bike. Have you tried the Michelins? I use the Michelin Commanders. Very quiet vs OEM and I got 20,000 miles on the keeping the rear at 42 psi and front at 39.
I have the Tire/Wheel Warranty on the bike so that weighs into my current decision to stay with OEM. Though I have been considering the pros and cons a lot recently and I am thinking about purchasing my own tire changing equipment.
Going to the dark side has crossed my mind as well, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I have friends that have been running car tires for years without an issue. But something in the back of my head keeps telling me not to do it and I am one of those people that listens to my voices.
I finally got my Clearwater lights in and installed. Took me close to 7 hours to get it done from beginning to end.
I wanted to use the existing dash switches so most of my time was fiddling with the connector under the left side cover and the harness that goes to it. I didn't have the correct harness (not sure if there is even one) as I had two different ones and none had all the pins that would allow me to use the remaining two unused switches on the dash. So I took apart one of the spare harness and pulled the pins out of it and pretty much built a new wire loom to use with my lights.
I have the dimmer control on the dash next to the switches and have the trip wire connected to the high-beam. I wanted to connect the horn wire as well, thinking I was going to tap into the wire at the base of the handlebars.... forgetting the CANBUS system.... by the time I was thinking about the horn wire, I already had the wire tray back together and tank back on the bike... so the next time I have the tank off, I'll connect it.
I finally got my Clearwater lights in and installed. Took me close to 7 hours to get it done from beginning to end.
I wanted to use the existing dash switches so most of my time was fiddling with the connector under the left side cover and the harness that goes to it. I didn't have the correct harness (not sure if there is even one) as I had two different ones and none had all the pins that would allow me to use the remaining two unused switches on the dash. So I took apart one of the spare harness and pulled the pins out of it and pretty much built a new wire loom to use with my lights.
I have the dimmer control on the dash next to the switches and have the trip wire connected to the high-beam. I wanted to connect the horn wire as well, thinking I was going to tap into the wire at the base of the handlebars.... forgetting the CANBUS system.... by the time I was thinking about the horn wire, I already had the wire tray back together and tank back on the bike... so the next time I have the tank off, I'll connect it.
but Man Oh Man are they bright!
Yes, there is a kit for this:
Using this kit, there is no need to mess with any wiring going to the switches. They are already wired to the BCM via the CANBUS module the switch plug into. The harness plugs into the ACCY connector & provides low current switched connection via th center switch & high current (relay switched) switched connection via the right switch. The switch caps are interchangeable with the AUX Light cap so it would look like what you have in your photos.
I have the Tire/Wheel Warranty on the bike so that weighs into my current decision to stay with OEM. Though I have been considering the pros and cons a lot recently and I am thinking about purchasing my own tire changing equipment.
Going to the dark side has crossed my mind as well, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I have friends that have been running car tires for years without an issue. But something in the back of my head keeps telling me not to do it and I am one of those people that listens to my voices.
You may want to check your Tire Warranty. When I bought mine I brought up if I had to use OEM like in the past and they have changed the plan a few years ago. The Tire warranty covers any tire on the bike on the new plans as of 2017. I was told it had changed a few years earlier so I would recommend you pull out your paperwork and verify if you MUST use the OEM DUNLOPS.
You may want to check your Tire Warranty. When I bought mine I brought up if I had to use OEM like in the past and they have changed the plan a few years ago. The Tire warranty covers any tire on the bike on the new plans as of 2017. I was told it had changed a few years earlier so I would recommend you pull out your paperwork and verify if you MUST use the OEM DUNLOPS.
I will definitely look into it. I just took my bike in today for the 50K service, including tire change, and a few minor warranty issues. Every time I see that bill for tire changes it just makes me want to do my own.
Using this kit, there is no need to mess with any wiring going to the switches. They are already wired to the BCM via the CANBUS module the switch plug into. The harness plugs into the ACCY connector & provides low current switched connection via th center switch & high current (relay switched) switched connection via the right switch. The switch caps are interchangeable with the AUX Light cap so it would look like what you have in your photos.
I had that harness as well and that harness was the one that I borrowed the pins from to make my new connector. I do have the Harley Garage Door Opener installed and I think that I had an issue with all three accessories which led me down the path that I took. Honestly it's rather confusing now and there may have been another Plug-n-Play option but I didn't know what it was. I have taken advanced electronic classes and I felt confident with what I was doing so I forged ahead.
There is something though about hooking up three accessories to that harness that I can't remember what it was now because those memories have been killed off many beers ago.
Tonight I had my first 100+ mile ride in the dark around Lake Mead outside of Las Vegas. WHEN you are able to turn these lights to 100%, it is literally night into day.
I even got the chance to flash oncoming car that left their high beam on, so I flipped my high-beam switch... the Clearwaters went to 100% and that oncoming car saw the light! Lordy did he see it!
I had to keep flipping them off and back on again. It's a huge difference.
and for the day in-city rides... I love the yellow covers, I am already seeing a difference in how and WHEN people see me.
Last edited by Dr. Tiki; Mar 31, 2018 at 03:19 AM.
A few of the helicopters i use to fly had a light they called, the Night Sun, 30 million candle power, at 500 feet above ground you could light up an area to play a football game, but most importantly it let you see the wires and other obstacles, as well as spot a missing person or bad guy.
I think that is the only upgrade left for you Dr. T, but we know you can't have too much light, looks good as well.
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