Driving Lights

My wife's biggest concern about me riding is the safety aspect - namely that others can't necessarily see (or register that they're seeing) me on the bike. I wear a bright yellow jacket, and add a reflective vest at night, but that's just not quite enough. After setting up my auxiliary power circuit (http://k7jto.blogspot.com/2016/09/auxiliary-power-mod.html), I decided to tackle driving lights.

I'm not a cheapskate, but I don't like to spend money where it's not needed. So while my first thought was to spring for a set of Denali driving lights (north of $200), I decided to give something more affordable a try, first. Enter the Lylla headlamp: $26 on Amazon.com. The lamp ships with a switch (which I've set aside and saved for another project) and two LED lamps. A few days after I ordered, the lamps arrived. They were, well, larger than I expected!

As always, the first challenge was where to install the lamps. They ship with a bracket, but the default configuration requires the bracket be mounted to a round bar which is perpendicular to the direction of travel. It meant I couldn't use the engine guards, and the generous fairing on the Strom also meant I couldn't use the handlebars. Eventually I realized the fender bolt would be perfect:

With the destination selected, the next step was to slightly modify the bracket--the shoulder on the fender bolt is a tiny bit larger than the hole at the base of the light frame:

The benefit of cheap Chinese metal is that it files quickly.

Once I modified the base of the bracket, it was simple to get installed:

With the frame mounted, it was a simple matter of installing the light and closing up the frame:

 Finally, I wired up everything to a power lead I pulled up from the fuse block in the back, and presto - there was light!

Auxiliary Power Mod

I wanted to add a variety of auxiliary power components to my '08 Suzuki V-Strom (DL650), way back when I bought it. I've been sitting on this project ever since - here's the write up (with a few photos).

The V-Strom has one or two spare, switched circuits (with an amperage rating of 10 amps or so). On a bike that'll eventually have driving lights, USB power, 12v power, GPS, perhaps heated grips and/or seat, that extra circuit or two won't go far - you'll end up making a choice: "Do I want warm hands, or do I want my GPS?" I don't believe in a world of 'or' - I'm always living life in a world of 'and' (it drives my wife crazy sometimes). So I quickly recognized a separate series of circuits would be necessary in order for me to stack on new features. And thus my project was born.

I started out by buying a marine-grade fuse block. My first was a 12-circuit block, which I quickly realized was going to be too big (I had originally planned on installing the block near the battery under the seat). So I downsized to the six circuit fuse block:

I bought this back in February, and it's sat unused taking up room in my drawer ever since.

Next, I knew the fuse block had to be direct-connected to the battery. It couldn't pull power for everything it'd support from any existing circuits. But I also knew I didn't want to risk parasitic (or accidental) power drains and a dead battery, so I knew it had to be 'switched' with the motorcycle's ignition. Therefore, my next requirement was clear: I needed a relay connected to the ignition, which would close the circuit from the block to the battery.

A Little Bad Weather Can Be a Good Thing

In late September, my wife had a trip scheduled with some friends. I planned to take my own trip, riding the Strom down to Canyonlands, then returning to Salt Lake via Colorado and Dinosaur National Monument. As the trip date neared, the weather forecast worsened. While my destination basked in 80-degree sunshine, the route there was experiencing Utah's version of biblical floods (ie, 2" of rain in a 24-hour period). I chose not to go (and I was grumpy!). As Saturday passed, the weather cleared and I hopped on the bike to visit my friend and "elmer" (amateur radio speak for 'mentor'). Chuck and I tackled the install, and I'm tickled pink with the results.

The Install

Fuse Block Location

Our first task was to find a location for the fuse block. I ultimately chose to put it where the factory tool bag is stored. It's accessible, but well-secured:

Relay Setup

After choosing the location for the fuse block, our next task was picking a circuit to power the relay with. It could honestly be any circuit, but we noticed in the fuse box that there is a "spare" circuit which is actually wired and functional (as opposed to just being an empty space in the fuse box):

We pulled the fuse box out, removed the fuse box for the starter motor so we had some room to work, and simply tee-ed off the "spare" wire and ran that to the relay. We ran a wire from the relay to ground, flipped the ignition, and heard that beautiful sound of the relay closing. Successful step 1!

Putting it Together

Finally, we needed to get the actual power from the battery to the fuse block. We connected a second ground and ran it straight to the fuse block's ground pole. We then ran power from the battery to the relay and from the relay to the fuse block's power pole. It looks a bit confusing, but again - it works.

Here's a shot of the fuse block (no fuses installed and nothing connected - but it powers up great):

And again - the final installation:

Happy Trails Center Stand

I've had my eye on a Murph's Kit center stand (http://www.murphskits.com/), but he stopped carrying them (to his credit, he recently pointed me elsewhere, but I'd already purchased one elsewhere). With SW Motech and other stands coming in well over $200 (as much as $280) for my '08 Wee, I started hunting the forum. I came across a reference to Happy Trails (http://www.happy-trail.com/), which is located just north of me in beautiful Boise, Idaho.

I put my order in for their affordable center stand on Monday - it arrived today and was installed in about 20 min over my afternoon work break. Here's my report.

Installing is literally a snap. Four bolts, some spacers and a few washers. The directions are well-written and it's easy to follow along (provided you are even somewhat mechanically inclined). The only thing I recommend is to dry-fit each of the four bolts. My Wee had paint and grime in the lower bolt holes, which made threading the bolt a bit difficult. Also keep in mind that the top bolt on the right side is simply a beast to get to. Accept it--as the Tao says, take the path of water... Some patience and you'll get it.

The item was well-packaged and arrived without damage and with all of its parts. Unlike some center stand kits, the springs are pre-installed, making the overall installation quick and (relatively) easy. Once the bolts were sorted out (large 10mm bolt on bottom, smaller Allen-head 8mm bolt on top on both sides), I performed the install.

Oh--unless you like redoing things, I recommend some blue Thread-Lok on the bolts.

LEFT SIDE
The left side is the side recommended to start with. It went pretty easy, once I learned to pre-thread the bolts. I started with the top bolt, then installed the bottom bolt. Snugged everything up real tight.

RIGHT SIDE
Here's where patience comes in. Start with the bottom bolt, and add both of the extra washers for spacing. Snug it up, but not too tight - you want the bottom bolt to align the bracket, but not to hold it too rigidly.

Next, carefully insert your left hand into the miniscule space between the wheel and the exhaust pipes (obviously don't do this while the pipes are hot). Slide the 8mm bolt in through its hole, then carefully slide each washer and the spacer over it. Align the bolt and through some sort of voodoo, start threading it. I used a very long 7mm allen wrench. It didn't align well, so I went carefully. If you have a wobble-head (round-head) allen wrench, all the better. I've yet to invest...

As you can see, the "fit" is tight (it's not really a fit - had to pull the allen wrench out with vice grips). But eventually you'll get that top bolt tightened. Grab your torque wrench and torque everything down (BTW: 17 foot pounds is 23.5 NM and 34 foot pounds is 46.5 NM).

Next up: learning the balance point. It was a struggle to get this on the stand the first time. I'm glad I have it now - lubing the chain should be a lot easier (instead of chasing it all around the garage and driveway).

Happy Trails Center Stand

I've had my eye on a Murph's Kit center stand (http://www.murphskits.com/), but he stopped carrying them (to his credit, he recently pointed me elsewhere, but I'd already purchased one elsewhere). With SW Motech and other stands coming in well over $200 (as much as $280) for my '08 Wee, I started hunting the forum. I came across a reference to Happy Trails (http://www.happy-trail.com/), which is located just north of me in beautiful Boise, Idaho.

I put my order in for their affordable center stand on Monday - it arrived today and was installed in about 20 min over my afternoon work break. Here's my report.

Installing is literally a snap. Four bolts, some spacers and a few washers. The directions are well-written and it's easy to follow along (provided you are even somewhat mechanically inclined). The only thing I recommend is to dry-fit each of the four bolts. My Wee had paint and grime in the lower bolt holes, which made threading the bolt a bit difficult. Also keep in mind that the top bolt on the right side is simply a beast to get to. Accept it--as the Tao says, take the path of water... Some patience and you'll get it.

The item was well-packaged and arrived without damage and with all of its parts. Unlike some center stand kits, the springs are pre-installed, making the overall installation quick and (relatively) easy. Once the bolts were sorted out (large 10mm bolt on bottom, smaller Allen-head 8mm bolt on top on both sides), I performed the install.

Oh--unless you like redoing things, I recommend some blue Thread-Lok on the bolts.

LEFT SIDE
The left side is the side recommended to start with. It went pretty easy, once I learned to pre-thread the bolts. I started with the top bolt, then installed the bottom bolt. Snugged everything up real tight.

RIGHT SIDE
Here's where patience comes in. Start with the bottom bolt, and add both of the extra washers for spacing. Snug it up, but not too tight - you want the bottom bolt to align the bracket, but not to hold it too rigidly.

Next, carefully insert your left hand into the miniscule space between the wheel and the exhaust pipes (obviously don't do this while the pipes are hot). Slide the 8mm bolt in through its hole, then carefully slide each washer and the spacer over it. Align the bolt and through some sort of voodoo, start threading it. I used a very long 7mm allen wrench. It didn't align well, so I went carefully. If you have a wobble-head (round-head) allen wrench, all the better. I've yet to invest...

As you can see, the "fit" is tight (it's not really a fit - had to pull the allen wrench out with vice grips). But eventually you'll get that top bolt tightened. Grab your torque wrench and torque everything down (BTW: 17 foot pounds is 23.5 NM and 34 foot pounds is 46.5 NM).

Next up: learning the balance point. It was a struggle to get this on the stand the first time. I'm glad I have it now - lubing the chain should be a lot easier (instead of chasing it all around the garage and driveway).