Owning the Night - Aux Lamps wiring

[Warchild]

I initially installed my big, honking rally lights on my Tracer, only to immediately determine that these really need to get installed on the new rally bike - it's the one that will need them in the desert night this summer.

 

 

So I pulled them off and installed a couple old-school early-generation lamps - only 2" diameter, but they put out a crazy amount of light for their size.  Now for the fun/exasperating part: laying down circuits and actually wiring it all together.  

 

First up: taking power from the FZ-1, looming the cables, and start the heavy-duty zip-tie process. I used this awesome 16-gauge silicone wire for my lamp circuits - extremely flexible, multi-stranded, this be The Shit right here for wiring your big-draw components such as lamps, heated vest, etc:

 

 

Since I am not cutting any plastic on the bike, I'll let the FZ-1 sit a little cattywampus so the positive cable leads are easier to get to for this project. Lots going on in this below photo: you can see the red/black wire loom used to bring power from the battery to the FZ-1. Yellow arrows point to zip-ties after the two power leads are loomed and begin their march forward to the engine bay. The sharp observer will note that I finally found the rubber seat latch cover after removing the center seat latches for easier access for laying circuits 

 

 

Once the cables reach the engine bay, the black polyester loom isn't going to cut the mustard any longer; the engine bay get blazing hot and the loom won't stand a chance over time. This is where you want to switch to "asphalt loom" from NAPA Auto, and protect your cables from meltdown. Yellow arrows point to asphalt loom as the circuit runs under the fuel tank:

 

 

Now here was quite the find: since my side panels are off for painting, it revealed a very convenient horizontal shelf that will serve to hold the 30-amp Bosch mini-relay that runs the entire show. The asphalt loom exits the engine bay right before this horizontal shelf - just perfect!

 

 

Now the object of the game is to  have all cables converge at the shelf area so you can wire up the Bosch relay appropriately. Here we see the two monster cables that power each lamp, the two incoming power leads, two dedicated ground wires, and a 3-wire cable for the killer handlebar switch that you'll see in a minute. The 3-wire cable is straight-forward: red for 12v (+), black for ground and white is the signal wire that will fire up the relay when the switch is thrown:

 

 

Here is the awesome little LED handlebar switch that is just as tidy as it can be. Mounted to the clutch side for easy access while underway:

 

 

Getting close! After much tedious wire stripping, connectors were assembled and the Bosch unit is almost ready to be placed on its horizontal shelf - but first, we better test it all out to ensure the lamps fire up as expected:

 

 

Let there be.... LIIIIIIIIGHT!!!

 

 

Final resting place for the Bosch relay, using hard-core mechanical velcro - this relay mount is rock solid! The coiled up 2nd positive  wire is for another project down the road.

 

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[betoney]

Very tidy install, I like it.  The smaller lights look so much nicer than huge ones that are available.

[keithu]

On 4/14/2021 at 10:32 PM, Warchild said:

 

Clean install, as always. I don't know exactly how the seats sit on the Gen 2 Tracer, but on the Gen 1 FJ-09 the aft zip tie in this photo is real close to where the pillion seat sits on the frame. Anyone else reading this should pay heed to where the seat bumpers sit to make sure they don't pinch any wires or zip ties. 

[Warchild]

47 minutes ago, keithu said:

Clean install, as always. I don't know exactly how the seats sit on the Gen 2 Tracer, but on the Gen 1 FJ-09 the aft zip tie in this photo is real close to where the pillion seat sits on the frame. 

Good eye, Keith, and yes, that zip tie is *very* close to a pillion seat bumper. Pretty sure Swiss watch engineers designed many aspects of this bike - everything is tight. And I do mean, everything... makes farkles a real challenge sometimes. 😕

[keithu]

19 minutes ago, Warchild said:

Pretty sure Swiss watch engineers designed many aspects of this bike - everything is tight. And I do mean, everything... makes farkles a real challenge sometimes, 😕

That's a fact. All my aux fuel plumbing had to be routed externally, there simply weren't any holes under the seat big enough to shove a 3/8" fuel line through. The plumbing is well protected by the luggage frame, but still not beautiful.

For wiring I ended up routing a lot of stuff under the long low panels on the side of the tank. 

[skipperT]

11 hours ago, Warchild said:

Good eye, Keith, and yes, that zip tie is *very* close to a pillion seat bumper. Pretty sure Swiss watch engineers designed many aspects of this bike - everything is tight. And I do mean, everything... makes farkles a real challenge sometimes. 😕

Regarding that, you need to invest in a good set of flush cutters (not nippers or dykes) to trim the ends of those zip ties so they don’t draw blood from the next bit of skin that gets too close. 

nitpicky I know, but since you’re so proud of that wiring job, might as well take it to 11. 

-Skip

[Warchild]

29 minutes ago, skipperT said:

nitpicky I know, but since you’re so proud of that wiring job, might as well take it to 11. 

 I only deserve a 10.5, for only turning the snips 180-degrees away from hands, or at least turning them up against the adjacent plastic. 😥

😃

[Buggy Nate]

37 minutes ago, skipperT said:

Regarding that, you need to invest in a good set of flush cutters (not nippers or dykes) to trim the ends of those zip ties so they don’t draw blood from the next bit of skin that gets too close. 

nitpicky I know, but since you’re so proud of that wiring job, might as well take it to 11. 

-Skip

I knew you would share my hatred for improperly cut cable ties!

[BBB]

2 hours ago, skipperT said:

...you need to invest in a good set of flush cutters (not nippers or dykes) to trim the ends of those zip ties so they don’t draw blood from the next bit of skin that gets too close.

That’s another tool I’ve just bought, that I didn’t previously know I needed.

[skipperT]

7 hours ago, Warchild said:

 I only deserve a 10.5, for only turning the snips 180-degrees away from hands, or at least turning them up against the adjacent plastic. 😥

😃

🤣 and well done, that was a nice touch. It always amazes me at how specific the Japanese are regarding the direction a zip tie or clamp should be left in after it’s secured to something! Blows my mind. 
 

-Skip

[skipperT]

5 hours ago, BBB said:

That’s another tool I’ve just bought, that I didn’t previously know I needed.

Yep such a good thing to have!

Spent $65 on a pair years ago. I winced at the time, but have no regrets (although it’s apparently still burned in my brain!) Still want to purchase a slightly smaller pair from Nipex one of these days. 

I lent it once to someone and he used it on a wire and dinged the blade, but they still work nicely.

-Skip

[Warchild]

Addendum to this thread.... my Tracer lighting after the Aux Driving lamps installed. Also a serious high-beam adjustment.

While I really can't see for diddly at night anymore, it's due to age, not the Tracer light output. The LED headlight is superb, and really does give us an excellent low-beam:

 

 

Once I jacked down the high-beam headlight aim (thank you, Yamaha, for separating the adjustments!) and no longer light up owls in high trees, I think our high-beam is also excellent:

 

 

But nothing beats the combo of high & low beam married to purpose-built Aux Driving lamps - the entire countryside is well-illuminated! Needless to say, you are not using these lamps in the presence of oncoming traffic - you would just set them on fire.  🔥  🔥  🔥 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[2linby]

Cheap 10w DRL below always on. Above Denali S4 lights switched with factory supplied switch. Mounted on GIVI highway bars.Finished a BBG1500 last month. No issues seeing everything at night. The Denali S4 while smaller than their monster cousins are superb and a bit less costly. But hey, not seeing objects on the road at night can be more costly! This winter I will install a lighted switch so I know when they are on in the daytime. 

Edited September 5, 2021 by 2linby
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