Hello all, I'm back again for another DIY walkthrough .. and today we'll be installing some flush-mount front turn signals on the CBR500R, because those front signals are (imho!) just plain ugly. So, let's dig in!
Things needed:
Razorblade
Heatshrink tubing and/or electrical tape
10mm socket wrench
Patience (optional)
First off, acquire some cheap Chinese LED turn signals from ebay for 10 bucks. I chose the very exclusive YINGHAO MONSTER ENERGY ones.
Next, take off one of your fairings. (Go check out my how-to on that project, it's not that hard I swear) Remove the rubber boot to get to the 10mm nut holding on the stock signal.
Take that little guy off and then pull the signal out while working the stock wiring through the various bends and holes. Cut off the factory connector from the signal and leave a fair-sized section of the stock wiring in tact. Splice the wiring from your new signal together like so:
Note the factory wiring (Thanks to Darrenbie on here for the info!):
Orange is left side, Blue is right
Orange/Blue Solid = Positive
Green = Ground
Orange/Blue Stripe = Daytime Running function
Now, I didn't bother with the daytime running function, so I'm not entirely sure how you'd figure that one into the equation here. I would imagine that you would just splice it together with the solid wire, but I'm no electrical engineer. Anyway, I merely stripped the wires back a bit, twisted the mess together, and then used heatshrink tubing to secure them together. I then wrapped them in some electrical tape for good measure, so hopefully that will keep any moisture out of there.
As you can see here, these particular signals barely worked due to the length of the mounting bolt on them coupled with how deeply the mounting point on the fairing is recessed. I wasn't about to bother sending them back to Hong Kong though, so I made them work.
Now, just slap the wiring back together and get that fairing back on there! One side done:
And all done. From head-on:
No more whiskers!
Marvel at how having flush-mounted signals has increased your bike's coolness factor by at least 20%.
Now with up to 13.5% more sportiness! Is sportiness even a word? Oh who cares.
Glorious.
SO, what are our conclusions on this project? Well, I personally love the new look, muuuuuch sleeker. The project doesn't come without its drawbacks, however. I didn't bother with wiring in any resistors, so the bike thinks the bulbs are out and thus the blinkers go at double-speed. IMHO, I think this is fine. I don't know about anyone else, but I find myself taking special notice of blinkers on vehicles going twice as fast as normal, it's sort of a bug-to-the-light effect I guess .. hopefully other drivers have the same curiosity that I do. Lastly, there's the visibility aspect. Yes, they're not as noticeable head-on as stock, but you'll just have to make the decision yourself as to whether or not you're okay with that in the name of better looks. As you can tell from my head-on shot, they're still quite there, so I think it'll be alright.
As always, good luck and ride on!
Things needed:
Razorblade
Heatshrink tubing and/or electrical tape
10mm socket wrench
Patience (optional)
First off, acquire some cheap Chinese LED turn signals from ebay for 10 bucks. I chose the very exclusive YINGHAO MONSTER ENERGY ones.
Next, take off one of your fairings. (Go check out my how-to on that project, it's not that hard I swear) Remove the rubber boot to get to the 10mm nut holding on the stock signal.
Take that little guy off and then pull the signal out while working the stock wiring through the various bends and holes. Cut off the factory connector from the signal and leave a fair-sized section of the stock wiring in tact. Splice the wiring from your new signal together like so:
Note the factory wiring (Thanks to Darrenbie on here for the info!):
Orange is left side, Blue is right
Orange/Blue Solid = Positive
Green = Ground
Orange/Blue Stripe = Daytime Running function
Now, I didn't bother with the daytime running function, so I'm not entirely sure how you'd figure that one into the equation here. I would imagine that you would just splice it together with the solid wire, but I'm no electrical engineer. Anyway, I merely stripped the wires back a bit, twisted the mess together, and then used heatshrink tubing to secure them together. I then wrapped them in some electrical tape for good measure, so hopefully that will keep any moisture out of there.
As you can see here, these particular signals barely worked due to the length of the mounting bolt on them coupled with how deeply the mounting point on the fairing is recessed. I wasn't about to bother sending them back to Hong Kong though, so I made them work.
Now, just slap the wiring back together and get that fairing back on there! One side done:
And all done. From head-on:
No more whiskers!
Marvel at how having flush-mounted signals has increased your bike's coolness factor by at least 20%.
Now with up to 13.5% more sportiness! Is sportiness even a word? Oh who cares.
Glorious.
SO, what are our conclusions on this project? Well, I personally love the new look, muuuuuch sleeker. The project doesn't come without its drawbacks, however. I didn't bother with wiring in any resistors, so the bike thinks the bulbs are out and thus the blinkers go at double-speed. IMHO, I think this is fine. I don't know about anyone else, but I find myself taking special notice of blinkers on vehicles going twice as fast as normal, it's sort of a bug-to-the-light effect I guess .. hopefully other drivers have the same curiosity that I do. Lastly, there's the visibility aspect. Yes, they're not as noticeable head-on as stock, but you'll just have to make the decision yourself as to whether or not you're okay with that in the name of better looks. As you can tell from my head-on shot, they're still quite there, so I think it'll be alright.
As always, good luck and ride on!