Extra Lighting Part 1.

Extra Lighting Part 1.

I thought about adding some extra lighting to the bike using a small L.E.D solution of some kind. Now, I'll admit that after the problems with the T10 L.E.D bulbs it feels like it could be a waste of time if they blow in the same way. 

Now after a look through eBay (you can find just about everything on there, no matter how obscure) Somewhere like Maplin might also stock what you're after.

First, I need to look at the bike & see what possibly could be installed and where. The small vents on the front fairing at the bottom looked the best bet. So I needed to look for something ideal for that location.

On eBay I came across a pair of small round aluminum encased & magnified L.E.Ds that came with a strobe unit. They come in all colours but of course I went for white, at least I hope they're white and they have sent me the correct ones! Because even though I ordered white the box wasn't ticked for any o the colours on the pack. Now we don't need the strobe unit as this will make them flash like emergency services and we want them constant, so we don't need to use it. If you would like the option to add a bypass in the circuit to turn the strobe on or just bypass it and have it on constant, it's up to you. I also against the law unless they're amber I think?

Of course the L.E.D issue I had with the SMD T10 bulbs blowing pretty much straight away is now at the fore front of my mind and looking at these because of the magnification I'm unsure whether it's a type of rounded SMD or an more original type of L.E.D? I'm leaning on the latter & hoping but I'm still not guaranteed it won't blow. Because of this I should test it out first before mounting with the engine running for awhile to save me the trouble. I will wire the bulbs direct from the battery as they are an 12v DC input. The battery will still be charged by the bikes charging system and it shouldn't be affected in any way. I will also hook up a switch to the circuit once I know it works well, so they can be used in conjunction with riding light or headlights or on their own as well as being able to be switched off, which is another good point for wiring direct from the battery. Also if there is a slight pick up / spike in power from the bikes charging system that was blowing the L.E.Ds it shouldn't affect the circuit here as it's being fed direct from the battery, although I'll still test with the engine running just to make double sure.

[The place where they will be mounted, from behind inside the vent].


I went for a few meters of 10 amp electrical wiring cable. 10 amp maybe overkill and the wiring that's attached directly to the L.E.D units is thinner and certainly rated less but, it's always good to have the headroom just in case especially with virtually no price difference but, I think the draw will be fine. In fact I think that will be obvious.

Sometimes if the wires get too hot on an application they melt the insulation then can short together. I've seen this in radio controlled models wiring, when wiring wasn't exactly what it said it was on the tin so to speak & melted. But the draw is a lot on an RC motor and nowhere near as bad on an L.E.D in any case.
Make sure you get enough in length, remember you also have to have wire to run for your switch too, not just from battery to source.

I also went for a fairly large flick / toggle switch. That's so it can be operated easily while riding. Whether I will find some proper connectors to connect to the switch? I actually wouldn't be surprised if I already have some to be honest, it's just I'm not sure if I have the crimping still tool to connect them onto the wire. I'm sure I lent it out to someone fitting a car stereo or something and never got it back. In which case I may just solder the wires on.

This time I've got a nice pack of heatshrink sleeves to use instead of electrical tape. It should make everything look at little nicer and more professional than tape does for soldered joints etc.

And we've got an aluminum strip 3mm thick to make our right angled mounting brackets from. Now this was chosen because it's strong and also malleable, at 2/3mm thick it can be bent easily to form a right angle bracket but, once fitted with pressure we can also adjust the elevation of the light by slightly bending once again. 2mm is easier to work with but can snap if over worked too much on the bend point, I've gone for 3mm. A rubber mallet and a vice would come in handy for bending the strip. A blow torch to heat the strip briefly before it's bent on the bend point would help, as it makes the process easier but is not necessary. I have made sure the strip has enough length to make two brackets, also to allow for any mistakes / damaged brackets first off.

Again eBay is the best place for this. The strips come in various sizes this was ideal [I'll edit size in here] for this application. The L.E.Ds will obviously be attached to one side of the bracket and the other then to the inside of the front fairing near the vent either by bolts or epoxy. A bolt would also allow the light beam to be adjusted left to right but would require the drilling of the fairing underside along with rubber washers to stop the fairing from cracking under pressure from the tightened bolt.

Aftermarket footpegs & L.E.D update.

Aftermarket footpegs.

Again, there aren't any footpegs that are available for the bike bar the standard ones, again sold as spare parts. So once more I had a look to see what I could find for the CBR 125 the chassis is based on. Once more I found some on Ebay, they seemed to also be for other Honda CBR models too. I found a pair of front & back pegs together in CNC gold aluminium, the gold for obvious reasons once more there would be other colours available. The pegs were of a knurled rounded bar type. The original rubber coated pegs work fine but after a while the rubber wears & starts to fray and look a mess. Basically apart from aesthetics your buying a peg to last the long haul. Again its another cheap one, if you buy front and back pegs together it will be a little more than just one or the other, however it might be cheaper all together in the long run if you do.

Rear pegs.

The back pegs fit fine using the original pin & e-clip, however I also used a rubber Penny washer as there was some slight looseness / play & they didn't lock in place as firmly as I wanted. With the rubber washer (ebay or diy store) in place however all was fine. Using a steel washer would cause it to stick but the rubber one will mean it will flex as needed and give the best amount of resistance.

[Removing the E-Clip from the original pin with a precision screwdriver].

Front pegs.

When it came to the front pegs however, things were different. The holes on the pegs were slightly larger and as so we're loose and wouldn't stay relatively straight. So I needed to use some bolts and a few nuts. A pair of M6 bolts (which come with two nuts) along with a packet of M6 nuts I bought from a local Halfords store did the job ok.

While we're on the subject these steel M6 bolts although a little longer could replace the bolts that bolt the speedometer / gauge to the chassis, just in case you should need a replacement or higher quality rust proof steel bolt. Of course there is nothing stopping you trimming the bolt with a hacksaw or even, if you can get one elsewhere at a slightly shorter length but, the slightly extra length doesn't impede anything as I tried it out of curiosity.

Using the extra nuts I arranged them as shown above with one nut located inside the two points on the peg locking the one part up to the top of the bracket, the other nut locking the same through bolt to the bottom of the bracket. Another nut is then used over the top of the first one to lock the first nut in place so no vibration or change in temperature will work it loose over time. Even so it's always good to check everything's nice and tight.

Be careful when removing the e-clips from the pins as they can spring off and get lost very easily. If so you can buy e-clip packs on eBay for a few £. DIY stores may also sell them but usually in the big assorted packs and you only need one size and not many (depending how many you lose), it's just knowing the size you need. If you don't then of course one of these assorted box sets will have your size but you will be left with quite a few other clips you just don't need for probably next to forever. The assorted sets cost under a tenner (£10) so not a huge sum but a few of the size you want would only be about £1.50. When removing them place a small box, tin or container over so if they fall or spring off they will likely fall into the box.

*L.E.D update.

In a previous post we talked about changing the T10 day running / riding light for an L.E.D one. Unfortunately, they just dont seem to last the week without blowing. Having tried two different brands to no avail! This is likely down to cheap components on cheap far eastern parts in the T10 main components themselves. After all, reading the Amazon reviews many have that same problem fitting to their cars (they blow after not very long), so I'm likely to get Xenon T10 bulbs for the same effect, of course though this won't lessen the wattage output. It has to be down to cheap components as the L.E.D indicators would've stopped working a long time ago! If there were problems with the voltage (likely voltage regulator / rectifier) then the indicators would have gone too. I don't fancy trying all and sundry when it comes to L.E.D T10 bulbs to find a good one now as changing them & having to remove the speedo gets to be a pain in the arse when they blow every 5 minutes, especially when you're using the bike. I'll just pop a Xenon bulb in there and leave it. It just makes me wonder for when I have to change the rear / brake bulb, will that bulb be a duff far eastern cheap job blowing in 5 minutes as well? The ones I have are of an SMD L.E.D type, the same ones on our problematic T10s. The L.E.Ds on the indicators are of the more standard type and this is where I think I might have more joy. The cheap SMDs used just seem to be plain crap.