Installation of LED Running Lights on ZZR1400

We wanted some extra lights to make the bike more visible to myopic car drivers, so we went for a nice set of LED’s fitted inside housings milled from solid alloy billet. Tough and completely waterproof and less than £50 on
E Bay.

We also bought some 5 and 17 amp wire, some solder, heat shrink tubing and cable ties including labelled cable ties. We found some bits of steel at Wickes (some kind of building staple to hold walls together apparently). All we needed to know was that it was the right size and thickness.

Locating the Lamps

The crash bung mounting was an obvious place to mount a bracket, which we crudely fabricated out of some of the steel obtained from Wickes, painted black with Hammerite. This was a simple ‘bend, bash, check, bend again’ kind of process. You get the idea…rocket science it was not. It can hardly be seen once the lamps are mounted.

The lamps were mounted onto the brackets using the bolts supplied with the light kit and positioned inboard of the crash bungs so they could still do their job without the lamps being damaged in a spill.

Wiring Daigram

A basic wiring diagram was found on the internet and wiring run as shown. Where necessary to link or extend wires we used old fashioned soldered connections which were then sealed using heat shrink tubing. A nice neat job and much more reliable than the truly awful Scotch-Locks.

To keep things neat we tied cables together and to other fittings when appropriate using cable ties. Every so often along the wire we included a labelled cable tie (you can buy these ready made) indicating what the wire relates to. This can be handy months later when fitting something else and you wonder what on earth this strange cable is….

As the LEDS don’t draw as much current as regular bulbs we reduced the rating of the wires (from 25 down to 17 where indicated on the diagram and from 10 down to 5).

The relay was connected to the positive and earth connections on a switched only supply via the fuseblock secondary fuse panel we fitted earlier. The Fuseblock’s unit gives you the choice of switched (ignition on) or always on power as well as an easily accessible fuse. By using ‘;switched’ power we prevent the situation where the battery gets flattened by accidentally leaving the lights on.

You can wire up to 6 accessories using the fuse panel.

Separate Switch

We wanted a scheme that allowed for the use of a dash-mounted isolating switch. Here is the green waterproof switch neatly mounted to the left of the clocks.

We tell everyone it’s for the Nitrous….

Bright Light!

Finally we jiggled the lamps about, using the existing beam pattern of the main lights as a guide ( as viewed on the inside of the garage door) for setting the height and direction of the lamps to avoid dazzling other road users. Aim was left and down so that beams are just below dipped and slightly in towards the near side, away from on-coming traffic.

To double check we set the bike up 15 metres in front of a car and sat in the drivers seat looking at the bike to confirm there was no dazzle.

Next job is to upgrade dipped beams to HID….

Disclaimer: No responsibility accepted for errors omissions or consequences. If you are not sure about installing electrical devices on your bike – have them done by a professional.