Adding LED lights, Winterizing, and other newbie questions

5693 Views 14 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Sarguy, Nov 3, 2016

Walrasaurus

Discussion Starter · Oct 31, 2016 (Edited by Moderator)

First time posting here, so apologies if this post is in the wrong topic.

I recently purchased an 05 KLR 650 with 31000 miles. First off, I want more light than the stock headlight offers, so I purchased a set of 2 27W LED lights (https://www.amazon.com/Senlips-Ligh...ehicle,+ATV,+SUV,+UTV,+4WD,+Jeep,+Boat-+Black), which'll be arriving tomorrow. However, I'm having a hard time finding a good tutorial of how to do this. Ideally, I'd like to wire them into the high beams. Basically, I'm looking for new or pre-existing tips & guides for adding lights that someone with very little understanding of circuitry could follow.

With winter coming fast, I'm having a hard time finding a consensus as to the best way to go about winterizing the bike. I live in the Elkhart/South Bend area of Indiana (30 mins south of the Michigan state line) where winters can get pretty cold & snow can come in feet, inches, or not at all. Since I'm at school, I'd have to rent a storage unit to keep it garaged (pref. climate/humidity controlled), but I'd really prefer to save the couple hundred dollars that'd run me. So, if I was to keep the bike outdoors, is it adequate to just try to have a cover on it, keep the tank close to full, and ride it (or let it run if it is too cold) once or twice a week? Or do I need to go the whole 9-yards with elevating the tires, keeping the battery on a tender, removing sparks & oiling pistons/cylinders, full tank with sta-bil, run carbs dry, etc.? If you have the time, I would really appreciate to hear what procedures you guys follow for winterizing your KLRs, especially for bikes that'll be sitting outdoors.

Doohickey/Balancer chain adjuster lever - I have pretty much no idea of the service history of the bike, so for all I know the bike could already have a replacement or it could be broken into a million little pieces. I guess what I'm trying to find out is how high of a priority replacing the (possibly) OEM doohickey should this be on my list of modifications?

That's all I've got for now but I may think of a few other things I'd like to know in the near future. Thanks in advance for whatever help you guys can offer, I'm really looking forward to being a part of the KLR community.

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Tom Schmitz

· #2 · Oct 31, 2016

I'll address the lights and wiring, leaving the winter prep and store for others with experience.

The lights you are adding will consume 2 amps each (assuming the 27 watts is lamp consumption power). The high beam consumes 5 amps. By wiring them into the high beam you are doubling the load that the high beam wires have to carry. The problem is that those wiring are marginal, at best, for the high beam alone.

Were I in your shoes I would be building a wire harness for the headlight with relays and heavier wiring. Then I'd install a Philips Xtreme Vision +100 (NOT the +130!) H4 bulb. This should improve your headlights performance quite markedly.

Once you've done that you can wire the LED things into the high beam. Whether or not they put light where you need it and in a color that helps you see is something you'll have to discover empirically. They may be a good thing, they may be junk.

Wiring harnesses for H4 motorcycle use are readily available commercially and are easy to build at home. If you choose to build your own I can offer help. If you want to buy, look here: H4 Kits. There's stuff in the bay and in the river, too, but I know Eastern Beaver delivers quality stuff.

For the doohickey, you ought to pop the left side cover off and take a look to see if it has been done.

Tom

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Walrasaurus

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 31, 2016 (Edited by Moderator)

Tom Schmitz said:
I'll address the lights and wiring, leaving the winter prep and store for others with experience.

The lights you are adding will consume 2 amps each (assuming the 27 watts is lamp consumption power). The high beam consumes 5 amps. By wiring them into the high beam you are doubling the load that the high beam wires have to carry. The problem is that those wiring are marginal, at best, for the high beam alone.

Were I in your shoes I would be building a wire harness for the headlight with relays and heavier wiring. Then I'd install a Philips Xtreme Vision +100 (NOT the +130!) H4 bulb. This should improve your headlights performance quite markedly.

Once you've done that you can wire the LED things into the high beam. Whether or not they put light where you need it and in a color that helps you see is something you'll have to discover empirically. They may be a good thing, they may be junk.

Wiring harnesses for H4 motorcycle use are readily available commercially and are easy to build at home. If you choose to build your own I can offer help. If you want to buy, look here: . There's stuff in the bay and in the river, too, but I know Eastern Beaver delivers quality stuff.

For the doohickey, you ought to pop the left side cover off and take a look to see if it has been done.

Tom

Thanks for the quick reply, Tom. My headlight bulb is dead at the moment and I was honestly considering just removing it and throwing one of the LEDs in its place for forward light, wired to the lo-beams, and the other mounted on top of the front fender or fairing angled slightly downwards for off-roading and what not. Does this seem feasible to you? If not, how might I go about building my own harness? Also, thanks for editing in the amazon link for me, but I think you may have moved my post to the 2008+ section, while my girl's an 05.

-------

Another concern: Few days ago I took a spill when the headlight bulb went out in the middle of a late night exploration along a slightly muddy path. As a result, my handlebars are now slightly misaligned with the front wheel. I can push them back into place by hand, but when I leave the bike sitting on its kickstand it ends up misaligned again. I'm wondering which bolts on the forks/bars I need to loosen in order to correct it and then tighten so that it hopefully holds the alignment. Also, after I dropped the bike I noticed it was making this whisping/clicking noise at idle. I posted a video on youtube where you can hear what I'm talking about

The noise seems more audible from the right side of the bike than the left, though that may have a little something to do with the gutted & chopped muffler being on the right. Its entirely possible that its been making this noise all along and I just hadn't noticed it, but I figured it'd be best to be safe and ask the experts.

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Tom Schmitz

· #4 · Oct 31, 2016

I didn't move your post; you posted in the 2008 sub forum. I'll move it.

You're going to be better off using your headlight for forward lighting and using the LED for auxiliary lighting. Especially if you install a good bulb int he headlight.

To build your own headlight relay harness you'll need to source a length of good quality 12 gauge wire to run from the battery up to the headlight area. Then you'll need some good quality 14 gauge wire to hook everything up.

You'll need two standard 4-pin automotive relays.

It would be nice to have one H4 female connector and one H4 male connector, and two relay connectors, but it can all be done with 1/4" male and female tab connectors.

This is the circuit you'll need to build:

H4 Harness by souperdoo3, on Flickr

You can add leads to the high beam output for your LEDs.

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DPelletier

· #5 · Oct 31, 2016

cover the bike, change the oil, check the anti-freeze protection, fill the tank; add stabil, drain the carb.....do NOT run the bike periodically, it does more harm than good. Take the battery out and put it on a tender or expect to replace it come spring time. I personally wouldn't do much else.

On the Doohickey; you're on borrowed time and I'd expect a better than 50% chance it's already failed. When I first bought my 2001, I was told it was changed and since it was running fine I didn't bother checking it.....when I did the lever was in three pcs and the spring in two....took me several hours with both engine covers off searching with a flashlight and magnet on a flexible wire but I eventually found all the pieces......PITA and potentially catastrophic....bike had just under 18,000 miles on it at the time.

Dave

Walrasaurus

Discussion Starter · #6 · Oct 31, 2016

Welp, you've convinced me Dave... looks like I'm at least gonna be opening 'er up tomorrow and having a look. Really hope its been replaced already, as I would hate to have to buy all the special tools for just one swap.

Anyone know if the noise its making when idling is cause for concern?

Also, thanks again for the wiring advice Tom. I'm gonna make a run to Ace at some point this week and pick up as many of those components as possible and see what I can do. Mind if I PM you or something if I run into issues?

Thanks,
Tommy

DPelletier

· #7 · Nov 1, 2016

If you put up a post and include your location, there may be some members willing to lend you the doo tools. ....there are also some that hold "tech days" where a bunch of guys get together to do them.

If you don't have the proper tools or a torque wrench you can leave it for a bit but DO NOT attempt to adjust it until you've verified it is intact and the spring has tension or you will introduce additional slack in the balancer chain.

Dave

Sarguy

· #8 · Nov 2, 2016

Brake/running light LED conversion boards.

So I know there are several different manufacturer's brake/running light LED conversion boards out there. I tried just putting in one of the 1157 LED bulbs and am not happy with the brightness it puts out, so I thought I'd try one of the boards (having the brake light flash several times to get the attention of the driver texting on their phone is a BIG plus as well). I know Idabiker makes one. Does anyone have experience with these and what are your thoughts?

Thank you,
John

DPelletier

· #9 · Nov 2, 2016

I have the Idabiker LED's in both KLR's and love them; they work great and are much brighter than stock.

Dave

Sarguy

· #10 · Nov 2, 2016

DPelletier said:
I have the Idabiker LED's in both KLR's and love them; they work great and are much brighter than stock.

Dave

Thank you Dave. I think I'll order one today. I like his headlight LED conversions.

John

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OkiePokie

· #11 · Nov 3, 2016

Have you taken a look at the Doo yet? No reason to put this off. Check it, if it has the stock stuff, buy an aftermarket solution and do it. I did it. First time I replaced the doo, easy enough to follow instructions. Go slow when you're putting the rotor on the shaft though. Get the woodruff key on right and make sure the rotor goes in all the way. The tools to do the job is, I think, $18 from eagle mike for the rotor bolt and rotor wrench. And you may need them in the future anyway.

Sarguy

· #12 · Nov 3, 2016

OkiePokie said:
Have you taken a look at the Doo yet? No reason to put this off. Check it, if it has the stock stuff, buy an aftermarket solution and do it. I did it. First time I replaced the doo, easy enough to follow instructions. Go slow when you're putting the rotor on the shaft though. Get the woodruff key on right and make sure the rotor goes in all the way. The tools to do the job is, I think, $18 from eagle mike for the rotor bolt and rotor wrench. And you may need them in the future anyway.

Actually, if you get the tools and doohickey kit from Eagle Mike's, it's closer to $140. I bought them a few months ago when I did the doo.

OkiePokie

· #13 · Nov 3, 2016

Yes around $140 for everything, but getting the two tools i mentioned to do the job is pretty cheap so that's no reason to wait until tech day or until he can borrow a tool is what I was getting at.

Walrasaurus

Discussion Starter · #14 · Nov 3, 2016

My brother is way more mechanically inclined than myself, a man of science. So I was hoping to wait until this Summer when I could take it to the shop garage he rents and do it there with his help, as opposed to doing it myself outdoors and risking more harm than good to my bike. I don't have the financial stability to drop $140 on 2 tools I will likely only use once or twice. I would much rather just pay the shipping for someone else to lend me theirs or find someone in my area who could help me out with the job. I am currently in Goshen, IN (near elkhart and south bend) but will be between Carmel (closer to Indianapolis) and wherever my parents end up relocating in Texas for the Summer

I'm gonna start work on building my H4 relays for my LEDs and headlight this weekend, so I may be calling upon some of y'all in the near future for a little assistance.

Sarguy

· #15 · Nov 3, 2016

Walrasaurus said:
My brother is way more mechanically inclined than myself, a man of science. So I was hoping to wait until this Summer when I could take it to the shop garage he rents and do it there with his help, as opposed to doing it myself outdoors and risking more harm than good to my bike. I don't have the financial stability to drop $140 on 2 tools I will likely only use once or twice. I would much rather just pay the shipping for someone else to lend me theirs or find someone in my area who could help me out with the job. I am currently in Goshen, IN (near elkhart and south bend) but will be between Carmel (closer to Indianapolis) and wherever my parents end up relocating in Texas for the Summer

I'm gonna start work on building my H4 relays for my LEDs and headlight this weekend, so I may be calling upon some of y'all in the near future for a little assistance.

I loan my tools out to anyone that needs them. I don't ask for any $ for it, and up until the end of this month, I was able to pay to ship them to and from as we get FedEx shipping for almost nothing. The only thing I ask is that the borrower pay it forward. Help someone in need or give a hand to someone less fortunate. Because I'm being able to currently ship cheap, then I can ship out the tools, but the borrower will need to pay to ship them back to me when they're done.

Let me know.
John

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