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Honda Goldwing GL1800 Installation

Started by Fluke, March 29, 2012, 06:01:08 AM

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Fluke

Paul sent over this very comprehensive guide to fitting our Cree light on his Goldwing, many thanks Paul.




Fitting the CREE DRL system to my GOLDWING GL1800

Before fitting the CREE DRL system to my Goldwing it had a total of 5 accessories including - Heated grips – GPS – Gear indicator – a plug in battery condition monitor/charger and a much improved communication system that puts the Honda original somewhere in the dark ages.  I'd always wanted some lamps to fill the two purpose made recesses each side of the engine, trouble was, until now the only lamps I could get were from the States costing hundreds and even more after the UK Tax Man grabbed his bit. At the time of ordering a set of the Cree DRL lamps I'd already stripped the bike to give it a much deserved strip and clean down so fitting the lamps was just one more task before reassembling the bike. To be honest I wasn't really sure if these lamps where really any good, but for a pint short of £130 for two sets (cos, I got two wings!) I thought they'll always fit the car if they don't 'yank me chain'.  While fitting them I documented the fitting so I could fit the other set to the other wing when the fancy took me but mainly to help me remember what I did to the first wing – I've got to say when finished they look the 'mutts nuts' and as the guy at BikeVis was helpful I decided to give him a copy of my documentation with plans and photos in case anyone else with a wing wanted to have a go.
So here we go then..........

First.. I have written this account of my installation for information purposes only. If you copy in part or in full anything from this transcript you do so entirely at your own risk, I and/or any third parties cannot and will not except any responsibility for any errors or damage to anyone or anything.   

Adjustments and things I did before fitting...
Extend the black and red power cable by 900mm (36") insulating the joints and making good the battery terminal ends.



Make two brackets to hold the lamps in place, see plans
The items listed need to be removed from the bike........
The seat
Left side battery cover
Left and right pockets
Upper and lower front engine cowls
(The top radio panel and dash could also do with being removed as well to better assist with laying the wires safely, but wires can be threaded through)
Removal of any body panels must be done under the strictest care, to prevent any damage read maintenance manual to assist in the best practice.

My plan was to get the harness laid out over the bike to see the art of the possible, there are several places that can be utilised inside the Wings body work but I wanted to put the controller and fuse in a place that was both out of the way and accessible without having to strip the bike down to bare bones.

My installation method
I used self adhesive Velcro and put the controller in front of the left pocket attaching it to the inside of the faring wall beside the top air vent.




 
Doing this enables me to remove the unit or replace any fuses in the future with very little work. From here, the cables fall nicely into place, the left lamp cable was threaded down the inside of the tunnel guards towards the left front side of the engine next to the ABS units and the right cable to the right side of the engine in the same way via the back of the tunnel cover, both cables could have gone through the same left side tunnel, but there was plenty of cable for the right lamp to do it nice and neatly.




 
The single white wire was coiled up and tucked up next to the controller out of the way. I'm toying with the idea of fitting an automatic light dimming switch to this white wire to reduce the brightness at night.
The spare blue and brown wires are coiled up and taped behind the top engine cowl in case I wish later to connect them to the side light wiring, the side light cables pass quite close to this point.  The brackets need to be filed to remove all sharp edges especially where they come into contact with the plastic dirt guards(see Pictures below).  The brackets were mounted on the top of these plastic guards using longer 6mm bolts (I used 4mm longer bolts). The brackets mount quite safely because the plastic guards have metal sleeves over the bolt holes to prevent the plastic from crushing. 
I fitted the supplied lamp brackets to my home made brackets using 4mm screws and locking nuts then mounted the lamps for the first fitting.  The lower cowl had to have the recess covers removed for the lamps to poke through, I did this using a pair of side snips to break the 8 or so tags then I used a utility knife to tidy up the edges.


 
Offering the lower cowl up and fastening it in place allowed me to see what adjustment was required before final fitment. After a small adjustment I put a ring of self adhesive foam weather strip around the lamp just to tidy up the very small gap between the lamps and the holes on the lower cowl recesses
   




Then I put it all back together and turned the engine on. Hey presto they look good, the only thing that bothered me at first was the delayed switch off, about 20 seconds, just enough time to get out of the garage.  Thanks BikeVis......... great product.




steelerbob331

What is the model # of the cree led light that you used?

Fluke

Hi

I have dropped you an email, but they are our older v2 Cree running lights... these have now been replaced with our brighter v3 light

https://www.bikevis.com/motorcycle-cree-led-running-lights.html