KymcoForum.com
General => Technical | How To => Topic started by: rjs987 on April 12, 2022, 08:38:54 PM
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I've been told by the rider who followed me when I first bought and rode my AK home from the dealer that the tail lights are bright enough but the brake light is rather small, even if it is bright. The stock brake light is a narrow vertical double row of LEDs in the center of the tail light assembly so I've been interested in improving that.
I ordered a tail light and flashing brake LED bar today. The same one I've used on my last 3 bikes. The LED bar I ordered is the Knight Riderz LB03 LED bar. This is one that I really like and it has a regular intensity running light and then a super bright flashing brake light that flashes for about 6 seconds and then goes solid "on" to satisfy the law in most States in the USA. I have used the longer bar on one bike that had the Knight Rider style chaser light in running light mode but was told that there is at least one state near Iowa where the state patrol WILL pull me over if they see that (told to me by a resident of that state). The bar I ordered is 4.7 inches long by .7 inches wide and .7 inches thick. It will just fit perfectly on the plate that holds the rear reflectors just above the license plate. There is already a wire bundle for the plate lamp there so I'll just route the wire bundle for this LED bar the same way into the tail of the AK.
This is the LED bar I am getting: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002TRZ74G/?coliid=I30PV2FAZQ4IIB&colid=18TV0X8O5SQLR&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002TRZ74G/?coliid=I30PV2FAZQ4IIB&colid=18TV0X8O5SQLR&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)
I also spent a little time working out how I'll wire it into the AK. I have designed electrical diagrams for many of my bikes for the electrical farkles that were added. Most include an isolated fuse block from Eastern Beaver. Last time I only used 2 out of the 3 fused circuits in that fuse block and this time I think it will be a while before I need more than one. That is, IF I decide to put any more electrical farkles on the AK. I like to keep things simple and the AK already has most of what I would consider adding anyway. For now only this LED bar will be added as far as electrical farkles so I really don't need the entire 3 circuit fuse block, or anything bigger. I'll just wire this directly to the battery and through a relay that will only be "on" when the bike is turned on. I haven't decided which wire coming off the OEM fuse block to tap for the trigger that turns on power to the LED bar. Either the Heated grips/USB power port wire or the wire for the lighting. The draw for the relay trigger is so low that it really doesn't matter much. Attached is the electrical diagram that I came up with. It shows the Battery Tender cable also, which is something that was added originally and not a stock/OEM item.
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Nice work!
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More info to come when I finally get around to installing all this.
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The Knight Riderz LED bar arrived today. I immediately tested the light functions by touching the wires to my Battery Tender connector. It works as advertised.
The one detail with all of these 4.7 inch LED bars I've used that is different than the longer LED bar I first used many years ago is that the shorter LED bars flash slower than the longer bar. About once per second for the short bars and about twice per second for the long bar. I would prefer the faster flashing but they both grab attention as much as is possible.
Temps this week and for the next week at least are below 40F for much of the day so I'll not likely be removing any plastic panels to install this farkle until temps warm up. I very much prefer temps to be over 50F if not over 60F to pull off plastic panels just to avoid breaking any tabs. Something learned over many years of working on bikes covered in plastic panels (since my GW I had in 2002 and every bike since that one).
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Took inventory of the parts I needed to install this and realized I am short one relay and also need a few Posi-Taps to install the wiring. So I ordered these items from Amazon today.
I like using Posi-Taps. WAY more reliable than the cheap blue 3M crimps and WAY less inclined to breaking the wire or allowing corrosion. Also very easy to use. I used to solder all wire connections on my bikes and then found out that soldered connections can crack and break the wire from the vibrations experienced on a bike. That's why most vehicles use crimped connectors so if I don't need to tap into an existing wire I use crimped quick disconnects or barrel connections with bulb grease to ward off corrosion.
Anyway, here is a picture of the bracket just above the license holder that I am mounting the LED bar onto. (pay no attention to how dirty the rear of the AK currently is. It will be cleaned in the next few days). The 2 bolts that hold it on are easy to get to and remove. Also a pic of the bracket after I test fitted the LED bar to determine where to drill a 1/4 inch hole for the wires to go through. I had marked and drilled the hole here. I used a round file to smooth the edges of the drilled hole and then cleaned the surface with 91% rubbing alcohol. Then a picture of the LED bar mounted on the bracket. It just fits centered between the side reflectors and also within the top and bottom edges of the bracket... JUST. Last pic here is the back side of the bracket with the wires going through the hole. Looking closely you can just see maybe 1/16 inch of the bottom edge of the LED bar showing in 2 spots but that won't effect how this bar sticks on. There is 3M double stick tap on the back side of the LED bar to stick it on surfaces. It seems there are different grades of this stuff and what is used on this LED bar is higher grade than I've seen on other items. I've used this same LED bar on several bikes and it stays put very well. I plan to seal the hole where the wires go through with E6000 cement to weatherproof that opening.
More pics and detail after I get the stuff in that I ordered. Don't know if I will or will not have time to continue this until after my trip to TN in less than 2 weeks.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/B1hpkLSPtvmVEYGr8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/RS42eBBXqvELKqN9A
https://photos.app.goo.gl/tw2dmxamJr8vbs8A9
https://photos.app.goo.gl/dFSEphSBrJoNN72u5
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Looking really good so far Robert!
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Finished this a few weeks ago. Works great. Pictures don't do justice to how bright the LED bar really is. The brakes flash 6 seconds and then stays solid ON per state law. The OEM brake light is very bright on the AK 550 but just needs to be bigger. This LED bar adds more visibility, just what was needed.
Here is a link to the PDF document since the information is too big to fit in a post.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Xp6pTMI22fjNzYexJGugUiiavfWdeEhV/view?usp=sharing (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Xp6pTMI22fjNzYexJGugUiiavfWdeEhV/view?usp=sharing)
Here is a video of the brake light LED bar in action. That rope on the left is so I can hold the camera and also operate the brakes.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/USCqVAvp9f2SXebB8 (https://photos.app.goo.gl/USCqVAvp9f2SXebB8)