Headlamp Install

The Cyclops headlamp that came with the bike didn't light up much of squat when I was riding at night. So I set out on getting a pair of projector headlamps from a car accessories shop. So here is the guide on how to hook these up.

Things needed:

Thick wires (don't be cheap and buy those thin sorry excuses for wires) in whatever colors you want.

A relay or two (2 if you are using dual HIDs) if you are unsure if which rating to get, tell them it's the one for installing the air horns for cars.

Basic tools i.e. screw drivers, allen keys, socket wrenches

Fuse (optional)

Wire Tape/ Shrink Wrap

Step 1: Make sure the bulbs work, if not, get bulbs that work. Also, waterproof the sombitch by wrapping a small plastic bag around the area where the leads will come out. Using some good (not the cheap) wire tape, wrap up the whole thing well and good. (fig1)

Step 2: If you are using HIDs like me, you will need to run a relay through as motorcycle wires are not good enough to channel enough power to the ballast. The setup is simple, run a thick wire from the battery to the relay (you may install a fuse just in case 35a should cut it), connect it to connection 30 (power source), connect the lead from the stock headlight to 85 and connect 86 and the ground cable of the ballast to any grounding point of your choosing on the bike. Then, connect the positive terminal to connection 87 (normally off). Test your headlamp. (fig 2)

Step 3: Wrap all spliced wires with wire tape or shrink wrap and make sure all your wires are tucked nicely. Clipping of your cables on anywhere can cause a lot of issues. Once all that is done, tighten all your bolts and bring a wrench along with you when riding at night. It will take a few tries before you get the position of the light right.

 Fig 1

Fig 2

 where i put the relay

me working on the bike

Before.. with the Cyclops headlamp

End Product

By Vy

Been So Long

Wow, never realized that it had been so long since I had posted anything on bikes. Well, since I sold my bike I had been in a rut for a while. Lack of riding is like having withdrawal from drugs. Everyday I drive my car, I don't feel very happy.

Mid December, my wife had surprised me by telling me that I need a replacement for my car. As it was old and one of my friends wanted to sell me his. Since his was full of performance mods, it was quite an interesting buy except it was the same model of car as mine. After a lot of thinking, and sleepless nights, my wife then gave me an ultimatum, either choose the car or get a bike. Without further thought, I had chosen my bike. Although, just so I could hear what I chose as the right thing, I had asked a good friend and mentor of mine Mr Eel.

Confirmed that I wanted the bike, we proceeded to look for one that I liked. Thanks to Mr. Eel, I had gotten a good buy on a Dragstar/V-star 650 from his friend. There are some kinks here and there to iron out but that's fine.

The bike was readily bobbed by the owner with a hugger rear fender and a seat pan. Everything was powder coated with wrinkle paint. Although it was cool, it's a real bitch to wash. I found myself washing it everyday because of the wrinkle. Even before I had bought a bike I had already thought of a name for it (as an excuse to buy 4)… I named my first bike (regardless what it was) Pestilence. As in the first horseman of the apocalypse and had chosen the color scheme white. Oddly enough, the bike I liked was also white… I didn't chose it for its color.. in fact, I liked it because of its exhaust pipes.

I have been riding Pestilence for a few months now and have slowly been tweaking everything to suit me. I even removed the hugger fender and installed the original fender too. This makes it look longer and I can bring my wife around as well. And because the aftermarket Cyclops light was doing my night riding no good, I had bought 2 projector spotlights for cars and modified them to fit the bike. With low beam being halogen and the high beam being HIDs.

There are some other modifications that are coming up as I have been cooking them since I confirmed I wanted the bike. I can finally build my kite tank and have a very simple yet nice floating fender in design for my rear. However, it will take some time as I would like to focus on riding more than modifications.

By Vy