OK, I've had a bunch of questions about my driving lights so I'll start a post, and get more detailed pictures and specifics on bolt length, size, etc. when I have time.

I picked up these oval shaped 55W driving lights at Wal-Mart in the automotive section. They were either $15 or $20, I don't remember. After taking them out of the box and trying to figure out a way to mount them, I decided to remove the mounting brackets they came with, and rig up my own way to mount them. The lights have a "tube" of sorts molded in their bottom edge that a bolt went through for the stock mount brackets. Looking for mounting locations on the Versys I decided there was really only one place I saw that could easily be adapted for mounting the lights and look like I wanted.

I ended up getting some longer bolts (same threads as the stock fairing mount bolt) to mount through the lights and into the stock fairing bolt location. This also required the use of a spacer to keep the light housing away from the fairing, and a few washers between the fairing and spacer. Here is what I ended up using.

Longer bolt with flat washer, this is inserted into the "tube" in the bottom of the light housing. Next, the spacer goes on to the bolt, followed by a nut that came off of part of the driving light mounts. I spun the nut onto the bolt and semi-tight against the spacer. Next on went three flat washers, followed by the stock plastic washer from the original fairing mount bolt.

Maybe this picture will clear up some of the mud.

http://www.ayresprohomeinspection.com/Versys/exhaust/1024_text_P1040890.jpg

OK, on to the wiring portion.

I did not want to use a conventional on/off switch. I wanted to have my lights come on and go off without having to remember to turn them on or off. I picked up a 30 AMP Bosch style relay from the local auto parts store, and used it to trigger my driving lights to come on and off with my low beam headlight. You could also just as easily have them triggered to come on with your high beam or any other source that can provide switched 12V power.

I hard wired the main power wire directly to the battery. This wire runs from the battery, through an inline fuse, up towards the front of the bike. I ran this wire on the left side of the bike, and followed some existing wiring that runs along the bottom edge of the gas tank and through the front forks. I covered the wiring in small automotive wire loom to make it have more of a factory appearance. The main power wire then runs up into the area behind the left side fairing, and just to the left and back of the headlight. In that area is a factory flasher? that is mounted on a rubber isolated mount. I chose to mount my new relay to that flasher using a couple of ZIP ties.

The main power wire running from the Motorcycle Battery gets connected to blade 30 of the new Bosch relay. Blade 86 of the relay needs to be connected to a good ground. The hot wires on the new driving lights will need to be connected together, and run to blade 87 of the relay. Blade 85 of the relay is what gets connected to your trigger source. I chose to have my driving lights come on whenever my low beams come on, so I tapped the hot wire of the stock low beam wiring and used that as my trigger. NOTE: There is no load on the trigger source wiring at all, it merely serves as a trigger to the relay. Whenever the relay sees 12V from the low beam wire on blade 85, it internally allows the power that is applied at blade 30 to pass through to blade 87. Here is a picture for the visual learners.

http://ayresprohomeinspection.com/Versys/lights/driving_light_wiring.jpg

Oh yeah, I also chose to drill a hole in each fairing the same size as my wire loom, and run the wiring for the driving lights through the loom and through the hole. Looks neater that way IMHO.

http://www.ayresprohomeinspection.com/Versys/exhaust/1024_loom_P1040952.jpg

OK, now that I have that all typed up, I'll get better pics and part descriptions later. Hope this helps anyone wanting to mount some extra lights! :thumb: :thumb:

http://www.ayresprohomeinspection.com/Versys/cached/8b4a4c17.jpg
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Looks very nice. You do a good job of explaining your projects. Keep em' coming.

Thanks for the info 08 Versys. I'm going to be a copy cat and do this for myself as well. One question though, when you have to take the fairings off for maintenance, how do you deal with the light wires going through the fairing? It looks best the way you did it, but I would expect the fairings to end up hanging by the light wires if you need to take them off for any reason. What has your experience been with this? :confused:

Thanks for the info 08 Versys. I'm going to be a copy cat and do this for myself as well. One question though, when you have to take the fairings off for maintenance, how do you deal with the light wires going through the fairing? It looks best the way you did it, but I would expect the fairings to end up hanging by the light wires if you need to take them off for any reason. What has your experience been with this? :confused:

Ahh, I knew I would forget something. :)

The loom only goes through the fairing about an inch, and the light wires go through the loom a little farther. I install the fairing with only the loom sticking through (this short piece of loom always stays on the fairing), and when I bolt the light on, I poke the wires through the loom, through the back side of the fairing, and plug them into the light harness. There are bullet style connectors (male and female) that come already installed on the lights and light harness, so it's easy to plug and unplug them.

Just curious. I do a fair amount of night driving as well, and driving lights would be a great addition. On my previous bike, any mods to the electrical system even so much as a headlight swap from 60/55 watt headlight H4 to a 100/80 watt caused the battery to run dead after only a short time. Had to stay stock. Are there any issues with the system drain on this bikes charging system such as drained battery or undue strain which "fries" anything electrical? I'm very nervous of adding anything not stock but would really like a pair. I have seen a very low profile set of PIAA driving/fog combo lights which are only about 1 1/4 inch high by 4 1/14 inches with high intensity LED's(8) in each which would look great mounted to the front. They are supposed to be the equivalent of 37.5 watt bulbs each, with only 10 watt or less draw.
Your system looks great and I imagine work very well, but I'm nervous of the short/long term effects on the charging system. Thanks

Here are the alternator and battery specs for the Versys. (I got these from another post.)

Alternator: 8A / 14V @ 4 000 rpm
336 watts total

The bike uses about 130 watts to run. That leaves an extra 200+ watts.

I'm curious about the aiming of the lights. From your description, up and down are easily achieved by loosening the mounting bolts. As currently mounted, do the lights have a good side to side aim; i.e. point straight ahead and not off set to one side or the other?

Lest I forget, nice job and excellent write-up. If you plan on any further electrical upgrades, you might consider installing a remote fuse-block. It will make adding circuits much easier.

TIA,

Red

...do the lights have a good side to side aim; i.e. point straight ahead and not off set to one side or the other?...

Thanks Red. Yes they are aimed pretty much straight ahead. I thought about adding an aux fuse/relay block for future items, I very well may do that later.

Great information and description :thumb:

I guess I will be a copy cat also! Thanks for the info

Thanks for the informative descriptions and photos. Looks like there will be a few more Versyses(s)? on the road with driving lights soon

Just did the Driving Lights mod yesterday. Man are those lights bright!!! :D The directions you posted were great except when it came to figuring out which wire from the head light was the hot. Since the first shot didn't work I got it right on the second try :thumb:

Just did the Driving Lights mod yesterday. Man are those lights bright!!! :D The directions you posted were great except when it came to figuring out which wire from the head light was the hot. Since the first shot didn't work I got it right on the second try :thumb:

Excellent!

I guess I was leaving it up to the individual to determine what they were going to trigger off of.

If you are going to use either the low or high beam as a trigger here's a tip. Look at the wiring that plugs in to both headlights. On both light harnesses there will be wires that are the same color. DO NOT hook your trigger wire to those wires. That is the ground wire for the lights. Hook it to the opposing wire on either harness depending on which light you want to trigger the driving lights with. :thumb: :thumb:
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I also did this mod, you can't beat the Walmart price. I found the right length bolts at the local bicycle shop, they are a common steering stem dimension. I seperately swithched the lights so I have lots of options. These inexpensive lights really add to the overall brightness, a great addition, thanks for the tips.

Regards,
Wardo

:thumb: :thumb:

Nice!

I've been wondering about something like this since I saw some my buddy was adding to his R1200c BMW cruiser.

That looks great. Nice job there v08. :clap:

I also went with the Wal-mart ones but mounted them at the bottom of the forks. These are bright and light up the night very well. Check my gallery for photo's.

Versys08, thanks for the installation tips. I bought 2 Optilux sets (20 bucks each), one driving and one fog. I installed the driving set at the same location and the fog set on the fork where the reflectors were. I hooked up the driving set to the high beam and the fog set to the low beam with a switch on the instruments panel. I had to make custom brackets to install the Optilux as the attachement is different than the Walmart set. See pictures.

Becareful with 6 lights (4 is max) on the front of anything. In Kentucky, I believe it is illegal. Marker lights are fine but when your blasting that much light down the highway you might be in for a traffic stop. Which set throws the widest beam? Upper or Lower set?

Here's the KRS: 189.040 Front lights -- Flashing lights.
(1) Every motor vehicle, other than a motorcycle or motor-driven cycle, shall be equipped with at least two (2) head lamps with at least one (1) on each side of the front of the motor vehicle, which head lamps shall comply with the requirements and limitations set forth in this section.
B](2) Every motorcycle, moped, and every motor-driven cycle shall be equipped with at least one (1) and not more than two (2) head lamps which shall comply with the requirements and limitations of this section.[/B

Mmmm...6 is illegal! Never thought of that. Good thing I installed a switch on the fog lights

Hi Guys, Can any body help me !!!!!!! I Love this Light installation but here in England can't find any with the same mounting points like the ones used above (oval shaped 55W driving lights available at Wal-Mart) Could anyone please send me a set and of course I would cover any costs (paypal ect) Or if you wanted anything from this side of the pond I would do my best to get it to you.

Silverman

On my last bike I installed a set of PIAA
35w driving lights, down low on the forks.
The 'triangle' effect was very noticeable
but didn't overtax the system (I had lots
of other mods too). The 35w lights gave
plenty of light to supplement the normal
lights, had a lighted switch to control
them and ran very cool. Price was a little
higher than W-M specials but not bad.

I like the idea of low mounted fog lights
and higher driving lights. There are also
forward looking hyperlites that are for
visibility to oncoming traffic, but not
to actually throw useful light ahead.

Again, the low-mounted lights really
show a distinctive pattern that gets
attention as well as providing useful
side light. Saved my bacon one AM
when I saw a deer start across and
was able to stop before he got in
front of me. Very close but no cigar!

Here are the alternator and battery specs for the Versys. (I got these from another post.)

Alternator: 8A / 14V @ 4 000 rpm
336 watts total

The bike uses about 130 watts to run. That leaves an extra 200+ watts.

Do you know if this 130 watts was with or without lights? Somebody enlighten us as to what percentage of its capacity you can safely run an alternator. Thanks.

OK, one of you electrical engineers enlighten me.
If Watts = Volts x Amps, using the above numbers
means 8A x 14V = 132W. What did I miss?

This thing has a 30A main fuse for the starter,
a 15A fuse for the ECU and with all the rest
something doesn't add up. Do you use the
42V alternator output? I can't find rectifier
output specs in the manual but it looks like
someone needs to before everyone starts
loading up the system...

Yeah, OK, I just did the other math and
sure enough 42V x 8A = 336W. But that
doesn't mean the rectifier is rated at that.

Hi. I'm from the UK and don't seem to be able to find anything like these lights over here. I was thinking of trying to purchase them online from walmart, but can't find them. Is there a part number/order number that anyone could let me have to give it a go? Just got my new versys. Having great fun after it had been lowered (I'm what they call "vertically challenged"). Could still do with going down a little, but I'll manage. Thanks for any help you guys can give me with these driving lamps.

hey BT, I'm from South Africa and was also looking for those lights on the wallmart site last week and couldn't find it.

Locally I found these:
http://www.autostyle.co.za/prodview.php?prod_id=747&pid=&cid=&pg=1&showall=&brandstr=&str=Lampa%20spotlight

I see the site says although the site does not cater for international shipping you can contact them and arrange shipping internationally.

Also saw this on a local site:
http://www.bikegear.co.za/9b52189c-7517-4c14-9fb0-fcb97ad3accd-9.html

bit down no the page is a whole kit. But I don't see them mentioning that they are willing to ship internationally.

And lastly, if you don't come right anywhere else, I suppose you can contact these guys as well:
http://www.rallylights.net/Optilux/Optilux_Auxiliary_Lamps.asp

Some options if wallmart can't sort you ;)

Hi. I'm from the UK and don't seem to be able to find anything like these lights over here. I was thinking of trying to purchase them online from walmart, but can't find them. Is there a part number/order number that anyone could let me have to give it a go? Just got my new versys. Having great fun after it had been lowered (I'm what they call "vertically challenged"). Could still do with going down a little, but I'll manage. Thanks for any help you guys can give me with these driving lamps.


The Make / manufacturer is "Optronics". 55W, the only part number I have is from the first set I put on which had blue lens........QH-83BD. I have since changed them out to the clear lens version, sorry but I don't have that number. There are pics of my bike from that set in the "other" Versys web-page, "KLR650.net", under "custom driving lights".

BT, I'll probably be at Walmart over the weekend. I see those lights everytime I'm there. I'll go get all the numbers off the box for you. Walmart doesn't seem to sell them online, but maybe you can do an open search and find a retailer in your area that has them. Congrats on your purchase! I have 7,000 happy miles my versys now. A taller windshield and a trunk were fantastic additions. Be sure to stay on the left side of the road. :- )

Thanks MarkAustin. It would be greatly appreciated if you would do that. If I can't get them shipped, would there be any volunteers to purchase them (after recieving the cash from me obviously) and send them to me? I would be grateful and re-imburse for time and trouble. Thanks.

If MarkAustin posts the number of the ones you want
and my local W-M has them I'd be glad to. Or maybe
someone else if not. All WalMarts are not created
equal. The online store might have them but that
might not help you on your side of the pond. Good
luck.

Thanks AvaChava. That would be great. I'll wait to see if Mark finds the number. It is greatly appreciated the help I have from you guys. had an Aunt who lived in Sarasota, but sadly she's passed away now, else it would be a great excuse to come out and visit!! I'm thinking of starting a Versys Owners Club here in the UK. Will have to look into the logistics, but I think there's probably a few like-minded people here, who have bought the Versys. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks. Maurice :)

Thanks MarkAustin. It would be greatly appreciated if you would do that. If I can't get them shipped, would there be any volunteers to purchase them (after recieving the cash from me obviously) and send them to me? I would be grateful and re-imburse for time and trouble. Thanks.

I would be happy to do this, but as a warning the shipping will be more than the lights! I shipped over some camp chairs for a bloke, and the shipping was ~$30. Check USPS for rates.

Hi Steve.
Thanks for that. Looks like I'm coming to the states in September, so I will probably pick them up myself.
Regards
Maurice

Dear Mr. 08 Versys,

I have read all 153 posts on this thread and would like to ask you if you are still selling your muffler assemby. Also, what would your charge be including shipping to Ontario, Canada? Are you still offering the custom aluminum output pipe as a separate item? Now that almost a year has passed since your initial post, what is the current situation on this home brewed system? It appears that you have sold some and others have chosen to create their own system using your idea as a launch platform. Any performance issues? Rust? Popping on decel? Is the current product much more refined than your original? One thing I've gleaned from this post is that your setup offers questionable performance gains but a much more mellow exhaust note. Please get back to me because I could be your next customer.

Dear Mr. 08 Versys,

I have read all 153 posts on this thread and would like to ask you if you are still selling your muffler assemby.

There are only 34 post in this thread. :stickpoke::D

I have one negative for the Wal-Mart lights. I have removed them since they kept on burning out. Now it my be that running them on all the time is making them overheat and burn out, but at this point I can't see throwing dollar after dollar fixing these inexpensive lights when I could just save up the money and get much better and more reliable ones. Just food for thought, I don't know if anyone else has run into this issue or not.:(

Has anyone tried HID lights to improve visibility at night, or were the spotlights just something cool to put on the bike? I do think that they look great by the way....:)

Hi Guys,
I recently did a quick trip from Wisconsin to Prudhoe Bay Alaska on my trusty Versys and installed a set of 6" PIAA lights that I had left over from my trucking days. I run the lights all day long for the 15 days straight (the length of my whole trip), in pretty ****ty roads without they burning not even once. The lights are 55W each and the bike was able to handle that. I also had connected 2 GPS units without any issues, but when I tried to also charge my cell phone at the same time, my motorcycle lights went out, I guess to prevent my battery from draining out. So I would say that running one GPS and a set of 55W lights would be the limit, anything else might trigger the lights to go dim. I hope this helps.

I don't know if anyone else has run into this issue or not
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I've had to replace one of mine so far and I've been running theses lights for about a year.

I have the same Optronics Platinum Burners 55w lights that 08 Versys describes in this thread. Last weekend one light went out on Saturday in Vermont and the other light went out on Sunday on the way home to Massachusetts. After checking all my connections and the fuse, I took both lights off and tested each with another 12v source and concluded the lights were dead.

The box says "3 year warranty" so I called Optronics and explained that the lights stopped working. They said they'd be happy to send me replacement bulbs at no cost. Looks like a couple screws to take the housing apart. Easy enough.

Pretty good service for a product that costs under $15 at Wally World.


http://www.optronicsinc.com/
800-364-5483

I also have the Optronics Platinum Burners 55w lights, I've had 3 lights go out, 2 on the left, 1 on the right. I think they are not sealed well and water intrusion is helping to keep bulb life short. I found replacement bulbs that I'm going to try, and then seal the lens housing and wiring gromet with silicone.

If they don't last longer this time, I'm going to move up the price scale to something that will work longer.

I'm in the process of adding an accessory wiring harness (the driving lights, GPS, horn, and 2ea 12V sockets 1 on dash/1 on rear seat panels). I'll post some pictures when done.

I also have the Optronics Platinum Burners 55w lights, I've had 3 lights go out, 2 on the left, 1 on the right. I think they are not sealed well and water intrusion is helping to keep bulb life short. I found replacement bulbs that I'm going to try, and then seal the lens housing and wiring gromet with silicone.

If they don't last longer this time, I'm going to move up the price scale to something that will work longer.

I'm in the process of adding an accessory wiring harness (the driving lights, GPS, horn, and 2ea 12V sockets 1 on dash/1 on rear seat panels). I'll post some pictures when done.

I've ridden in so much rain this year that if it was water leaking in that caused the problem it would have happened months ago. Still, for the small effort it takes I think I'll try the silicone, too.

Based on the ideas in this thread, I put together a $3 solution for mounting my lights. If this isn't sturdy enough, then I'll work on improvements.

Tony

I posted about my lights kept burning out, 3 each at the time and I had taken them off completely in frustration.

Well back in October I added a complete new accessory wiring harness including replacing all of the wires that came with the Walmart set and 2500 miles, so far, of daily use and they are still burning.

So if you are having issues like I was, try replacing the Walmart wiring harness with some better quality wire and connectors (I used 16 AWG marine grade wire, spiral wrapped, and some handy 3M 3-Wire connectors-to replace the plug & socket of the original harness)

Sorry, I read my original post and said I would show some pics, here is the link to the wiring job.

http://www.kawasakiversys.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5571

Hi Guys, Can any body help me !!!!!!! I Love this Light installation but here in England can't find any with the same mounting points like the ones used above (oval shaped 55W driving lights available at Wal-Mart) Could anyone please send me a set and of course I would cover any costs (paypal ect) Or if you wanted anything from this side of the pond I would do my best to get it to you.

Silverman

'ello Silverman, I would like to recommend you see if you can find something on Ebay maybe, or look into Amazon.com. These sites do a lot more shipping, might be less expensive that way. If all else fails I'll be happy to send you a set. :thumb:
I have some lights on my Vstrom, hope to mount some on the wifes V when the snow is gone. So now is just Farkle shopping time for me.

Hi there, I recently joined the versys community (07 green 15,000kms) and would like to express my thanks for the great info availabe at this site.

I checked this site many times before deciding on a versys, and many times since when looking for advice / info on accessories /mods etc. A big thanks to the guy who provided the wiring diagram for the relay and lights, a big time saver for me.

I live in Canberra Australia, (kangaroo capital) and really need good lighting or a good bullbar, I considered fitting a bullbar and whilst the kwaka is versatile that was pushing things a bit far (although I would Have had a great spot to mount my fishing rod holders..lol..) so I decided on a 55w hid spot (ebay $222) instead.

For those that think the versys is a bit ugly then you will think mine is #$#$# ugly, for those that think the versys is cute and different (like me), then you might like mine. I've always believed that 'handsome is as handsome does' and when I'm on the highway at night I think my versys is beautiful.

I'll put some pictures up and you can be the judge. I'm still working on a better finish, and the ugly black tape is because I put a small crack in my screen whilst fitting (doh)..

If you are serious about light you just cant beat HID in my opinion, and they have dropped a lot in price recently.

Incidentally. I rode the bike for a couple of days without any windscreen and guess what? No vibration in the cowling or instrument cluster, this made me think that a lot of the resonance might be coming thru the windscreen supports and into the bike.. after fitting my spot light (which snugs everything up around the supports) and replacing the screen and now 1 week and 500kms later no vibrations at any revs or any speed...

Conclusion.. even if you did not want a spot light I would try some bracing between the windsreen supports to see if this helps with the vibration / resonance issue.. I think it might (remove windsreen first).

Looking forward to learning more and contributing where I can.
regards,
chris

oops here is the youtube link for vid and photos of my hid spot light as per previous post...doh....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLkGPv95pVQ

regards,
chris :(