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How to fit HID lighting to your 2008 KLR. One of the best farkles in my opinion.
Main beam on before HID
First thing of course is to get a kit from Bikegear for a H7 type globe system.
When your parcel arrives it will be in this neat box that you can use to store KLR bits and bobs in neatly...
Start by removing the windscreen.
Then you need to loosen the 6 bolts that hold the fairing to the bike, 4x 6mm Allen heads and 2x 4mm as indicated in the pictures.
Then gently move the fairing forward and disengage from the instrument cluster... don't break anything! Let the fairing rest on the front fender/mudguard as you do this.
Once moved forward by around 200mm you will be able to unplug the indicator leads and the headlight leads, be careful as the whole lot can fall off at this stage.
The indicator leads...
Close up...
Right...
Left... Now for the headlight leads...
Once the leads are all unclipped/unplugged you can take the fairing off and put it in a safe place where you cannot step on it/fall over it/drop the bike on it or otherwise destroy it... Beware Murphy lurks where tools are involved!
Now comes the tricky part... where to mount the HID ballast, my first thought was to mount it on the instrument mounting.
but after taking a good look again it seemed that it would make a good fit inside the fairing... more on that later...
After fitting the ballast begin preparation to fit the globe in place of the OEM H7 one... Take out the OEM globe by pulling of the lead then removing the rubber cover... this is what it looks like after being removed
Then undo the retaining clip...
You will find that the OEM globe has an adapter between the globe proper and the lead...
H7 globe and adapter...
H7 and adapter removed, this is used to retain the globe in the light fitting itself with the retaining spring/clip. It is 34mm OD by 9mm thick where it the retaining clip rests.
The problem is that the kit has no adapter! Fortunately I found a substitute for the dimensions needed... 3x rubber tap mounting washers! They are the right OD and have the right size hole as well as being 3mm thick! Volia!
I cut a small slit in each washer to enable them to be slipped over the leads of the HID globe. Actually I removed about 1.5mm, this makes the washers fit better in the light fitting...
Now fit the HID globe, pop the washers behind it and clip in the retaining spring, then connect the HID globe leads to the ballast... retaining clips to the small tab... if you get it wrong it will not work but will also not fry anything. "Whew! glad to hear that!"
Put the boot back and secure with some Duct Tape, you will have to slit it to get it over the HID globe leads...
Once you have fitted the HID system you can put the fairing back and test things.
This is what it looked like...
Now comes the interesting part... the plug tabs on the OEM light lead needs to be slightly crimped as they tend to be loose on the HID lead tabs... be careful... the plastic around the plug can break but does bend enough when gentle pressure from a water pump plier is applied.
The HID is polarity sensitive in respect of the connection to the OEM light socket, I tried it one way and the HID did not work... if this happens to you just swap the leads around and it should work.
Oh yes, do not test on a battery charger... it cannot deliver the starting amps the HID system needs to fire up the HID Globe. Rather do the final testing and connecting on the bike.
When the HID fires up and everything works as it should you can proceed to refit the fairing... except it wont fit! What now?
Aha! Found the problem... this support on the instrument mounting is the problem... the ballast is now taking up the same space as this pipe section wants to occupy...
The pipe too long...
The remedy is to unclip all leads again... put the fairing in a safe place and grab the hacksaw! yes... you need to trim around 20mm off this projecting pipe... then you will have space for the ballast and fairing support to live together... without causing strife. Once that bit of surgery has been performed you can file the end smooth and give it a dab of matt black spray paint... do not want the Rust Monster to get a hold on your bike now do you?
Once the fairing is back in place start by inserting the top 2 bolts first... do not tighten all the way... now do the two bottom 6mm ones followed by the smaller 4mm ones and their spacers... once they are all seated you can tighten them all snugly.
That is basically the lot... now check that everything works
and if so pack away all your tools... gear up and take your KLR for a test run.
While I was doing this farkle I also fitted a few other things like LED lamps for the indicators, lighting and high beam... I also converted my indicator and neutral lamp to be the RH and LH indicator lamps... and fitted an amber neutral indicator LED... and also fitted a switch to give Shrek a Hazard warning facility, more about these mods here...
at the same time the temperature hovered around this... chilly...
I also had my apprentice Myoo looking on...
I like the quote I found as well... it fits in with the purpose behind fitting the light... to be safer at night and to avoid chaos!
"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting."
Alan Dean Foster, "To the Vanishing Point"
The TomTom One gps mounting.
More of the TomTom
Detail of the Xscreen and mounting points using extended bolts.
Bigger picture with Xscreen and GPS.
Side view...
Detail of the GPS mount using the handlebar stay bar, extended nuts and aluminium section.
Front view...
How it looks...
Another side view.
Another view showing the Xscreen mountings and TomTom cradle.
