Saturday, January 30, 2010

SV650 Brake Light LED Upgrade and Hyper-lite Install

I wanted to make my 2001 SV650 more visible to other road users, so I decided to upgrade the brake lights. I chose a two prong approach after reading a lot about other SV650 owners and their upgrades. I replaced the two stock 1157 brake lights with red Matrix II 32 LED bulbs that I purchased from Autolumination.com. I also added the modulating brake/running U32 kit that I purchased from Hyperlites.com. The combination should make me more visible at night with three lights instead of one, and MUCH more visible when I use the brakes.
LED 1157 bulb hyperlites
I used the following tools to do my install:
brake light tools

Below are all the pieces that came with the U32 hyper-lite kit. This is the modulating brake/running like with 16 LEDs on each block. I also ordered the license plate bracket to make the mounting a bit easier.
IMGP6420
Here is a photo of my current setup, stock brake light, and running light.
stock brake lightstock brake light onstock brake light - running light
I took a lot of extra pictures of the hardware than normal. There are many bolts and screws of different sizes, and I wanted to remember where they all went since I did this work over a few days.
Remove both of the seats. Use the allen wrench for the main seat.
remove the rear seat
With the 12mm socket, remove the grab bar
IMGP6390
Use the philips screw driver to remove the screws on the rear cowling between the seats.
IMGP6391
Remove the six screws that hold the rear cowling.
IMGP6392IMGP6393IMGP6394IMGP6395IMGP6397IMGP6398
My SV650 has a custom undertray:
IMGP6418
with two screws and two 8mm bolts with 10mm nuts.
IMGP6399IMGP6400
IMGP6424IMGP6425
Remove the two screws holding the brake light lens cover
IMGP6402 IMGP6403
Remove the two screws holding the pillion seat lock
IMGP6405IMGP6406
Twist the cable for the lock out of the grove and then remove it.
IMGP6407IMGP6408IMGP6409
Now, the rear cowling can be removed. There are two rubber post shown below. Carefully pull to the sides and remove.
tricky rubber nub on each side of rear cowling
Rear cowling removed:
IMGP6410
All of the plastic removed, and the bike is ready to work on.
everything removed
I mounted the license plate bracket to the bottom of my license plate since I have the turn signal bracket is on the top.
hyper-lites installed on bracketclose up of hyper-lite
I used a bit of rubbing alcohol to clean the bracket and then stuck the hyper-lites on with the supplied double sided foam tape.
Connect the three brown wires together and the three blue wires together. One wire from each LED block and one from the controller.
IMGP6466
The wiring guide that comes with the hyper-lites was correct under the Suzuki listing. I confirmed this by checking with my service manual.

brake light +12V = SV white with black stripe = hyper-lite red
running light +12V = SV brown = hyper-lite grey
ground = SV black with white stripe = hyper-lite black

Attach the positap to the brake light wires by inserting the wire to tap into the open prong as shown below
IMGP6470
then screw on the middle connector which taps the wire
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push the hyper-lite wire through the other end and screw on
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it looks like this when connected correctly. check that both wires are secure.
IMGP6473
Repeat the above for the other two wires.
IMGP6475
I cleaned up the bottom with some zip tipes and some extra heavy duty electrical tape to support the wires.
IMGP6469
Remove the stock 1157  12V 21/5W bulbs
stock 1157 bulb
replace with the new red MatrixII 32 LED bulbs
LED 1157 bulb
I turned the key and below is a shot of the running lights:
new running lights
And with the brake lights on:
new brake lights on
I did end up cutting the green wire on the hyper-lite controller, so I only flash the brake light for five seconds and then it stays on solid. The hyper-lites are REALLY bright, and my camera doesn’t do them justice. Check out the video here from the hyper-lite website.

When I get some more funds ($94!), I will be buying a set for my other bikes too.

 

 

7 comments:

  1. I'm going to do this type of thing to the FJR pretty soon. Appreciate the photos. I'll probably use them as a reference for my project.

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  2. You're welcome. It was surprisingly easy to do once I got the plastic out of the way. I'd recommend it. I'm looking forward to the FJR farkle photos.

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  3. I had hyperlites on my 1150rt, loved them.

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  4. They are nice, but I wish they were cheaper. Why do all the cool farkles cost so much? :)

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  5. A great addition. Wonder if I could do this on my MP3? The stock tail light is a bit on the small side for my taste.

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  6. Thanks Chuck. I'm sure you could hyper-lites to your MP3. When I get the funds, they will be added to my scooter.

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  7. I've been toying with LED's in my bike. I've added these and while I've not been able test them on the road this year, I'm happy with my test results at 50 feet. They work on standard bulbs (1057 base). Super Bright Led

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