StreetFX Canada - Insolentminx New Brake Pods and Light Strands Installation

STREET FX | MOTORCYCLES | PHOTO GALLERY | Insolentminx New Brake Pods and Light Strands Installation
[ 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 ] Additional Videos: [ BLUE LIGHTSHOW | BRAKE PODS ]

Photos Courtesy: insolentminx

On Wednesday night I received the final LED units for my ‘light show’. I installed a set of StreetFX Brake Pods, which flash red when you brake to further alert anyone behind you that you’re braking. I also affixed 2 more Flex-Strips to the underside of the frame, and a LED Light Strand under the rear fender to give a little more light over the back wheel.

The Brake Pods were an interesting installation. I first had to find out which wire running to the taillight was the brake light wire, so off came the taillight and fortunately there’s a connector plug so you can just remove the whole rear light assembly. This left me room to work with so I could feed the wires from the brake pods up from under the fender.

I’m no electrician and didn’t have a wiring diagram, so I grounded the ground wire onto the frame, touched the live pod wire into the taillight connector plug, and quickly ascertained that it was the blue wire which powered the brake light. So I carefully removed the blue insulation and soldered the live wire from the brake pods into it (my soldering is horribly messy). I then wrapped it up nice and snugly with insulating tape

The wire that came with the pods was immensely long, so I first attached the pods to the license plate bracket with the 3M double-sided tape.They fitted and looked best positioned at a slight angle either side of the stock license plate light, and it also meant that the wires could neatly be routed under the lip of the tip of thefender and guided around to be cable tied securely to the rest of the taillight wires.So it was just a case of cutting a length of the wire out and re-soldering it back together at a shorter length so there was less wire to hide under the fender.

And then everything neatly fitted back into place, I reattached the taillight, and voila!! I now have flashing lights which will surely mean that anyone behind me on the road won’t be able to miss me when I brake!

[Watch Insolentminx's Brake Lights testing]

I now have flashing lights which will mean anyone behind me won’t be able to miss me when I brake!

See Also: eBike Photos and Video with Brake Pods and Light Strands

StreetFX recommends the use of crimped butt connectors and heat shrink tubing to protect trimmed wiring, and/or a Power Distribution Module for best performance.

[Photo Bucket] [Kawasaki Forum]

After that I moved on to installing the 2 Flex-Strips and Light Strand.

This wasn’t too hard, as I already had a good wiring set-up, so it was just a simple case of positioning the lights and routing the wires out of sight.

The 2 strips that I already had under the frame were awkwardly positioned and left a void in the glow on the floor as they were both facing away from each other.

With the prospect of having 4 strips under the bike now, I moved the 2 solid strips further forward and cable tied them parallel opposite each other…

I was then able to use the Flex-Strips a little further to the rear of the bike against the awkward parts of the frame where I was previously unable to secure the original big, bulky strips.

I struggled to find a place to put the long strand of lights, so in the end just decided to enhance the glow under the rear fender. It easily attached to my current wiring under the fender, and really brightens it up under there.

It also gives a nice long pattern of LEDs reflected on the top of the exhaust pipe too, whereas before there was just the 2 reflections from the original pods.

And so that completes the lighting! I’ll be taking some scenic shots when I get the chance, so at the moment it’s just inside my (messy) garage.

Watch the Video as Insolentminx proudly shows off his bike lightshow!

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