Mods I’ve made to my brand new 2014 Honda vfr800F

Mods I’ve made to my brand new 2014 Honda vfr800F. They consist of a power outlet, micro switches, rear red LED’s marker/running lights, front amber marker/running lights, front Whelen ION V Series LED light, auxiliary Federal Signal Micro Pulse rear brake light, blue glow/accent lighting, handle bar risers, foot peg lowers, Kaoko throttle lock, and a center stand.

The center stand is a total pain! I already had the plastic off so I could complete the wiring and it was still a pain. You have to drop the exhaust completely off the bike. My bike has less than 100 miles so everything was still cooperative, the exhaust came apart easily but still a job! Honda should have designed this better.

LED side and rear marker lights. The more lights you have the better you’ll be seen right? I was concerned that the bike had little side lighting so I wanted to add side lighting. After studying on the idea I decided to incorporate the lights into the side mounted reflectors that were already on the bike. The particular LED’s I used were ideal for this application. I was able to install the LED’s in the center of each reflector thus keeping the reflector surface, the best of both worlds.

I also installed rear facing red LED’s in the panniers. The LED fit nicely and I think it gave the bike a wider stance in the rear. I used waterproof disconnects to allow for removal of the bags.

Micro switches. I used weather proof micro switches to control the Whelen LED and the blue glow/accent lighting. The left side of the bike is ideal for mounting the switches. There’s plenty of room under the plastic to accommodate the wiring and switches.
Power plug. Mounted the power outlet on the left side in the large left fairing. It stressed me to drill a hole in the fairing but it was the best place IMO to mount the plug. It turned out very nice and I do not regret mounting it there.
Brake light aux. I used a Federal Signal Micro Plus red warning light for an additional brake light. This guy is bright! It activates when you apply the brakes.

Front Whelen LED. I haven’t received this light yet so I’ll have to post an update when I get it. I have installed the mounting bracket which was a total pain! I had to take all the plastic off around the headlight to get the plastic under the headlight off to mount the bracket. This is a 200.00 professional lighting product. It produces a 180 degree amber warning light, front driving lights, and a downward facing puddle light. It can be put in a steady burn mode (the one I’ll use) or a multitude of flashing patterns. It’ll basically be a very bright amber driving light and/or white driving lights when you want them. This is the reason for all the micro switches.

Kaoko throttle lock. Getting the factory bar weight out was the worst part of this. The clip that has to be depressed to get the bar weight out is very difficult! It’s not a good design and took me a few minutes to figure out just how had to compress the clip. Once out the Kaoko goes in easy and is pretty simple.

Bar risers and lowering the foot pegs. Straight forward very easy. Haven’t ridden it enough to report on the difference they made so I’ll post an update later.

 

Like the idea of accessory lighting on panniers. How does it disconnect when taking off

 

Nicely done and welcome! That looks like a very useful location for the power outlet as opposed to where Honda tells you to stick it. Normally I'm not a big fan of funky glowing lights but I have to admit that blue light looks awesome reflecting off the pearl white paint! The led's on the back definitely give your bike a wider stance from the rear! :bootyshake2:

 

Thanks Anne Marie I appreciate the compliments! I’m pretty much proficient at any mechanical related project, no so much on bikes but it all relates to the other. I’ve been turning wrenches since I was old enough to hold one. I’ll post an update when I get the Whelen light in.

Fink: The bags disconnect via a waterproof connector that I pulled off a car at our local Pull-a Part junk yard. Here’s a pic.

GatorGreg: Thanks appreciate the cudos! I started not to put the blue glow lights on there but it was so easy and I already had the bike apart. No brackets needed I just placed them on existing brackets already on the bike. They were easy.

 

Do you have any pix of glow lights on tractors?

 

I remember when the 3rd brake light came out, on cars and pick-ups. A year or two later, The US Department of Who Ever Studies Such Things, determined that the 3rd brake light did absolutely nothing to deter accidents or enhance safety.

This is a proper man's motorcycle. Black, as God meant motorcycles to be. So black in fact, that i put black tape over the reflectors.

If it wasnt dangerous, id be doing something else that was.

 

Black motorcycles count.

 

Update: I received the Whelen light I had ordered and got it installed, very pleased. The amber light is appropriately bright when in steady burn mode, it's extremely bright if you put it in flash mode. The white (take down) portion is super bright, so bright I think I'm going to have amber lens made for it. The puddle light (as Whelen calls it) throws a nice amount of light onto the ground. I'm going to have a blue lens made for it to match the other blue light I have installed. Overall, money well spent! The light fits nicely under the factory headlight. You might note that getting the light mounted there is a total pain!!

 

I love Super Dukes! Beautiful bike. May I suggest a swivel turret mount on top of the triple clamp for your AR?

 

Cool - reminds me of the classic Spielberg movie "Close Encounters of the VFR Kind" :glee:

[video=youtube;8MW3KJUa8FQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MW3KJUa8FQ[/video]

 

Wow thanks, now something else ta think about doing. If it's not white, and you change to blue that just might be illegal.
So where did you buy it and did you have to make bracket to mount--- kind of skipped to your pics.. industrial Velcro ? And do they come with your headlights or a switch. I want one for my 02
Sorry if you have to repeat yourself , sitting waiting to get an MRI
Thanks in advance


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All of those blue lights will get you a ticket super fast in most jurisdictions, too close to police lights. They did recently pass a law in Texas that you can have white or amber ground effect lights so long as they don't flash though. Your jurisdiction may not care, just saying how it is near me.

The puddle light up front is cool for parking lot use, but anything over lot speeds and that light will just be giving you extra input that doesn't help you at all.
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/lights/fog_lamps/fog_lamps.html

Not trying to be a wet blanket here, just throwing out some facts. The rest of your setup is pretty slick. I'm running a whelen tir3 as an aux brake light under my licence plate, huge difference compared to stock. My red bike with red lights was barely visible during the day. GT distributors is a cop shop that has a location near me, was able to check things out in person and chose that one.
https://www.gtdist.com/brands/whelen/whelen-tir3-series-super-ledr.html

Marker lights only in top pic, and brake lights on bottom. Note how you can barely tell the difference between the stock marker/brake lights.



I set it to flash mode for testing, but ultimately i left it on steady as it is insanely bright. I prefer to pulse it myself if some one is coming in hot. It is DOT approved though, so shouldn't cause any issues if i get pulled over... It is aimed up a little bit so the directional light shouldn't hit em until they are withing about 40 feet or so depending on height of the vehicle. I want to mount one on my 86 too, though honestly i might just steal the one off the 96 before i sell it. Thinking about getting a light flasher module that does 3 quick pulses when you first apply the brakes, just haven't gotten around to it.


The reflector mods are genius, i spot so many people driving with lights off at night. Reflectors don't work if there is no light to bounce back. Hell just tonight on the way to work i pulled up next to a lady with all her lights off(like 10pm, so no light out) and honked at her, pointed at my tail lights, flashed my headlights to show her what was wrong, but she just glanced at me and kept talking on the phone and sped off when it went green. I let her get a head start, that's for sure.

 

Awesome bike. I want to know more about the blue glowing accent light. Looks great on the white bike. I have a silver vfr and have thought of doing the same thing with white led lights. How did you wire it? With a switch? Or does it come on when key is turned on? What brand or model of light? How and where did you mount to get that all over glow. Any other info would be great. Really cool mods


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Nice mods.

I don't want any lights near my license plate. In fact, I sprayed some chain lube on it so it would collect dirt and be harder to read which it is. Of course this has nothing to do with the way I ride.

 

Here in LA if ya run a late yellow or red there traffic cameras will take three shots, now if ya have the clear plastic cover they sell to go over your plate the picture comes out black.
Not sayin anyone should even think about running any lights --- just an FYI


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Have to laugh a bit, in one thread Drifting is advocating his right to kill law breakers who invade/steal/murder/rape etc, whilst in this one he is describing how he evades detection from law enforcement cameras.
Ah irony.

 

Hey guys, thanks for all the compliments! Lets see if I can answer all the questions, 1. Front LED: I bought the front LED at the first link below, cheapest price I could find. The mounting bracket comes with it and I mounted it with two small bolts/nuts through the plastic under the headlight. I had to remove all the plastic around the headlight to get to it, pain in the butt! It's powered through a separate switch (see pics above). 2. Blue Glow Lights: I never run the blue lights while moving, I leave them on in parking lots while it's parked. The puddle light is cool, I may have a blue lens cut for it and turn it on with the other blue lights. It's not really good for anything else. 3. ATX love the rear facing whelen tir3, very bright great quality light! I bought the Federal MicroPulse because they had some clearance left overs. Here any aux brake light may flash for 5 seconds but then must burn steady. 4. Reflector lights: I just don't understand why motorcycle manufactures don't light bikes from the side??? Even the best are poorly lit. I like the fact I kept the reflector and added the lights. The second link below is where I bought the LED's. I've used these LED's for years, never had one go bad yet and they're cheap! Come in all colors. These are also the type of "blue" glow lights you see and there's only 3 total on the bike, one on each side and one pointing down on the back tire. If you look really close just above the crankcase you can see where the blue LED's are mounted on each side. All the lights operate off the aux switches I installed except the reflector lights, they come on with the ignition.

http://www.fleetsafety.com/whelen-i...-dash-deck-led-warning-puddle-takedown-light/

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201474687991?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

That's a pretty weak analogy. Apparently you're willing to live in an environment where you can't defend yourself and you also never break traffic laws. Good for you. I'm not advocating anything but just stating facts. I laugh back at you. Was it necessary to get personal with me publicly? Ask and you shall receive.

 

Cool stuff UKM! You and atx have motivated me to order some aux lighting for mine!