Yamaha TRX850 Enthusiasts Forum

Most effective "outta my way" lights I've seen were full beam with a blue headlight protector

Yep.

Was talking with a mate the other night and he told me that it's been a law since the 90's that bikes must have their lights hard-wired and must be ridden with lights on....just be careful that you don't go through the whole problem and find out that it's illegal. Part of the compliance of grey-imports is a fact that the lights are hard-wired.

I find that people just tend to have a glazed expression on my morning commute. Even though my light is hard wired 'on' (import) they still need a good dose of high beam to wake them up and get them to move over. I quite often have to go around (undertake) car drivers who steadfastly refuse to move over. Idiots.

I too do not like the headlight being hardwired,so when I got the TRX 2 years ago I had an auto electrician mate put an on off switch down near the choke.

It has never caused a problem,and I just bought a 1994 foxeye FZR1000 and I will do it to that as well.

In 2 years on the odd occasion that I have not had the headlight on and been passed by police I've never been stopped.

Go figure, it's also passed 2 registration inspections as well.

Trixynut, I have to thank you for your help.

I got the UK switch fitted with no dramas, thanks to a friend's help.

For other Aussies wanting to do the same, be advised that some rewiring has to be done, but fortunately it is confined to the connection in the UK wiring.

On the AU;

Yellow............Brown.............Green

Dk Green........Black/White......Brown/White

Red/Yellow......Free...............Chocolate

On the UK;

Yellow..............Free....................Green

Dk Green............Black/White.............Brown/White

Blue..................Brown.....................Chocolate


Mod UK for AU use;

Yellow.................Blue................Green

Dk Green...........Black/White..............Brown/White

Brown ...............Free...................Chocolate


Note that on the UK bike the blue is for parking lights.

This is not used on the AU model.

Red/Yellow is not present on the UK, it's function(headlight) is performed by the Brown lead.

As the blue is not required for the parking lights, it can be cut (leave a couple of inches of wire on the connector[see under]) and sealed in the loom.

Take this connector out of the block, allowing a couple of inches and splice it into the brown lead. The brown lead now provides power for the headlight(brown) and the horn(blue splice).

Take the Brown connector out of the block and refit it and the blue splice as shown above.

Thanks go to Dave for the switch and Ossie for the multimeter and soldering expertise.

Glad to be of help. Although didn't realise the wiring was so different between the UK and AU (european) models. Well done for figuring it out.

The postscript to this is that after selling you my spare LHS switchgear, I binned my bike and have had to buy (amongst other things!) another LHS switchgear for mine!

Dave.

I think I'll make this thread a "Sticky" in case anyone else is ever needing the info

I remember being in a couple of protest rides in Adelaide in the early '90's against the introduction of permanently wiring the headlight on. The view at the time was that it was more effective to use a quick flash of the high beam to wake up a dozy car driver (greater contrast from no headlight to high beam) than having your headlight permanently on. With the headlight on it was also slightly more difficult for dozy car drivers to judge distance, there-by increasing accidents.

There was also the valid argument that for the years preceeding the introduction of the ADR, trains had been required to have their lights on both day and night. That still didn't stop more than 20 dozy car drivers a year from pulling out in front of them.........

Legal - what I've heard contrary to the above, is that it became an ADR requirement, so they stopped giving us switchable headlights, then retracted the ADR requirement, but we never got the switches back. I haven't seen before/after ADRs to verify that. I have a 2006 complianced import with the standard Japanese switchable headlight, may be some support for this, unless there's exceptions for low volume imports - but definitely goes against a suggestion above that imports get converted to non-switched. In the end this is just as inconclusive until someone quotes relevant ADR sections.

Practical - the cold starting is good. A word of caution to people who leave it off during riding long-term, apart from the safety, there's a reliability downside in your regulator rectifier now has to burn off 55W more energy than it had to while you are running the headlight. The charging system is designed to charge the battery with headlight running, so switching it off is making the reg/rec run hotter. The TRX has it behind the engine, so it isn't getting ideal ambient breeze to begin with.
I mention this because reg/recs do shit themselves, overcharging the battery. Worst case I've heard only a month ago a friend with Duc 900SS had his under-tank battery explode drizzling acid over the frame leaving cosmetic damage stripping the paint from the alloy. This wasn't because of a headlight switch, but an example of what a failed reg/rec can cause.

Toggle switch like on a fighter jet strategically placed on the inside of the fairing somewhere, perhaps hidden so the MOT peeps cant see lol

On my imported switchblock, I turned the hazard light switch into a headlight on off switch. Works a treat.

I guess this is late question to this old thread but why not have an line switch to the power or earth wire to the headlight? Provides choice and control to use hard wired switch or not.