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V7 III headlight bracket removal

greenhood

Just got it firing!
Joined
Jan 4, 2018
Messages
24
Location
Rochester, MN
Hi everyone, I've just installed a JW Speaker headlight and new front/rear turn signals on my V7 III Racer. The last step has me stumped: how to remove the OEM headlight brackets. The Motodemic/JW Speaker brackets clearly divide into 2 pieces to be fit/removed. I don't see a spot for the OEM brackets to do this. Do I just need to pry them apart? Any suggestions on technique or tools to do this without damaging the forks would be much appreciated- this is the last step before I can get the bike back on the road.
 
You drop the forks down to slide the brackets off the top of them. I've no idea what else might need to be undone to facilitate sliding the forks far enough down, but you certainly won't need to remove the forks altogether.
 
Yes, you have to slide the fork tubes down in the triple clamps until they clear the headlight bracket mounts. I usually do this by jacking bike so that the front wheel is off the ground and the bike is securely positioned. Then the front wheel and fender comes off, the brake is carefully unbolted and hung so that the brake lines are not stressed, and I loosen the clip-ons and triple clamps ... slide each fork leg down, one at a time, to remove or install a bracket.

It's important also to measure where the fork legs are positioned in the triple clamps, before you slide them down, so you can restore them to the same position when you put them back. I measure from the bottom triple clamp top to the top of the fork tube.

If I may ask, what model turn indicator lights did you use? And, presuming they are LED models, what was needed in terms of resistors, etc, for them to work correctly? I've long considered this conversion because the JW Speaker Adaptive LED motorcycle headlight is the best headlight I've tried on a motorcycle—had one on my Ducati Scrambler—but I have been a bit reluctant to deal with the expense and work of having to change the indicators like I did on the Ducati. On that bike it was a major PITA to do this stuff. It's a lot easier on the Racer as long as you get the right bits. :D

thx
 
Thank you both for your advice. More things to learn, I suppose.

Godfrey, I used Rizoma Iride indicators from Todd's shop (also fit his tail tidy and GP megs so wanted something similarly compact on both ends). No resistors needed. I timed the flash rate of the OEM indicators. With both the front and back indicators connected, the flash rate is identical to the OEM incandescent (with only the back fitted, flash rate is twice as fast, which helped me to catch a loose connection on the front). So didn't bother with resistors.

For the front signals, I clipped the OEM indicators off and soldered bullet connectors to the wire ends so that fitting the signals would be easy (blue on the bike to black on the turn signal and black on the bike to red on the turn signal) and so I'd have versatility to change later if desired. Could have removed the entire OEM wiring, but this was quicker than mobilizing the fuel tank etc. The length was slightly redundant but hides nicely within a bit of loom in the space behind the big, flat-backed Speaker headlight bucket. I used the short (middle length) headlight brackets. Would have liked to use to super-short, but it would be harder to find space for all of the cables behind there.

For the rear, it took a bit more figuring - I used the Baak bullet connect harness which worked well but but required soldering to route both brake light wires into one. I got the short harness which barely reached but kept things neat. Todd sent a harness as well, but it would have required soldering each connection. You certainly have more experience than I do working on bikes, but if makes it easier to find for others, the taillight connector sits deep to the rear brake fluid reservoir, just behind the side panel.

Incidentally, I didn't use the round shims that came with the Speaker headlight because the Piranha flyscreen bracket spaced things perfectly.
 
Thanks, that's useful info.
I would really like the better headlamp, I'm just reluctant to dive into Racer to modify again because I'd rather be riding it ... :D

G
 
I'd like to see how your racer looks with the headlight, tail tidy, and new indicators when you're finished.
 
Thanks, that's useful info.
I would really like the better headlamp, I'm just reluctant to dive into Racer to modify again because I'd rather be riding it ... :D

G
Fair enough! It was pretty quick to do the front and back overall, despite my lack of motorcycle modification experience. I ended up just cutting the OEM brackets off with a Dremel because I had 15 min to get the job done while my kids were napping. Took about 5 min and left the forks etc perfectly intact.
 
I'd like to see how your racer looks with the headlight, tail tidy, and new indicators when you're finished.
Sure thing. These are suboptimal phone photos I took for my own documentation, but hopefully they give you the idea. At some point I’ll adjust the flyscreen backet to get rid of the overhang, but it’s a minor concern.

Upload 2019 4 15 9 26 38
Upload 2019 4 15 9 26 59
Upload 2019 4 15 9 27 33
Upload 2019 4 15 9 27 53
 
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