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Install Neons Under the Tank

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Written by Martin Brownell   
Saturday, 10 July 2004

Installing Neon and LED Lights Under the Tank on Your Roadstar

1.) Start the engine, and turn off the gas to allow some of the gas to drain out of the fuel line, turn off the engine.

2.) Remove the Instrument Panel, first by removing the 3 hex bolts.

 

3.) Unhook the wiring harness from the instrument panel, and now remove the instrument panel.

 

4.) Now disconnect the Fuel Vent line from the top of the tank.

 

5.)  Disconnect the main fuel line. To prevent fuel from leaking out of the fuel line you can plug the fuel line with a golf tee. 

 

6.)  Now remove the Main Tank Nut and Bolt. If you haven't added nylon spacers this would be a good time, ends that tank rattle.

7.) Before removing the tank disconnect the green wiring harness at the base of the tank. Now lift the back of the tank and wiggle back and forth pulling up from the back and pull towards the back of the bike lifting all the time. Now very carefully place the tank on a soft towel somewhere out of the way. Do not rest the tank anywhere that it can fall. Just trust me on that one!

 

8.)  Now remove the left side cover under the seat. This is where the Fuse box is.

 

9.)  Unscrew the bolt on the right side of the fuse box to be able to remove the fuse box.

10.)  Pull the fuse box away from the mounting. Determine which fuse is the main head light. You can use a wiring diagram, or just turn the power on, not turning the engine over and pull the fuse till the main head light goes off. Connect a Red wire to the base of this fuse. You can use either regular electrical connectors or slip the wire into the electrical connector. This will be your POSITIVE wire. By using the line from the Main headlight the Neon and LED's will turn off when the power is switched off with the bike. I have since also added a three-way switch which allows the LED's to be turned on by themselves, it will either pull power from the Main Headlight Fuse or from the battery terminal with a small inline fuse.

11.)  The LED's are Windshield washer nozzles with built in LED's purchased from Wal-Mart for approximately $7.00. I used automotive ties to connect these. If connecting them to wiring harnesses or any other lines make sure you do not tie them too tightly. The LED's are for illuminating the back cylinder. Place one on each side of the rear cylinder. I had also since added more neons and LED's. Brighter is better. 

12.) The Neon light was also purchased from Wal-Mart. It cost less than $10.00. Because it is designed to plug into the cigarette lighter I had to do a little re-design. Open the Cigarette lighter case, keeping all the electronics and fuses in tack. Take the positive and negative wires and splice longer wires onto them, as they will not be long enough. I wrapped the electronics in electrical tape to seal them. Use Automotive ties to secure the neon.

13.) Carefully connect your positive wires to the RED wire you connected to the Fuse box. I connected the negative wires to a black wire that I connected to the battery. This allows me to disconnect the lights if need be. In some states blue ground effects are illegal. Wrap all wires in electical tape to clean up the appearance and keep the wires from contacting the cylinder heads.

 

And how does it look? Well the Neon and LED's are not visible at all during the day, but at night give a nice very subtle glow to the engine. Kind of eerie. Unfortunately they do not photograph well but here is the best I can do.


Lights off

Lights on.

 


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DISCLAIMER: This information and procedure is provided as a courtesy and is for informational purposes only.  Neither the publishers nor the authors accept any responsibility for the accuracy, applicability, or suitability of this procedure.  You assume all risks associated with the use of this information.  NEITHER THE PUBLISHERs NOR THE AUTHORs SHALL IN ANY EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OF ANY NATURE ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE USE OR MISUSE OF THIS INFORMATION OR LACK OF INFORMATION.  Any type of modification or service work on your motorcycle should always be performed by a professional mechanic. If performed incorrectly, this procedure may endanger the safety of you and others on your motorcycle and possibly invalidate your manufacturer’s warranty.


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  Comments (1)
Cheap LED's
Written by bencadenbach, on 04-03-2011 16:36
Just thought I would add if you look on eBay you can find some really cheap weather proof, flexible, and adhesive backed LED’s for less than 15 bucks. Search for 5 X 15 SMD LED Green Strip Car Flexible Light Bar Line. 75 led for 15 aint to shabby

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