New bike Mods`

[kierran87]

hi all,

Just boughy myself a FZ6 a month or so ago, and i am now starting to look at mods. So far, i have a little list of what i think would make the bike look nicer. Just looking for some more input or suggestions on what sort of colour scheme to go with too? I have a Silver & Black Fazer 2004.

This is what I'm thinking of so far:

Handle Bar Ends, Oil Filler Cap, Reflective Rim Tape, Smoked Headlight Cover, Tinted Screen, Shorty Levers, Handlebar Grips, Tank Cap, Tank Protector Strip, Tax Disc Holder.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[dschult2]

First welcome to the forum, you will find many knowledgeable people here. Second, I would highly recommend you stay away from the headlight cover. The object of your headlights is to be seen and to be able to see at night. I feel that smoked headlight covers could be quite dangerous and not even sure if they're legal. In fact I would recommend your first mod be either BD43 or Motogiro's duel headlight mod. Just my two cents.

 

[kierran87]

First welcome to the forum, you will find many knowledgeable people here. Second, I would highly recommend you stay away from the headlight cover. The object of your headlights is to be seen and to be able to see at night. I feel that smoked headlight covers could be quite dangerous and not even sure if they're legal. In fact I would recommend your first mod be either BD43 or Motogiro's duel headlight mod. Just my two cents.

Brill, that makes sense Do you have a link for the dual headlight mod for the kit and instructions? I definitely want to get this done before winter really here in the UK, will make a lot of difference

 

[dschult2]

Brill, that makes sense Do you have a link for the dual headlight mod for the kit and instructions? I definitely want to get this done before winter really here in the UK, will make a lot of difference

Both BD43 and Motogiro are members on this forum. I know you can order the kit from Motogiro, that's what I did and I think you can order BD43's as well. They differ slightly in how they approach it but both are very easy to do. Just PM them for info and they will be very helpful. Here are a couple links to the mods.

http://www.600riders.com/forum/how-tos/1663-bd43s-07-headlight-mod-part-1-a.html

http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-mods/37355-universal-head-lamp-conversion-relay.html

 

[kierran87]

Both BD43 and Motogiro are members on this forum. I know you can order the kit from Motogiro, that's what I did and I think you can order BD43's as well. They differ slightly in how they approach it but both are very easy to do. Just PM them for info and they will be very helpful. Here are a couple links to the mods.

http://www.600riders.com/forum/how-tos/1663-bd43s-07-headlight-mod-part-1-a.html

http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-mods/37355-universal-head-lamp-conversion-relay.html

Thanks, I've sent a PM to MotoGiro. Doesn't make sense why Yamaha did this. My Wife thought my light was broke, and had to explain this to her.

 

[dschult2]

Doesn't make sense why Yamaha did this.

I think it's to keep costs down but it's not safe and it looks retarded! The bike looks much better with the two headlights. I also have the Puig dark smoke racing windscreen and it looks killer with both headlights on. Good luck with your mods.

 

[kierran87]

I think it's to keep costs down but it's not safe and it looks retarded! The bike looks much better with the two headlights. I also have the Puig dark smoke racing windscreen and it looks killer with both headlights on. Good luck with your mods.

It does look silly. Spotted myself in a reflection earlier and it just doesn't look right. Found the Puig Screen on eBay for £70.00, will keep an eye out for a used one i think...

 

[iSteve]

I believe the reason for only one low beam is because they were getting sued. People in cars claimed that the two headlights close together looked like a car coming at a much further distance away. So they would pull out in front of the bike causing a accident.

 

[TheSandman13]

Thanks, I've sent a PM to MotoGiro. Doesn't make sense why Yamaha did this. My Wife thought my light was broke, and had to explain this to her.

I could be wrong, but my guess to the reason Yamaha (and other manufacturers) only have one of the 2 headlights hooked up is likely a power consumption issue. The Alternators in these sport style bikes are not as large as in cars (or big touring bikes), and they have a very hard time keeping up with the power demand and also keeping the battery charged. I know one of the potential problems with the FZ with any additional electrical components is the battery running down if the RPMs are not consistently above a certain point, such as when you are in slow moving traffic jams. This becomes a real problem when you have extra electrical components hooked up. The headlights might be the largest single power consumer, so 2 of them starts to stretch the capacity a bit. Since you don't use your brights very often, and you would probably only be using them when you were moving and had the RPMs up, they don't really create a big problem. But having an extra headlight on all the time adds another large power consumer to the mix. The motorcycle manufacturers know what the basic demand of all the electrical components are, and they are not going to set themselves up for having more demand from stock components then the basic setup will allow. If they manufacture a bike that has problems keeping a battery charged, they would have many headaches. It would be nice if they put a larger alternator on, but that would drive up the price and add extra size to something.

Motogiro and some of the other electrical gurus might have a better explanation as to why only one headlight is being used in the stock configuration on a lot of these bikes. I don't think it has anything to do with the manufacturers being lazy or trying to save a couple bucks (or cents) with only one headlight. It would literally only add one wire at most to their configuration. They already have everything in place. It's a common configuration with a lot of motorcycles that have 2 headlights, and only one is on for the low beam. I think it's purely a consumption issue.

With all this said, I have done BD43's dual headlight mod on my FZ, because it looks goofy as hell to only have one light on. It's even more of an eyesore with lights that are shaped like they are on the FZ. If it was 2 round bulbs closer together like a Triumph triple speed, it might not look as goofy.

But, I'm also very aware of the power consumption issue, and I'm religious about hooking up a battery tender every time I finish riding, to make sure the battery is at it's best when I am ready to ride. If I forget to hook up the battery tender, I notice a difference the very next time I go to start it.

I also added a waterproof push in splice connector (pic attached-red connector) to the wire used for the headlight mod. If you ever have to completely remove the front cowling that houses the headlights, you have to be able to disconnect that wire, and now I also have the ability to disconnect the dual headlight mod very quickly if I needed to save some battery in an emergency. I put the disconnect location at the same point as the 2 other larger disconnects for the wiring harness on that cowling.

Obviously, if you hook up any other extra power consumption items, that adds to the already overtaxed electrical system. Make sure you keep this in mind when doing additional mods.

 

[Chickenz]

I believe the reason for only one low beam is because they were getting sued. People in cars claimed that the two headlights close together looked like a car coming at a much further distance away. So they would pull out in front of the bike causing a accident.

It's mandatory in the EU to have one light (dipped beam) come on as standard as soon as the ignition is turned on.

"Daytime Running Lights

The objective of mandatory use of daytime running lights for motorcycles is to reduce the number of crashes by making it easier to see motorcycles in traffic. The use of daytime running lights (generally lowbeam) is compulsory in several EU Member States (e.g. Austria, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain and Portugal). Some of these require action on the part of users to switch on headlamps.European standards for day time running lamps for motorcycles have been developed. New motorcycles are fitted increasingly with headlights which come on automatically with ignition.Research indicates that two lamps and lamps over 180mm diameter have greater influence than single or smaller lamps*[25].The use of daytime running lights by motorized two-wheelers has reduced visibility-related crashes in several countries by between 10% and 16%. In Europe, motorcyclists who use daytime running lights have a crash rate that is about 10% lower than that of motorcyclists who do not. In Austria, automatic DRL reduced the number of injured motorcyclists in daytime multiple crashes by about 16%*[12]. One estimate of the cost-benefit ratio of using running lights in daytime is put at around 1:5.4 for mopeds and 1:7.2 for motorcycles"

 

[The_Paragon]

Found the Puig Screen on eBay for £70.00, will keep an eye out for a used one i think...

Heres a couple of my pennies:

Take the wind screen off, give THE INSIDE of it a light scuf with some grey scuff pad (less agressive stuff). Grab some rattle can black. Start with really light coats and spray her black. Even if your paint turns out really crappy, from the outside it looks like a perfectly done black windscreen.

Cost: nothing if you have a little black rattle can laying around!!

 

[iviyth0s]

I could be wrong, but my guess to the reason Yamaha (and other manufacturers) only have one of the 2 headlights hooked up is likely a power consumption issue. The Alternators in these sport style bikes are not as large as in cars (or big touring bikes), and they have a very hard time keeping up with the power demand and also keeping the battery charged. I know one of the potential problems with the FZ with any additional electrical components is the battery running down if the RPMs are not consistently above a certain point, such as when you are in slow moving traffic jams. This becomes a real problem when you have extra electrical components hooked up. The headlights might be the largest single power consumer, so 2 of them starts to stretch the capacity a bit. Since you don't use your brights very often, and you would probably only be using them when you were moving and had the RPMs up, they don't really create a big problem. But having an extra headlight on all the time adds another large power consumer to the mix. The motorcycle manufacturers know what the basic demand of all the electrical components are, and they are not going to set themselves up for having more demand from stock components then the basic setup will allow. If they manufacture a bike that has problems keeping a battery charged, they would have many headaches. It would be nice if they put a larger alternator on, but that would drive up the price and add extra size to something.

Motogiro and some of the other electrical gurus might have a better explanation as to why only one headlight is being used in the stock configuration on a lot of these bikes. I don't think it has anything to do with the manufacturers being lazy or trying to save a couple bucks (or cents) with only one headlight. It would literally only add one wire at most to their configuration. They already have everything in place. It's a common configuration with a lot of motorcycles that have 2 headlights, and only one is on for the low beam. I think it's purely a consumption issue.

With all this said, I have done BD43's dual headlight mod on my FZ, because it looks goofy as hell to only have one light on. It's even more of an eyesore with lights that are shaped like they are on the FZ. If it was 2 round bulbs closer together like a Triumph triple speed, it might not look as goofy.

But, I'm also very aware of the power consumption issue, and I'm religious about hooking up a battery tender every time I finish riding, to make sure the battery is at it's best when I am ready to ride. If I forget to hook up the battery tender, I notice a difference the very next time I go to start it.

I also added a waterproof push in splice connector (pic attached-red connector) to the wire used for the headlight mod. If you ever have to completely remove the front cowling that houses the headlights, you have to be able to disconnect that wire, and now I also have the ability to disconnect the dual headlight mod very quickly if I needed to save some battery in an emergency. I put the disconnect location at the same point as the 2 other larger disconnects for the wiring harness on that cowling.

Obviously, if you hook up any other extra power consumption items, that adds to the already overtaxed electrical system. Make sure you keep this in mind when doing additional mods.

Wouldn't the answer then be to not do the dual halogen mod but rather upgrade to HIDs because they consume less power, therefore improving looks, light output and possibly break even with the consumption of one of the stock headlamp bulbs running solo? (not to mention I'm assuming the HIDs would have a longer service life than the standard bulbs, so added longevity as well)

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Wouldn't the answer then be to not do the dual halogen mod but rather upgrade to HIDs because they consume less power, therefore improving looks, light output and possibly break even with the consumption of one of the stock headlamp bulbs running solo? (not to mention I'm assuming the HIDs would have a longer service life than the standard bulbs, so added longevity as well)

Yes, but its going to increase the initial cost of the bike. I don't know about servicing the HID's but replacing a blown H4 or H7 bulb takes about 30 seconds...

The voltage output of the bike is very limited, that's why Yamaha set the bike up with one LB headlight.

BTW, I've read in one instance where someone had a dual headlight mod on and went to yamaha for something. They immediatly disconnected the 2nd low beam..

I've had the BD43 set up for years with PIAA higher output bulbs (with the same draw). I don't have any issues with lighting and its plug and play:

PIAA | H4 XTreme White Plus Single Halogen Bulb #70456

 

[iviyth0s]

Yes, but its going to increase the initial cost of the bike. I don't know about servicing the HID's but replacing a blown H4 or H7 bulb takes about 30 seconds...

The voltage output of the bike is very limited, that's why Yamaha set the bike up with one LB headlight.

BTW, I've read in one instance where someone had a dual headlight mod on and went to yamaha for something. They immediatly disconnected the 2nd low beam..

I've had the BD43 set up for years with PIAA higher output bulbs (with the same draw). I don't have any issues with lighting and its plug and play:

PIAA | H4 XTreme White Plus Single Halogen Bulb #70456

I'd imagine it'd be relatively a similar replacement though a little more costly (at the same time, the HIDs would probably last longer so it probably is a toss up in costs over time)

I wasn't arguing from factory that it should have been included (though it'd be a nice option) but simply that seems like the better choice than doing the stock headlamp dual mod.

Maybe I'm the only one who it'd bother knowing my bike's running that little/fair bit more power hungry but I'd love to upgrade my quality of life and the efficiency at the same time . (I'm that guy who cringes anytime I see incandescent lights anywhere if it helps explain my POV)

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I'd imagine it'd be relatively a similar replacement though a little more costly (at the same time, the HIDs would probably last longer so it probably is a toss up in costs over time)

I wasn't arguing from factory that it should have been included (though it'd be a nice option) but simply that seems like the better choice than doing the stock headlamp dual mod.

Maybe I'm the only one who it'd bother knowing my bike's running that little/fair bit more power hungry but I'd love to upgrade my quality of life and the efficiency at the same time . (I'm that guy who cringes anytime I see incandescent lights anywhere if it helps explain my POV)

I have florecent bulbs anywhere I can in the house so I know where your coming from.

I believe its really a cost decision from Yamaha to keep costs down/profits up and be competitive with other brands.

With one LB headlight, its legal, it saves 55 watts or so and you have a couple extra watts to spare.

There have been some threads about increasing the output of the system with very limited increases.

The 600cc engine / bike in general isn't designed as a long distance tourer with super large alternators for lots of add on gizmo's like an FJR, Goldwing, etc. As noted previous, its pretty much a jack knife of bikes.

For instance, the FJR and most (not all) BMW's don't have helmet locks, period! Why you ask. I know there's room for them but the manufacturers save a couple of bucks eliminating them. A Yamaha helmet lock is about $35 each retail, weld a plate to the frame, done. Of course its cheaper for them to leave it off. Heck, a $15,000 bike and no helmet locks?? Same for many BMW's and they generally cost even more..

 

[iviyth0s]

I have florecent bulbs anywhere I can in the house so I know where your coming from.

I believe its really a cost decision from Yamaha to keep costs down/profits up and be competitive with other brands.

With one LB headlight, its legal, it saves 55 watts or so and you have a couple extra watts to spare.

There have been some threads about increasing the output of the system with very limited increases.

The 600cc engine / bike in general isn't designed as a long distance tourer with super large alternators for lots of add on gizmo's like an FJR, Goldwing, etc. As noted previous, its pretty much a jack knife of bikes.

For instance, the FJR and most (not all) BMW's don't have helmet locks, period! Why you ask. I know there's room for them but the manufacturers save a couple of bucks eliminating them. A Yamaha helmet lock is about $35 each retail, weld a plate to the frame, done. Of course its cheaper for them to leave it off. Heck, a $15,000 bike and no helmet locks?? Same for many BMW's and they generally cost even more..

Yeah, it's probably just cost, though does my logic sound right that it'd be better to get HIDs since (if they're anything like most car kits) draw about 35watts per module and therefore you'd only be over 5-15 watts running two of them vs one of the stock bulbs in LB (as I thought LB drew 55watts on most bulbs and HB drew 65watts, making full blown HB usages FAR better)

I haven't really looked into much for this bike yet so if I'm wrong on any particular spec, do correct me!

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

A lot of guys have them and love them, there's numerous posts about installing them.

Unfortunatly (to my knowledge), you have to separate the lens assembly of the headlamp assembly and get inside it to mod it.

I personally prefer the KISS method(keep it simple stupid) and with the PIAA light bulbs, I don't have any issues with night time lighting. Yes, it takes more watts than the HID's and I also have the dual headlight mod. Maybe its my bike, but I've never had an issue with the charging system. If the battery is failing from wear and tear, it gets replaced.

I've used my heated vest and heated gauntlet gloves on the bike numerous times (which draw a fair amount of wattage) but just turn them off when slowing/stopped(roughly under 3,000 RPM). For me, I'm not fixing what isn't broke.

With technology the way it is, someone will come up with a very simple plug and play kit.

 

[iviyth0s]

A lot of guys have them and love them, there's numerous posts about installing them.

Unfortunatly (to my knowledge), you have to separate the lens assembly of the headlamp assembly and get inside it to mod it.

I personally prefer the KISS method(keep it simple stupid) and with the PIAA light bulbs, I don't have any issues with night time lighting. Yes, it takes more watts than the HID's and I also have the dual headlight mod. Maybe its my bike, but I've never had an issue with the charging system. If the battery is failing from wear and tear, it gets replaced.

I've used my heated vest and heated gauntlet gloves on the bike numerous times (which draw a fair amount of wattage) but just turn them off when slowing/stopped(roughly under 3,000 RPM). For me, I'm not fixing what isn't broke.

With technology the way it is, someone will come up with a very simple plug and play kit.

Yeah that'd be nice... I'll probably study up on how to install them but wait a bit... the single headlight actually provides pretty decent light! Maybe when one of the bulbs burn out I'll upgrade. This would be second to installing some kind of a cruise control anyway

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Yeah that'd be nice... I'll probably study up on how to install them but wait a bit... the single headlight actually provides pretty decent light! Maybe when one of the bulbs burn out I'll upgrade. This would be second to installing some kind of a cruise control anyway

I think you'll find with the dual headlight mod and the PIAA high performance bulbs, there's a significant improvement with the lighting. Maybe $150 for everything (2 bulbs and the kit). Just my 2 cents..

 

[iviyth0s]

I think you'll find with the dual headlight mod and the PIAA high performance bulbs, there's a significant improvement with the lighting. Maybe $150 for everything (2 bulbs and the kit). Just my 2 cents..

Perhaps!!! I'll see which side of me wins when it comes time to choose(simplistic/economical side or green/high tech side)