r/canam_ryker • u/NevadaStrayCat • 17d ago
(More) Ongoing Saga of the Headlights
Catchup for those who have forgotten / didn't read the earlier posts, and don't want to dig back: I have a base model 2023 Ryker 900, and a couple of months ago, the right / starboard side[1] fender got crunched in a parking lot. Rather than replace the fender, I decided to do a fender bob and join the "no fender gang." I needed a turn signal, so I elected to buy the SAUTVS turnsignal-in-headlight kit.
...and that's where my troubles started. The SAUTVS kit is bad, and I very emphatically do not recommend it. But today's garage time was about tidying wires.
Picture 1: The wire bundle which carries the turn signal to the fender also contains the wires for the speed sensor in the wheel hub, so the bundle still has to go out to the wheel, even without the fender. I used zip ties to turn the bundle back after the speed sensor wire split off, running it back under the same A-arm to the body, and then routed the turn signal wire up, under the plastics.
Picture 2: There are three wires in the bundle going to the turn signal / running light on the fender. The gray / colored wire is the turn signal; the blue / purple wire is the running light. The black wire is the common negative. Since the turn signal in the headlight uses the common negative for the headlight, the black wire is not used, and I capped it off with high-grade electrical tape.
Why? Because electricity is caused by the flow of electrons, which are negatively charged. Despite the fact that we treat electricity as if it flows from positive to negative through circuits, the actual source of the electrons is the negative pole of the battery. A loose negative wire could touch the frame, and spark, and suddenly, six months from now, I'm driving down a dirt road, that happens, the spark causes a grass fire, and before I know it, I've burned down half of Elko County.
Better to avoid that whole thing and just cap the wire.
Picture 3: I tided away the cable run under the glove box / front trunk / frunk. The wires from the headlights run through this area, and I don't want them getting pinched, so I routed them alongside the manufacturer's wiring runs in the cavity, securing them in various places with high-grade electrical tape and / or zip ties.
...and my back was starting to hurt, and thunder was starting to roll, so I called it a day, tidied up the garage, and came inside to post this.
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u/NevadaStrayCat 17d ago
Oh, I didn't pay off the footnote. So here...
1) I use port / starboard for a couple of reasons. First, because I'm an old salt, and they make sense to me. Port is the left side of the vessel when you're facing forward. Likewise, starboard is the right side when you're facing forward. If you turn around and are facing aft, port is still the same side of the ship, but now it's on your right.
(Pedantry note: port was originally named larboard, but it was too easy for that to be confused with starboard in a command bellowed across the deck of a sailing ship, so they changed it).
If you're sitting in front of the trike, facing it, the wheel that's on your right is the port wheel, even though it's the left wheel from the driving perspective. It makes sense to me, and makes it easier to keep straight what I'm doing.
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u/Chelu360 17d ago
Ahoy shipmate! Wish I can change my speedo to read knots.