Boost your bike’s visability with aftermarket LED running lights

LED daytime running lights are a fantastic safety boost

Get illuminated about DRLs 1

Designed to boost a bike’s visibility, daytime running lights (or DRLs) are a common feature on many of today’s new models. Although not a legal requirement, DRLs are a good thing to have on your bike and especially for commuters. Luckily good quality retro-fit kits can be purchased so that owners of older bikes can enjoy their visibility-boosting benefits too.

Unbox and then check off 2

Unpack the kit and check it’s all there. This Denali kit (£43.99) features LED strips, and fixing plates which are designed to fit on one of your machine’s existing mounting points. Read the instructions carefully and make sure you understand the specific detail regarding wiring and fitment of brackets. Lay out all the components before you get stuck in.

Offer up light bracket for best fitment 3

Decide where on the bike to mount your new LED lights. On this 2011 Yamaha Diversion 600 there were a couple of options, either on the brake line securing clamp or on one of the front mudguard retaining mounts, but you could also choose to fit them on a part of the fairing or radiator. Because they are white lights, for legal reasons, they must face forward.

Get busy with the brackets 4

Remove the standard bolts/s that secure the mudguard. Loosely fit the brackets then check with a torch that the bolt does not protrude too far through the captive nut on the other side – nothing more than a couple of millimetres. With both brackets fitted, turn the handlebars fully to the left and right lockstops to check they haven’t compromised clearance.

Install the light strips 5

Install the LED lights into the brackets but do not tighten them up without first double checking the clearance by turning the handlebars fully left and right. If the clearance is OK, properly tighten the LED securing bolts, using threadlock – if supplied – so they don’t rattle loose.

Pick the perfect path 6

The accessory lights need to pick up power from the bike’s headlamp, so try to visualise how to neatly route the wires from the LED strips up to the rear of the light cluster. Following the original loom routing is usually the most efficient and safest way to route accessory wiring.

Access the headlamp wiring 7

The wires from the LED lights need to be connected to the bike’s original wiring loom so that they change brightness with your machine’s high and low beam settings. Disconnect the headlamp bulb connector, then look in your bike’s workshop manual to work out which colour wire corresponds with high and low beam.

Make the right connections 8

The LED lights have three wires that need to be connected – black red and orange. The black is the negative ground wire, orange is the 100% intensity that should connect to the high beam, and the red wire needs to be connected to the low beam. Make sure that you are connecting them correctly or the lights won’t dip/go to full beam correctly.

The splice is right 9

The kit that we are using today comes with everything needed to make a professional installation, including very neat and unobtrusive inline connectors which splice into your bike’s wiring loom. Fit the wires to the connectors, making sure each wire is spliced into the previously identified correct coloured wire. Double check your work before moving on.

Now you’re ready to test them out 10

With the wires connected, switch on the ignition and make sure the high and low intensity settings work correctly when the dip beam switch is turned on and off. Tidy the wiring up and make sure it doesn’t get caught or snagged when the steering is on full lock. Finally, adjust the angle of the light bracket to deliver the optimal spread of illumination.