Trailer Lights

Tonight I wired the Goldwing with trailer lights. The last time we took it out I didn't have them and it was a bit terrifying to say the least. I used the wiring diagram from Goldwingdocs.com to chase down the signals, brake and clearance lights. The wiring harness was a generic 4 prong from walmart and was labeled very well. Right and Left turn, clearance, brake and ground.

If you are attempting to do this on your own be advised that the bike puts out a lot more power when running then the battery will alone. After I first got everything plugged in I found that the clearance lights where quite bright but the signals and brake lights were really faint. I contemplated not connecting the clearance lights at all and just have signal and brakes.

After talking to my mechanically gifted brother, he told me to try running the bike as the alternator would likely put out more juice then the battery (and charger, as I had the bike on the trickle charge so I would not drain it playing with the lights). As always he was right and all the lights lit up quite nicely while the bike was running.

I am still considering replacing the bulbs with the LED bulbs. It would use a lot less power and probably never burn out. I'll let you know if I decide to cough up the money for them.

Another 50 miles

We were able to go on a little trip around the valley again this weekend. With Brant here and Trev with his own bike now we with Ben (on Dad's nighthawk) took a loop to Salina and back on the highways. The overall trip was around 50 miles. Just enough to warm the bikes up. Each time I take the Wing out it seems to run a little better. The brakes still squeal but they stop so I'm not going to worry much about them. It was a fun weekend and a fun little ride.

Rachel and I wore the Nolan helmets and the n-coms worked quite well. Towards the end of the ride Rachel's battery started to get weak and the signal was a little staticy. We left the helmets on over night to kill the batteries and I'll charge them both tonight. I hope that get the full battery life (14 hours) out of them like Nolan suggest we should.