I'm finally going to get my OEM accessory passing lamps installed. I don't want the switch mounted in a hole drilled in the side of a lamp bucket. So I was wondering what switches those with passing lamps prefer. I believe I either want to use this Smart Switch or handlebar-mounted on/off switch. But I don't want to buy either until I hear about how some of you have integrated a switch for your lights.

Feedback is much appreciated.

Lot of the guys get a relay and wire it up so when you turn the key off it shuts off the lights. I need to do that I have killed my battery twice because I forgot to switch them off. I think there is a tech article on doing it if you take a look.

Mine are wired to the high beam lights.They only come on when my high beam is turned on.

I was rather hoping the switch that would normally be mounted to the lamp housing was on the key switch already since the headlight is. So the handlebar mounted switch would be on/off if the bike is running. But I'd still have to consider that when starting the engine since it would definitely put more strain on the battery. Road Stars are known for having a weak starter motor and persnickety battery.

The Smart Switch is nice because it avoids having another thing on the bars and allows the passing lamps to be used with either the high or low beam. I would want to use them at night without having to shut them off with the high beam. But the one I linked to makes you cycle through up to four combos until you find the one you want. And since you cannot see the lights to confirm whether they are on or not, I thought the handlebar switch made a lot of sense (it has an LED indicating when the circuit is closed). Not sure it really demands a relay. The lamp installation instructions do not include adding one.

All the handlebar switch does is move the light control to within my reach. Since I have a windshield I would not be able to turn them off to oncoming traffic if I had to.

When I had them on my bike, they were wired into the running light wire in the headlight bucket. Then they're on whenever the key's on, and off when you kill the bike. No battery drainage issues then.

well Zinger (nice R* BTW), the way they are SUPPOSED to be wired is powered by the low beam circuit, through that little micro switch. and i believe the housing (left) is allready drilled for the sw too.

the wiring circuit can barely handle the addition with it added to low, nevermind the additional current with the high beam lit. mine is/has somewhat softened the insulation on the OEM wiring and i have the tri bulb's too with i believe an H4 bulb.

you seldome need to turn them on/off as it is, and can easily hide a sw in front of the tank, underneath, or make a little bracket and put it under the riser bolt, or if you have the stock airbox/fuelpump there are an easy dosen different places to put the sw.

relay, is just a remotely triggered sw usually used to switch a higher current than the 'trigger sw' can handle and the included sw is i believe 120v @ 10A which is way more than enough.

if you put the sw just inside the front of the wiring case cover (battery side cover) you can easily reach it. you should be able to get away with an 18Ga wire, fused AT the battery ofcourse to #1 protect the battery, and prevent the wire if it chafed to ground from becoming a heating element...

you can easily snake a wire up underneath the tank, and if your good, (wd40 comes in handy) poke a hole and run it through the OEM tubing to the HL bucket where you should make your splices, and if you did this a relay can be used to 'break' the power for high beam use.

i believe the MA law for inspection says they can only be on with the Hlight dimmed.

Note, lights are on and dimmed, not on and brightened.

the bike i have came t tapped to low behind the HL, T taps or scotch lock's are a poor way to do any wiring but also i haven't yet in 4yrs had to 'repair' what i got.

Zinger - I used the "Universal Wiring & Relay Kit" from Kuryakyn. I just checked their website. It goes for $31.99; and is part no. 2328. You can download and view the installation instructions on the Kuryakyn website. I had no problems wiring it up on my bike a couple of years ago, and I'm certainly no wiz at those sort of things. I mounted it right up under the left controls. It's pretty unobtrusive their, but easy to reach, too. Good luck. Try this link:

http://www.kuryakyn.com/index.cfm/go/Home.ProductDetail/IMID/760

DJV

I ran a hot wire directly from the battery & mounted a relay under the seat where the tools used to be. I then mounted the waterproof switch(NAPA) on the handlebar.

I left the lights on & ran the battery pretty low so I added a second relay. This relay is activated with the high beam.

Now I can turn the lights on & off with the handlebar switch & when the headlight is off the lights are off. The second relay is mounted in the headlight housing.

Don

Here's a new twist. I just opened both the bar and the lamps and there are several very important parts missing (they aren't in either package). Here's what's missing:

• 4. Adapter, Turn Signal
• 5. Swivel Washer, Convex
• 6. Bolt, Special with Wire Hole

Already on the bike or not needed are:

• 7. Washer
• 8. Screw
• 9. Spacer (not needed with windshield)

All I know is they are missing and that means I can't mount these damned things. Is there some other mounting hardware kit needed for this job? I didn't see one listed on the Yamaha Star site.

should come with the new bar