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Hi Moses, I have a question about the dual-sport lighting conversion that was done on your Honda XR650R. I'm wondering what type of flasher relay was used for the turn signals. I'm trying to (re)install the turn signals on mine and, being ignorant about things electric, I am concerned that a bike with no battery may need a flasher that is different from bikes (or cars) that have batteries. The original flasher (OEM for this world-market ED/DK model) was cut out of the harness and thrown away at some point (can't figure out why though...).  

 

I went out today to find a replacement - thinking that any 12V moto flasher would do - but was only able to find 2-wire flashers, while the Honda harness provides for 3 wires. Furthermore, I was not able to find any flashers for bikes that don't have batteries. I'll look at car flashers next, but obviously none of those will have a non-battery electric system. Even if I had a source for Honda parts here, I'm not sure if the OEM flasher is available anymore - I went on the site selling international market Honda parts, and while the flasher is shown in the diagram, it is not in the price list.

 

Are my concerns unfounded? Is a flasher just a flasher - and I only need to find one with the right amount of terminals?

 

I know that some are designed to be impacted by the voltage draw (depending on the bulbs used), so I may end up with a fast or a slow flash, but it'd be great to at least have some kind of signal working for when I ride on the street. I can tune the flash later by changing bulbs (assuming I can find variants).

 

Feedback welcome!

 

David

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David...The source for all of my dual-sport conversion products is Baja Designs. They offer kits for most popular dirt bikes, including my North American XR650R. The Baja Designs systems do use a Ni-Cad battery pack, as lighting with the engine not running is a legal requirement. Does your Euro model run solely off the stator?

There are common 3-wire turn signal flashers used in 12V and 6V automotive applications. Some are cylindrical in shape, others are Bosch-type and look like a relay. See your local auto parts source.

At the Baja Designs website, you can drill down and access PDF wiring schematics for their various kits. See how the dual-sport conversion drawings compare with your system. Baja Designs does have flashers (check prong count and fit), which are available separately. (These may be common automotive source.) An Email to the tech line saves long distance phone charges and could turn up some answers about the compatibility of Baja Designs flashers with your system. The website is: http://www.bajadesigns.com. See the motorcycle dual-sports section.

Let me know if you need more info and how this turns out.

Moses

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Hi Moses,

 

Indeed mine runs solely off the stator. There is a rectifier though (but I suppose that's common to all of them). 

 

I'll look into a standard automotive one if I can get it cheaply. Otherwise, I expect to travel to London in the near future and I'll try to buy a suitable one there.

 

Point of trivia: The most popular motorcycle in Burundi is a Bajaj (not Baja). It's also called a TVS. They are 125cc singles (4 stroke) and carry everything from whole families to goats, huge bundles of bananas, bushels of tea leaves, etc. Spare parts for those are pretty cheap and readily available (the turn signals (new) cost me about $5 each - and they're of good quality!).

 

D.

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David...Flashers are like a cut-out relay.  When they reach a certain load/amperage (which translates as resistance and heat that make the contact open), the lamp-on cycle breaks.  Contact cools and returns to a connection, the lamp goes back on.  Cycle time depends upon contact resistance and the lamp amperage load applied.  Primitive and effective, a flasher with the right amperage or resistance setting should work.  Do you have the factory wiring schematic to know which wires apply and where?

 

Moses

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Hi Moses,

 

I have the schematic, but it's not particularly detailed about the inner working of the flasher. I should be able to figure it out by looking at each contact's destination (where the other end of each wire is going and what it's connected to). But basically, what you're saying is that whether my bike has a battery or not, a classical flasher "should" work. Of course, it will depend on the draw of the bulbs as to whether it works properly with a regular flash rate.

 

Haven't had the chance to do much on the bike lately...

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Exactly, David!  The flasher rate will be determined by amperage and resistance load.  I doubt whether Honda did anything out of the ordinary here.  As you note, there is a rectifier, and the bulbs are normal 12V, presumably.  (They could be 6V, but that's archaic even for motorcycles.)  This means that the voltage rate must be within norms for a 12V bulb.

 

Flashers like we're discussing will increase the cycling speed rate with longer runs of wire or poor grounds.  (This is a DC system where grounds are as important as the hot leads.  The system should be negative ground or "Earth" as some call it.)  

 

On turn signal systems like we're discussing, an auto or truck pulling a trailer with lighting will cause an older type flasher to speed up its cycle rate.  This is due to added bulb amperage load and the resistance of the longer wire runs.  The flasher contact heats quicker and breaks the current at a more rapid rate.  More modern systems compensate for this amperage load and resistance.  My Dodge Ram 3500 hauler doesn't seem to care how much trailer lighting is added.  It uses the same flasher system.  (These are relay and electronic module controlled.)  On older style automotive flasher systems (like what we suspect your Honda XR650R has), you would install a different "trailer light" flasher when towing.

 

Moses

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  • 2 years later...

Hey Moses,

Just to update about the turn signals (though I know this is a really old thread) :)

I ended up getting the factory flasher and redoing the harness. At about L40 sterling (if I remember correctly), it was shockingly expensive, but I wanted it. So there. Don't tell my wife. 

But I've more than made up the cost of the flasher with the fantastic $5 turn signals from Bajaj (not Baja, as mentioned above :) ). I've crashed about a gazillion times, and these things are still hanging on and looking good! The factory ones wouldn't even survive a parking lot tip-over. 

D.

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Thanks for the note about the turn signals.  My Baja Designs turn signal housings need replacement...They've been squeezed between the headlamp shroud and the big Acerbis fuel tank.  The signal flex sections have given up!

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