This month Aaron dropped off his '08 Honda XR650L to mainly get some electrical repairs looked at to make the bike reliable again. The previous owner installed some aftermarket lights and a battery relocation kit and it wasn't done very well.

The turn signal lights were Amazon specials, not being the correct voltage they required bulky load resistors. Cheap crimp connectors caused most of the troubles so the entire system was removed and cut back to the OEM wiring harness.

Another problem was that the bike wouldn't illuminate the Neutral light which made starting a pain. I diagnosed the circuit and found this connector unplugged under the seat.

Reconnecting this single wire fixed that problem.

Good 'ol Amazon China direct parts!

Repairs Begin:

I stopped into Honda One where Q set me up with some great quality and most importantly 12v LED signal lights which would wire directly to the OEM wiring harness.

Much better, cleaner and more reliable setup than what was on the bike when it arrived.

New lights and a new OEM Honda taillight installed and ready to be wired up.

The new LED light harnesses were lengthened by soldering and heat shrinking the connections, then another layer of protective heat shrink installed to cover the harness as it ran neatly along the frame.

Before and after, crappy crimp on spade connectors vs. a proper automotive weather pack connector for the taillight.

Wiring under the seat was shortened and tidied where necessary, connections fixed and everything held securely in place to prevent trouble.

Another terrible crimp connector deleted and replaced with a soldered connection.

Aaron picked up this relay which replaces the OEM signal light flasher. This unit is designed to be compatible with LED turn signals and worked great!

Instrument Cluster Rebuild:

With the electrical gremlins sorted it was on to aesthetics, particularly the instrument cluster housing which was a real special piece of work.

Plastic, electrical tape and foam comprised this masterpiece.

I striped the unit apart, adjusted the shape and taped it back together to use as a mold for a new custom fibreglass cluster housing.

This custom piece turned out great and with some grinding, sanding, filling, more sanding and paint it looks so much better than the old one and attached to the bike just as the OEM one would.

Aluminum brackets held in place with 3M tape and countersunk rivets allowed me to bolt the OEM light bezel to the new cluster.

Final Maintenance and Cleanup:

Just a quick oil change, spark plug and general cleanup finished out this project.

Something a little different for me in the shed, a fun and very rewarding project. Thanks Aaron for trusting me with the work!

Cheers, MIKE