Safety
Upgrades
A Louder Horn
After the '97 Hog Cruise, the Cruiser's horn was shot. For a louder alternative,
I decided on Howard's Hog Horn (770-992-0034). It is an air horn, with
the compressor fitting under the stock horn cover. It is a decent piece
of work, but a bit expensive ($120+). In the end, though, I'm quite happy
with the louder note. By the way, this horn is now available through J&P Cycles (800-397-4844).
Brighter Headlights
In an effort to see and be seen, I elected to give the Cruiser a brighter
headlight and brighter spotlights.
For the headlight, there are two parts. Some bikes are already equipped
to accept halogen bulbs. Other bikes come stock with halogen sealed-beam
bulbs. Replacing the small halogen bulbs is always cheaper than replacing
sealed beam units, so I suggest replacing your sealed beam unit with a
lens/halogen bulb combination.
I purchased a Hella lens for the Cruiser. I liked it because it has a
smooth surface, with the fluting on the inside of the lens. This makes
washing the lens much easier.
For a bulb, I elected to go with a 55W/100W model. This gives you a typical
(but marginally whiter) low beam, and a serious high beam. I did not beef
up the wiring for this mod, and have had no problems in nearly 20,000
miles.
For the spotlights, I purchased halogen spots from J&P Cycles (800-397-4844). Their 15-085 bulbs are rated
at 37.5 watts and 70,000 candle power (each). The stock bulbs are rated
in the mid-to-high 20s for wattage, and put out 22,000 candlepower. The
Motor Company now makes halogen bulbs as well, but they're quite a bit
more expensive. If they last long twice as long, and are just as bright
(or brighter), then they are a good buy.
Note:
The halogen spots run very hot. Consequently, they don't last very
long. During last year's 14,000-mile riding season, I went through a
total of three of these bulbs. They're not for everybody, but they are
bright.
Another spotlight modification involves the on/off switch. In the stock
configuration, the passing lamps are wired as follows:
Lights-----Handlebar Switch---(low)--+----Low beam headlight
Bus | (high) |
| Passing
high beam lamp switch
headlight |
+----Passing lamps
I installed a three-position center-off 15A switch in place of the stock
passing lamp switch. The resulting wiring is shown below.
Lights-+---Handlebar Switch---(low)--+----Low beam headlight
Bus | | (high) |
| | 0 3-pos Passing lamp switch
| high beam ----o-+
| headlight 0 |
| | +--Passing lamps
+-----------------------------+
(new wire)
The diagram shows the passing lamp switch in the (center) off position.
In the "up" position, the lamps feed off the low beams using
the stock wiring. I retained this configuration so I could still flash
people with the headlight switch and have the passing lamps turn on and
off. In the "down" position, the lamps feed off a new 12-gauge
stranded wire feeding directly off the "lights" bus. In this
position, the lamps are on all the time, regardless of headlight switch
position.
Extra Tail Lights & Running Lights
If they can see me, they probably won't hit me. That is the logic behind
adding lights to the back and sides of the Cruiser. The mods required
the addition of the following:
- Two dual-filament bullet lamps, mounted on either side of the license
plate. J&P Cycles
(800-397-4844) makes a little chrome bracket just for this task. I purchased
dual-filament lamps so they could echo the brake lamp (i.e., running
and brake circuits).
- Two dual-filament flush-mounting handlebar lamps designed by Doss.
They are designed to flush-mount to 1" bars, which is the exact
size of the rear dresser bars offered for the Heritage Softail. I purchased
dual-filament lamps so they could act as both running lamps and turn
signals. Check them out.
The following are some notes about performing these mods:
- On the FLSTC, the rear harness is permanently connected to the brake
light, so attaching lamp feeds from there was impossible. I elected
to solder connections to the necessary wires in the harness and route
the wires such that the harness can be removed as designed (i.e., disconnect
connectors and pull the harness out through the brake lamp hole in the
fender). This meant adding connectors for the new lamps (a wise move
anyway).
- Running the wires for the side marker lights through the dresser bars
was worth the effort.
- The lamps in the Doss marker lights are the same as the bulbs found
in the stock HD fender tip lamps. They don't consume a lot of power,
so their addition did not disrupt the functionality of the turn signal
module.
- The dual-filament lamps used in bullet lights are non standard. You
won't find them in an auto parts store. When you place your order,
remember to order some spare bulbs at the same time.
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