[How To] Panier Lights

[tomouley]

I do a lot of riding at night and always wished the panniers on our NT's had lights. Well I had an itch i had to scratch. I didnt see anything on the forum for ideas on this project so I played around. I have used Custom Dynamics a lot in the past and used some products from their website. I used 4 led oval lights at about 9 bucks a piece i put one array in each pannier and one in my givi trunk. I bought 2 rocker switches from amazon for the pannier lights and one push button switch from custom dynamics. I took 3/4 inch grey electrical conduit that i cut two pieces at about an inch each. i attached 3m heavy duty clear hook and loop velcro to the the upper rear corners of the panniers.Then I added velcro to the top of the conduit which i slid the rocker switches into. I attached the conduit with velcro to the receiving piece on the pannier upper corners. I wired the switches to the lights and a jumper to a power block under the seat. Each light is wired independently. i ran the right side feed across the pass thru and secured it with gorilla tape. Its black. strong and sticky. I used automotive speaker wire for my power run since i had some laying around. I ran the wire on the back side of the tunnel that is on the rear side of the motorcycle at the top to keep it out of the way as much as possible. I followed the top corner as it helps hold the wire then i covered it with the gorilla tape. I drilled a 1/4 inch hole on the drivers side pannier at the top. There is a isosceles triangle if u will that i drilled at its center. Passed both wires thru hole into the underseat area to which you now route your wires to a distribution block or battery for power. I left all the wiring on the led lights (24") and looped up into a small coil and hung it up an electrical plastic coax cable holder that i mounted on one of the bolts that is at the top of the pannier in the center. I left the top "ear" loose on the coax holder so that i could pull it so i could hang the wire. I used the same 3m velcro to mount the light pods at the top of the pannier. So now you have a removable led light if needed on both sides of your motorcycle that can bu used for any kind of light needed on your motorcycle at night not to mention lit up panniers. Im sure i am going to get a lot of questions on this. i will be happy to answer all of them just give me time to respond. I will post pictures. Everything is low profile and out of the way. When it is all done it is a nice finished look that looks OEM. I will list all the components and the respective purveyors i used. I did more or less the same on the givi E55 which was easy as it came with light kit so i tapped off of that for a push button switch and another 4 led light pod that i velcroed to the lip on the top lid.

Customdynamics.com : 4LED Light pods & push button switch.

Amazon.com : On/Off 2 Terminal SPST Black Round Rocker Switch by Amico

 

[Phil Tarman]

Cool! Thanks for sharing this.

 

[Rob]

what a great idea! that's a great farkle!

 

[Dee G]

That's awesome!! I am planning on installing a Fuzeblock to my NT, and adding some LED's as well. Going to replace the ugly reflectors with LEDs and those pannier lights look like they'll fit right in with the wiring to the reflectors on the grab rail. I like how you kept the wiring long to be able to use it as a flashlight.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/led-light-modules/round-led-accent-light/17/

This is what they look like on my Rebel:

 

[tomouley]

Hi Dee G. I did the same application on a ninja 250 in 2004. I added the LED pods from this project in red and amber onto the existing reflectors. i mounted them right onto the reflector or the reflector base with epoxy or ss bolts. I like the LEDS on your rebel as they have a smother light than the ones i used. Yes the flashlight ability of the pannier lights has come in handy more than once. Also the lead on the pods are 36" not the 24" I wrote in my other thread so you pretty much get up to the rear of the front tire.
Thanks for the great feedback everyone. Good luck to anyone who tries this farkle out. Its pretty easy and is inexpensive. The only thing I should have done and will do is add a rubber grommet to the hole that I drilled to pass the wires to the storage area under the seat. Probably not necessary but worth the protection against vibration damage.

 

[charlie b]

I got light in my left side by "mistake". I bought a 3 outlet cig lighter thingy. Mounted it in the left pannier so I could charge a cell phone, aux cell battery or whatever else needs power. I didn't figure out the benefit until I plugged it in (direct to battery with 10A fuse). It has multicolored LED inside that makes it glow. So, when stopped and I open the lid there is light!

And, no, it doesn't use enough power to sneeze at. I've gone almost two weeks without running the engine and the LED didn't draw enough power to make the starter falter. But, just to be on the safe side these days I remove the fuze when I am not on a trip.

There are a ton of LED accent lights available for cheap. Just pick one, use the double stick tape to mount it and off ya go. You can even put a switch in there if you want.