DIY LED Light Installation on your Harley-Davidson®

DIY LED Light Installation on your Harley-Davidson®

To own a motorcycle is to make a statement about yourself: you are a ruler of the road, carry a strong sense of independence, and you have a connection to the street that no automobile driver can quite understand. To further emphasize that point though, the only thing left to do is to ramp up the styling on your bike! And what better way to do that than with some simple LED lights? These custom accessories add an extra layer of intensity to any Harley-Davidson®, as they highlight all the best parts and turn your ride into a glorious light show on the road. And not only are these custom lighting kits cheap and effective, they're also incredibly easy to install. This guide from Sun HD® will walk you through the installation process, but if you have any other questions, feel free to come talk to us. You can also schedule an appointment at our parts and service department if you're not comfortable installing them yourself. We're right here in Denver, CO, and we'll be happy to get your Harley® decked out and ready to hit the street with style.

Organizing Your Materials

Before you start laying out your materials and making connections, you should get everything organized. Categorize each strip by size, so you have them all laid out and easily accessible when you need them. If your lighting kit didn't come with a diagram, you'll need to draw up how you plan to use each part. You'll need these basic parts for every setup: your motorcycle's battery, LED light strips, the fuse box, a switch, and possibly spare wiring. Masking tape also comes in handy, since you can use this to test out where to place each strip before permanently sticking them on.

Finally, if you have a 9-volt battery, that will help with preparation a lot. You should use these to test each bulb so you don't put broken parts on your motorcycle. However, if you don't have one of these batteries, connect them to your motorcycle battery before doing any installations, and light them up that way.

Create a Map

Once all the prep work is finished up, you can start thinking about how you want to map out your strips on your bike. Simply stick them on with the masking tape, and move them around if you don't like where they're at. Then use that 9-volt battery again to light them up and see how they look before making permanent connections.

Connect the Wires

The final step in LED lighting kit installation on your Harley-Davidson® is a little more complicated, but it's still a fairly simple DIY project. For safety, start by shutting off the battery, and then you can begin the installation. First, you'll need to put all your wires into the connector box, with positive and negative leads separated. If your lighting kit came with a remote activation system, you just need to connect the relay box from the connector box to the battery. You also won't need to install a fuse boat, since remote activation lights usually have their own fuses. With a manual switch, however, you need to connect the fuse boat to your negative lead. Once everything's wired up properly, cut a small strip of out of the plastic so you can see the bronze wiring underneath. This part is where you'll connect each wire to the battery, so wrap each one around the ring terminals on the battery. Then attach your positive lead to the battery's positive terminal. Do the same with your negative lead on the negative terminal, and then you can switch on your battery. If you tested them before and they were fine, they should all light up now. If any aren't working, you'll need to go through and test any connections. Finally, you can remove the masking tape and stick each strip onto its designated position on your motorcycle.

For a DIY project that'll make a big difference on your ride, consider purchasing some LEDs and using them to light up your Harley-Davidson®! This guide will help you with some of the basics, but if you're still not comfortable, come on into our service and parts department for some assistance. Here at Sun HD® in Denver, we serve riders all the way from Boulder and Fort Collins! We're always happy to help riders make their bike the motorcycle of their dreams.