Multi-purpose motorcycle lighting switch

Description

A multi-purpose lighting control switch which can be fitted to your classic motorcycle to provide easier control of the lights and horn. It also adds additional features such as the ability to flash your headlights. This switch unit is also ideal if you wish to add indicators to your bike. It is suitable for use on both 6 and 12 volt motorcycles.

On top of the unit are the two main lighting switches. The right hand switch is the main lighting switch and has off, low (side lights on) and high (headlights on) positions. The left hand control switches the headlight between the high and low beam functions and it also has a momentary ‘flash’ position for flashing the main beam.

On the side of the unit facing the rider is a yellow horn push button that could alternatively be wired as a engine cut out or kill switch. There is also a three position switch for controlling indicators.

Lastly, on the bottom of the switch unit is the decompressor lever which can be sued to replace the normal handlebar lever. The decompressor lever can also be unscrewed and removed if it is not required.

The switch is suitable for fitment to all 7/8″ diameter handlebars. It splits into two pieces which are clamped around the handlebars and screwed together. It is usually fitted to the left hand side of the handlebars in most applications. The switch unit is approximately 40mm wide. It is approximately 57mm deep (front to back) and 67mm high (top to bottom) excluding the protrusions of the various switches.

It is supplied ready wired with approximately 45cm (18″) of cable. The cables some terminated with multi-way plugs and bullet connectors, but of course you can simply cut these of for your own custom installation.

Additional information

The wiring colour-coding for the light switch unit is detailed below. Where two colours are shown, the first is the main wire colour and the second is the stripe colour (for example, ‘black/white’ means a black wire with a white stripe).

Headlights
Blue – to headlight main beam (there are actually two blue wires which are the same)
Green – to headlight low beam
Yellow/red – on when headlights are on (both for low and high beam)
Yellow – headlight supply

Side, speedo and tail lights
Grey/black – side/pilot light (on when main switch in ‘PO’ position only)
Grey – tail and speedo lights (on when main switch in both ‘PO’ and ‘ON’ positions)
Red/white – side lights supply (also supplies headlight flash)

Indicators
Black/green – to right indicators
Black/white – to left indicators
White – common supply for both indicators

Horn
Purple – from horn (horn button grounds purple wire to earth)

Suggested connections
The following connections will work for most classic motorcycles, but can be adapted as required. The main power supply wires (yellow for the headlights and red/white for the other lights) can be connected together and fed either directly from the battery (via at fuse, usually from the ammeter output) or from the main key switch if there is one.

The blue (high beam) and green (low beam) wires connect to the headlamp bulb.  Note that there are two blue (high beam) wires. The second one can be left disconnected, or alternatively used to power additional spotlights that should come on only with the main beam. The yellow/red wire receives power when the main headlights are on in either the low or high beam positions. It could therefore be used to power additional driving lights that you wish to stay on all the time with the headlights, but is usually left unconnected.

The grey/black wire provides power only when the main switch is in the low (“PO”) position and goes off when the main headlights are on. It is used to power any front pilot or sidelights that need to turn off when the main headlight comes off.

The grey wire supplies power to all of the lights that should come on when the main lighting switch is in both the low (“PO”) and high (“ON”) positions.  This will include the tail light, speedo back-light and any instrumentation illumination lights. If you want your front pilot or sidelights to stay on when the headlights come on then connect them to this wire.

The black/green and black/white wires are the power outputs to the right and left indicator lights respectively. The white wire is the supply to the indicator switch which will come from the battery via the flasher relay unit.

The purple wire is connected to the horn push button and is grounded to earth when the button is pressed. The horn is usually permanently connected to the battery live terminal and then grounded via this wire to complete the circuit and sound the horn.

The switch unit is supplied with various connectors, however it is usually easiest to cut these off leaving the bare wires protruding from the plastic sheath for custom installations. Any unconnected wires should be well insulated to prevent short circuits.