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Honda XR 400 Installation Manual 1. Get a degree in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. (Just kidding!) 2. Remove the seat, side panels, and gas tank. If you are color blind or even think you might be a little color blind, now is the time to get someone to assist you. Successful installation of the kit requires good color recognition. You want to go riding this weekend, don't you? 3. Unplug the green and blue taillight wires from the stock wiring harness, remove the taillight lens, and remove the taillight socket and wiring. 4. Unplug the headlight from the stock wiring harness and remove. 5. Remove the kill switch. Unplug the black/white wire and the black wire from the connector near the base of the odometer.

6. Locate the AC voltage regulator found mounted just above the engine and below the frame tube as shown in Photo 1. Unplug the regulator from the wiring harness and remove regulator. Note that the AC regulator has a locking detent tab that you have to pull out slightly for the connector to separate (See Photo 2).

Photo 2

Locking

Detent Tab

3/8

3/16 Diameter

2 Places

1/4

Diameter,

License

Mount

Photo 3

Photo 1

AC Regulator

2

7. Taillight Installation: Install the Acerbis DOT taillight over the empty well left in the stock fender using the two 5 x 20 mm bolts and 6 x 16 mm bolt found in the parts bag. Position the taillight over the previous taillight mounting well and transfer the hole locations for the top mounting holes onto the fender with a felt pen or snap punch (Photo 3) so that they are 3/8 of an inch above the edge of the taillight opening as shown in Photo 3. Drill two 3/16 inch holes for the top mounts. Attach the taillight using the top mounting screws, then pull the license plate holder down toward the bottom of the fender so that the taillight is pulled as horizontal as possible. Transfer drill a 1/4 hole at the bottom mounting location with the taillight in this position. When installing the bottom license plate mount bolt, make sure to install the 6 x 16 mm bolt from the bottom up to minimize the opportunity for the tire to grab it. Run the taillight wires along the left frame rail using the stock wire clamps to support it. 8. Rear Turn Signal Installation: Turn signal mounting requires that you drill a 3/8 inch hole in either side of the rear fender near where it meets the side panels. You can achieve a clean, durable installation using this mounting location. Mount the rear turn signals by drilling a 3/8 hole in the rear fender in the location shown in Photo 5, 3-3/4 inches back from the front edge (pointed tip of fender where it meets the side panel) and 2-3/4 up from the bottom edge. If you desire the turn signals to be completely level, use a 3/8 inch diameter bolt and nut to sandwich two fender washers on the inside and outside of the fender. Carefully heat the inside of the fender with a heat gun until you can pull the bolt down to horizontal (Photo 6). Reinstall turn signals.

Run the left turn signal wires along with the taillight wiring forward along the left frame rail to the area just behind the airbox and above the

Photo 4

Photo 5

Side plate

Front Corner

of Fender

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fender. Run the right turn signal wires forward along the right frame rail, and up to the same location behind the airbox.

11. Brake Light Switch Installation: The latest XR 400 kit uses a hydraulic brake switch. This requires replacing the rear master cylinder banjo bolt with a specially made switch. Installing the switch requires bleeding the rear brake. If you do not feel competent bleeding your rear brake, please refer this job to a qualified mechanic as failure to do it correctly will make the brake inoperable.

Photo 6

Photo 7

Photo 8

Rear

Master

Cylinder

Remove

Banjo

Bolt

Ni-Cad Battery

4

Loosen the banjo bolt securing the rear brake line to the master cylinder as shown in Photo 8. Remove the banjo bolt and replace with the hydraulic switch as shown in Photo 8A. Make sure to install the copper crush washer from the stock bolt under the switch. Torque the switch assembly to 25 lbf-ft. Bleeding the Brakes: (Do not begin this process unless you have a fresh can of brake fluid) Remove the lid from the brake fluid reservoir. Put the box end of 8mm wrench over the brake bleed nipple and install the bleed hose (supplied) tightly over the nipple. Position the loop on the hose above the nipple as shown in Photo 8B with the other end of the hose in a container to catch the fluid. Crack the bleed nipple open about 1/8 to a quarter turn keeping the loop in the hose vertical. Slowly depress the brake pedal to fill the hose with fluid. Pump slowly until you have brake fluid extending up into the loop, then you can pump the pedal fairly aggressively to drive air out of the system - The fluid above the bleed nipple will prevent air from re-entering the system. DO NOT LET THE RESERVOIR GO DRY - ADD FLUID AS NEEDED. Pump the pedal until there is no more bubbles, then close the nipple with the wrench. Double check that the pedal is firm and the brake works properly. Attach the brake switch leads to the spade terminals at the top of the switch and run the brake switch wires up the rear subframe triangle to the area behind the airbox cross-member.

10. Voltage Rectifier/Regulator Installation: Locate the U-Nut in the parts bag. It is the small U-shaped fastener with the weld nut on the back of it. Slide the U-Nut over the lip of the front right corner of the airbox just to the right of the shock. The threaded portion of the fastener should be on the underside of the lip and centered below the hole in the airbox. See

Photo 9 for approximate location. Install the voltage regulator with the wires towards the front of the bike using the 6 x 16 mm bolt and washer enclosed in the parts bag as shown in Photo 9.

Photo 8A

Copper

Crush

Washer

Hydraulic

Brake

Switch

Brake Switch

Wires

Photo 8B

Bleed Nipple

Container

Bleed Hose

8mm

Wrench

Regulator Mounting Bolt

5

Regulator

FET

Photo 9

Fuse

Holder

Attach

Ground Lugs

Under FET

Mounting Bolt

HereBattery

Leads

Air Box Opening

Connect

Battery Leads

Here

Rubber

Boot

Run Regulator

Wires in through

back of boot.Left Side

Rear

Downtube

Plug yellow wires

from regulator into

pink and yellow

from stator

Photo 10

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11. Stator Connections: Follow the stator wiring up from the left side of the engine to the point where it ends in a group of connectors covered by a rubber sheath just forward of the shock as shown in Photo 10. Disconnect the pink and yellow leads from the stator. These are the lighting coil leads. Run the two yellow leads with the male connectors from the Baja Designs rectifier/regulator forward along the left side of the shock mount, into the back of the rubber boot and plug the yellow leads from the rectifier/regulator into the female pink and yellow leads from the stator as shown in Photo 10. Note that the male pink and yellow leads from the stock harness will remain unplugged. Slide boot back over connections when complete. 12. Front Turn Signals: Remove the top two fork tube pinch bolts on the right side of the triple clamps. Mount the stainless steel bracket that holds the turn signal under these bolts with the turn signal mount projecting toward the front as shown in Photo 11. Repeat for the left side. 13. Turn Signal Switch Installation: Install the turn signal switch on the left handlebar next to the grip as shown in Photo 12. The clutch perch will have to be moved to the right to make room for the switch. You may want to rotate the compression release lever upwards to give the lever more throw. Run the wires along the backside of the handlebar and down over the front of the triple clamps.

14. Power Switch Installation: Mount the switch under the front left handlebar bolt (Photo 13) and run the wires straight down along the left side of the odometer and behind the clutch cable. Note that the window in the power switch is a high beam indicator. 15. Wiring Harness Installation: Locate the long multi-conductor cable with the nylon multi-pin connector at one end. Gently plug this connector together with the one in the front wiring harness.

Do not force. If you have trouble plugging the two together, realign the male pins with a small screwdriver to get a good match. Note that dielectric grease has been applied to the female

Photo 11

Photo 12

Photo 13

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terminals to help prevent corrosion. This grease can be purchased at any automotive parts store.

Note that with the XR 400 there is not a lot of room behind the headlight for wiring due to the oil cooler and its plumbing. Position the multi-pin connector just above the elbow fitting on the oil cooler as shown in Photo 14. With the handlebars fully turned to the right to make sure there is enough slack in the cable, run the wire down along the stock wiring harness, above the ignition coil and back under the rectangular frame tube to the

area just above the voltage rectifier/regulator. We will connect these wires in a later step. 16. Front Wiring Connections: You will now make all the connections required at the front of the bike.

A. Ignition Switch: The only place the Baja Designs kit interfaces with the XRs ignition system is through the kill button lead. In no other way does this lighting kit effect the operation of the motorcycles ignition system. Connect the white lead from the Baja Designs power switch to the black/white lead of the stock wiring harness (just below the odometer) where the kill button connected originally. The rocker switch on your handlebar will function as a kill button and power switch for the lighting. This will prevent you from forgetting to shut off the lights when you turn off the bike, lessening the chance for a dead battery. Note this switch must now be on (depressed on the end with the Hi-beam indicator) for the bike to run. Note: Disconnecting this white lead will completely isolate the Baja Designs wiring harness from the bikes stock ignition system, and the bike will run whether or not the switch is on or the wiring is damaged.

Photo 14

Multi-Pin

Connector

Oil Cooler

Photo 15Connect white

wire to the

black/white of

stock harness

Multi-pin

Connector

Headlight

Connector

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B. Turn Signals: Plug the green and black wires into the right turn signal. Plug the brown and black wires into the left turn signal

C. Horn: Run the purple and black shielded pair with the spade terminals back through the triple clamps on the right side and down along the oil tank breather tube. The bracket will mount under the right hand tank bolt after the gas tank is in position. Zip tie the wire to the breather tube making sure that there is plenty of slack in it to prevent it from pulling and binding as the bars are turned lock to lock. You can mock up the horn before putting the tank on to position the wires and test the system by hanging the horn from the tank bolt. D. Headlight and Flasher: Plug the

headlight connector into the back of the headlight. Connect the yellow wire to the yellow wire from the switch panel. Connect the black wire to the black wire from the switch panel (These wires are normally pre-connected). Connect the red and white wires to the flasher. The red wire goes to the terminal labeled "B" and the white wire connects to the terminal labeled "L".

Install the headlight using the rubber straps, positioning the headlight as high on the fork tubes as possible with the lower mount on the right hand side attached just above the speedo cable as shown in Photo 17. Make sure when attaching the headlight you do not wrap the rubber strap around the speedo cable. Be careful not to trap any

wires accidentally with the rubber mounting straps. Turn the handlebars from side to side while observing the wires behind the headlight. Make sure they move freely and do not pull or pinch against the cables or other parts of the bike.

Horn

Photo 16 96 XR 250

Shown

Photo 17

Speedometer

Cable

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The headlight bulb is a standard H4 halogen unit available at most motorcycle shops and foreign auto supply houses. The XR 400 can only run the 35/35 watt bulb without discharging the battery. Baja Designs can rewind the stator to achieve up to 250 watts of lighting power for the 96 XR 400. 17. Rear Wiring Connections: You will now make all the connections required to the wiring harness at the rear of the bike. Take your time to do a neat job here so that you will have a reliable lighting system. Refer to photographs to copy wiring layout. If you make a mistake in the following steps, the worst that could happen is the bike will catch fire and burn to the ground (NOT). A. Remove the bolt securing the airbox at the right front corner. Thoroughly scrape the paint from under this bolt. B. Run the long group of green, red, black and brown leads from the gray multi-conductor harness around the front of the right airbox mounting boss, back underneath right frame rail to the area behind the airbox. The ring terminal will be attached in the next step to the right airbox mounting bracket. C. Field Effect Transistor Installation: The "FET" is a small rectangular black box with an aluminum mounting tab and three wires contained in your parts bag. Its function is to save your battery from unnecessary current drain when the bike is stalled but the ignition is still on. It senses AC voltage on the stator output and shuts the headlight circuit off when no voltage is present. One peculiarity of this circuit is that the horn frequency will sometimes fool the device when the engine is off, and the headlight will come on when you honk the horn. This is normal behavior for the system. Locate the ring terminal at the end of a black wire from the voltage regulator and the ring terminal from the main wiring harness. Attach these two ring terminals and the FET to the right hand airbox mount using the 6 x 16 mm flange head bolt provided. Install the FETs bracket against the frame with the ring terminals between the FET and the bolt head. (See Photo and Color Photo).

Photo 18

Shock

Fuse

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D. Locate the fuse holder and its lead coming from the rectifier/regulator. Open the door to the airbox, and run the black female lead from the fuse holder forward under the frame cross-member and down to the area above the shocks compression adjuster as shown in Photo 18. By positioning the fuse here, access can be gained by merely opening the airbox door. Plug the black fuse lead into the short blue pig tail from the gray multi-conductor cable. E. Locate the yellow pigtail with the single female connector from the voltage regulator and plug it into the yellow male lead from the FET. F. Connect the orange lead from the gray harness to the orange lead from the FET. G. Connect the red single female terminal from the main gray harness to the red male lead from the FET. H. Now move back to the area behind the airbox and cross-member to plug in the wires for the taillight and turn signals. Position the connectors for the taillight and turn signals as shown in Photo 19.

Rear Taillight

and Left turn

signal

connections

Right Turn

Signal

Connections

Photo 19

I. Plug the red wire from the taillight into the red double female from the multi-conductor harness. J. Plug the red wire from the brake switch into the open slot of the red double female connector of the gray multi-conductor harness. Do this by doubling the red wire of the brake switch back on itself for a clean wire run. K. Plug the blue lead from the taillight into the blue lead from the brake light switch. L. Plug the black lead from the taillight into one side of the black double female connector. M. Plug one of the leads from the left turn signal into the other side of the black double female connector.

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N. Plug the other lead from the left turn signal into the brown wire of the wiring harness. O. Connect the black single female terminal from the wiring harness to one side of the right turn signal. P. Connect the green lead from the wiring harness to the other side of the right rear turn signal. Route wires as shown in the photos for a clean and secure installation. Zip tie the wire in place to limit their movement. 18. Battery Mounting: The battery mounts to the airbox lid with double sided foam tape and two 11 inch zip ties just in front of the airbox opening and behind the FET switch as shown in Photo 6 and in the color photo. If you have a snorkel on your airbox, you will have to remove it at this time. It is also easier to mount the battery if you remove the rubber lip around the airbox opening. Position the battery so that the wires exit toward the back left corner of the airbox and that the battery is not touching either the FET or the frame rail. If the frame rail should rub through the battery insulation, it will ruin the battery and shut down the lighting system Use the double sided tape to adhere the battery to the airbox lid. Drill two 3/16 holes in the airbox lid just in front of the battery to allow you to further secure it with the two 11 zip ties enclosed. Do not skip this step, and be careful not to drill through your air filter (OOPS!!!!).

19. Connect the black lead from the battery to the black single female lead from the rectifier/regulator. Connect the red lead from the battery to the red single male connector from the rectifier/regulator.

The wiring installation is now completed!! Depress the power switch to the right (On the side with the Hi Beam indicator lamp). The rear taillight should come on. Try the turn signal switch to the right and the left. Both the front and the back signal should alternate on and off. Honk the horn (unless its after 11 PM!). The headlight will not come on until the engine is running. Note: On some systems when the engine is off, the headlight will come on when you honk the horn. This is a peculiarity with the FET headlight switch which senses the horn frequency and interprets it as the engine running. This will in no way affect the normal operation of the system.

Now adjust the position of the brake light switch up or down to get the brake light to come on when the brake pedal is depressed. Often it is easier to adjust the switch by removing the brake switch bracket bolt, adjusting the switch position and re-installing. Fine adjustments can be made by slightly rotating the switch mount.

If every thing is working properly congratulate yourself on a job well done. If not, don't worry, it's not rocket science and we should be able to figure it out. All the components were checked for operation prior to being shipped to you so something is probably not connected correctly. See the trouble shooting list in a later section. 20. Wrapping it Up: It is important that all the wires be properly routed and secured. Double check the photos and sketches with regards to wire routing. Make sure the wires do not pass over any sharp edges, are pulled overly tight, or can be crushed by the seat, tank, fender, etc. Use all the zip ties provided to securely fasten the wires. Any unwanted movement or chafing means early failure when off the road. Note : When zip tying the wires, do so separately of the

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radiator vent hose to the overflow tank. Make sure you do not cut off the flow in this line with a too tight zip tie. Make sure all the silicone rubber connector boots and the connectors are pushed firmly together and no bare metal is exposed. Put on the seat, tank, and side panels, slide on down to your local DMV, and then go roost!

TROUBLESHOOTING

Nothing Happens When You Turn the Power Switch On. Fuse is blown. Check for bare wire or terminal shorting against the frame or another wire. Multi-pin connector not properly connected. Battery connection poor. Make sure the connectors are fully seated. Battery is dead. Measure voltage with voltmeter, or connect a 12 volt light across it. Poor connection at the blue wire junction above the shock. The Turn Signals Won't Come On, or Won't Flash The wires on the flasher are connected backward. The red wire goes to the terminal labeled "B". Check turn signal wire connections. Make sure you have connected the correct wires to the turn signals. Check instructions. Battery voltage is low. If the battery voltage is low, the turn signals won't flash, or will flash very slowly. Running the bike will cure this as well as charge the battery. If only one signal lights and does not flash, it means that the other signal is not properly plugged in, or the bulb is burned out. The Brake Light Won't Come On Adjust brake switch position. Maybe it's on already. Check adjustment. Brake and tail connections are reversed. The brake light is already on so their is no increase in light intensity when you activate the brake. Check the blue and red taillight connections. If you still need assistance, call Baja Designs at (619) 792-0213. Care and Feeding of your Battery: Your kit contains a 12 volt 0.8 ampere-hour Ni-Cad battery. These batteries are very durable, require no maintenance, and can be mounted in any position. There are certain things you can do however to maximize its life. The alternator and voltage regulator in your kit keep your battery fully charged while you are riding, however, when you turn the engine off and the lights are still on the battery is being discharged. With the new transistor switch it will take about 30 minutes for the taillight to discharge the battery. With the Ni-Cad battery if you forget and leave the lights on, dont sweat it. You can deep cycle (drain down and charge back up) a Ni-Cad all you want. If you are doing a lot of slow trail riding where you are on the brakes a lot, the battery may slowly discharge. The XR 400 has a wimpy stator stock (about 80 watts at 5000 rpm), so if you are doing a lot of slow and go riding, unplug the headlight to charge the battery back up.

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Riding the bike will recharge a drained battery (good excuse for riding, huh?) (for best results, disconnect the headlight temporarily while the battery recharges) or you can recharge it with a small trickle charger (we do not recommend this unless absolutely necessary). Do not charge it with more than 0.5 amperes, and keep an eye on the amount of time and charging voltage. When the voltage across the battery gets up to 14.5 to 14.8 or it feels warm to the touch, disconnect the charger. Overcharging will kill a battery faster than anything. A battery measuring 12.9 to 13.2 volts when not connected to a load or a battery charger is fully charged. If the bike is going to be sitting for more than a month, it is recommended that you disconnect the positive terminal of the battery to prevent it from discharging. There is a small amount of current that leaks back through the rectifier when it is connected. Maintenance: Occasionally examine the wires in your lighting system to make sure they are not chaffing or binding so that they don't cause you a problem when you're out on the trail or on the road. A well routed, properly secured wiring system is key to getting long life and trouble free performance from your conversion kit. The brake light switch can become somewhat sticky after repeated exposure to water, dirt and mud. You can take the switch apart by removing the rubber cap and can lube to inside liberally with dielectric grease. The light bulbs take a beating on a dirt bike, especially the rear taillights. The continuous vibration and impact can cause the bulb contact to prematurely oxidize, causing the bulb to fail. Occasionally remove the bulbs (taillight and turnsignals) and scrape the soft contact at the base of the bulb and clean its mating contact in the lamp assembly. Baja Designs also offer a floating taillight assembly which isolates the bulb socket in a rubber mount. This combined with a heavy duty 198 bulb gives excellent bulb life even in the worst conditions.

Baja Designs 7558 Trade St. San Diego California 92121 (858) 578-9111

Fax (858) 578-9077 E-Mail: bajades@bajadesigns.com

Internet: http://www.bajadesigns.com