 Did
you know that only four out of the nine 2002 U.S. model Honda XR's
come with lights? Honda has been going back and forth with lighting
on the U.S. model XR200 and XR200R since the early 80's. And now
the current year XR200R is back to no lights at all. On the plus
side, Honda did include wound lighting coils on the stator as standard
equipment on the newer XR200R models. Therefore, adding lights is
a fairly simple project, as you will see here.
For this project we contacted the
folks at Electrex USA to help shed some light on our 2001 Honda
XR200R. Ritzo, owner and founder of Electrex, really knows his
stuff when it comes to motorcycle lighting and electrical systems.
Lighting System Installation |
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| The first thing Paul did was remove the bodywork,
lay the bike on its side and remove the stator
cover so he could inspect the stator. |
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| Our XR200R had an 8-pole stator - 2 poles
for ignition, 4 for lighting and 2 spares. Electrex suggested
we use the stock setup. |
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| There was already a wire (white with yellow
tracer) in the stock wiring harness from the stator to a
connector up under the gas tank. |
|
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| The yellow arrow is pointing to a universal
AC regulator that we installed. It was wired into the existing
harness, per the diagram at left. |
|
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| All wires were run in plastic tubing and
tie-wrapped along the frame. Connectors were installed at
the rear fender, regulator and headlight. |
|
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| The UFO universal rear taillight
bolts directly to the underside of the stock
fender and comes with a wiring harness already
attached. |
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| Ritzo did a great job of building the
lighting wiring harness. He made sure everything was properly
done by soldering all connections. |
|
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| Electrex standardized on UFO plastic
for their dual sport kits. We also used a UFO Ray universal
headlight for our XR200R lighting project. |
|
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| Final check of the new lighting system.
The UFO Ray universal headlight matches the stock Honda
red color and puts out enough light for most night riding. |
|
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| With the addition of lights, the little
XR looks like its bigger siblings. This was a simple task
that gave back versatility and ride-time to the Honda XR200R! |
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As
mentioned before, all components used on our 2001 Honda XR200R
were universal and available from most anywhere. There are several
manufacturers and styles of headlights and taillights available.
We actually prefer UFO plastic because of their quality, color
match and resistance to fade.
 Some
applications may require a new or rewound stator, especially
if you are looking for higher lighting output. If you are unsure
of your application or not good with electrical wiring you may
want to check out our Tech sections for
tips on motorcycle lighting and electrical systems, as well as
stator rewinding.
This was a fairly simple project that most anyone can handle.
The outcome is well worth the time and expense. If you have a
newer Honda XR200R (or any other bike) with no lighting or if
you would just like to upgrade your existing system, we recommend
doing a lighting project similar to this. Remember, lighting
also adds a margin of safety, even in the daytime!
4Strokes.com Forum topics on this article:
Post your questions, comments or suggestions here: Installing
lights on the XR200R
Other related articles:
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| 4Strokes.com Technical: Honda Related |
