Installing Lights on the Honda XR200R on 4Strokes.com

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 Muntinga, owner and founder of Electrex USA, really knows his stuff when it comes to motorcycle lighting and electrical systems.

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.

Our XR200R had an 8-pole stator - 2 poles for ignition, 4 for lighting and 2 spares. Electrex suggested we use the stock setup.

Simple Head and Tail light Wiring Diagram

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.

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.

All wires were run in plastic tubing and tie-wrapped along the frame. Connectors were installed at the rear fender, regulator and headlight.

The UFO universal rear taillight bolts directly to the underside of the stock fender and comes with a wiring harness already attached.

Ritzo did a great job of building the lighting wiring harness. He made sure everything was properly done by soldering all connections.

Electrex standardized on UFO plastic for their dual sport kits. We also used a UFO Ray universal headlight for our XR200R lighting project.

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.

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!

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!