Phil's Mods

[Phil]

I'm updating this post with a full list of mods, for ease of finding them as I get older and forget

___________________________
Phils Spyder Mods
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Additional front fuse panel
Mud Flap Lights
BrightSides front and rear
Kewlmetal Run-Turn-Brake light http://www.kewlmetalstore.com/produc...roducts_id=633
Double Play Unit
12vdc dash convenience outlet
AEM Voltage Meter
TricLed TricFenderz - Amber / Red
Front DayRunners
RTGloRyder http://www.gloryder.com/can-am-spyder-accessories.php
Custom Dynamics - Various Stingerz LED sticks (Purple) http://www.customdynamics.com/
Black Magic Remote LED Control
DRL Cornering Lights with TDR control
Puddle Lights & switch
Master Accessory Power Switch & relay
LED Licenseplate light
LED Frunk Surround
LED Fendertip lights
LED Seatglow light
LED Trunk lights
LED Glove Box light
LED Under Dash light
Dimmers for Dash & TricFenderz lights
~~new 07/23/11~~
HID Headlights
LEDs under rear fender
LEDs (purple) as 'eye lashes' above headlights (01/02/12)
Backup/rear view Camera (01/02/12)
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Bluetooth Receivers
Bluetooth Transmitter
4 Channel Audio Mixer
---------------------------
Extra WAGO LeverNuts (power distribution)
Billet Axel Covers Front end Dressup Kit
Green Filter
Swaybar
Elka Shocks (7/2011)
Utopia Backrest (6/2011)
Fog HIDs
Gizmo Mount Bracket
Küryakyn Widow Pegs
BRP Chrome Mirror Accents
BRP Chrome Exhaust Accent
~~~~~NEW 11/11/11 RT622 Trailer~~~~~~
Interior while LED halo of light
Front and back lid halo of Purple LEDs
GloRyders for trailer wheels(DIY, not stock)
Battery- 12ah to power trailer lights while not connected to bike (12/28/12)
~~~~~~~~ MISC ~~~~~~
Lambs Wool Gel Seats - http://www.amspecialtiesusa.com/gelpad.htm

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Here's a pic of my RT SE5 PE as it looked when I started the mods:








Some of the things I'm working on:

1. Redo the power distribution to power the current and additional LEDs.
2. Adding quick disconnect so frunk can be easily removed, even with all the extra LEDs.
3. Redo mounting of the Fog HID ballasts
4. Add many more purple LEDs to frunk
5. Add purple LED that accents fog housing
6. Add master on off switch & relay for new power buss (see #1)
7. Add TricFenderz LEDs
8. Add mud flap LEDs (wire into turn signals)
9. Add dimmer for TricFenderz
10. Add white LED strips in glove box and under dash
11. Add dimmer for glove box and dash lights
12. Add 'puddle lights' under mirrors
13. Add wiring and separate switch for puddle lights
14. Add RunBrakeTurn LED strip to back of bike
15. Redo previous Bluetooth work to 'mix' audio from all Bluetooth sources rather than having them fight for supremacy order.
16. Seems like there'd something else??!!!

I'm fortunate to be one of the guys to have a heated garage with good working lighting and tool boxes. Took me a bunch of years to get tot this point, but I'm very blessed. So, I can take my time and do things the right way.

Stay tuned....

[SpyderWolf]

Sounds like a great winter project list. I wish you the best in getting it all done, and being able to show it off.

[Phil]

I'm almost finished with all of the mods. The list grew a bit. Again, I'm not a paint or mechanical guy and I do work for a living, so... the mods are mainly electrical and done on weekends. I'm proud to say that in 5 weeks of work, I only blew 2 fuses!! Yea me!! And when I blew them, I knew exactly what I did and knew exactly which fuse to replace.

Descriptions below pics....



This is garage bay #3 where the fun takes place. I've set up the workbench (all from Sam's Club) so I have plenty of outlets and power supply for my netbook. You'll see my Brother label printer. I find putting tags on the wiring helps me remember what I did after the fact. One of the early things I did was to get a battery tender and so I don't kill the bike battery while I'm working on it, I keep the tender plugged into the 12v accessory outlet in the trunk. Works VERY well.

After I get things cleaned up, I'll be adding slat board plastic hanging system. I have it in the rest of the garage for our gardening tools and its great stuff.


Part of the LED mods I did included adding Purple LEDS behind the upper wind deflectors. An accent I've done over the years is to light glass or plastic from an edge. Depending on the material, it then looks like it is glowing on its edges. I've used purple 95% of the places. All of the accent lights are tied into a Street Magic remote (love it)

After I get it out on the street, I may add a purple lighting gel in front of the LEDs to mute them a bit. I need to see them in comparison to all the other lights. I'll have to go back a figure out where I found these particular thin LEDs.

More to come......

[Slybird]

Certainly looks beautiful. I've often wondered how one could improve on the looks of a Timeless Black RT-S....but you sure hit the nail on the head, my friend. I'm jealous!!

[JimAlpha]

RT Looking good. Love the garage too!

[Hawk Eye]

Nice looking mods, and great looking garage.

Pete

[SpyderWolf]

Wow! If I had a place like that to work on my Spyder I might not ever get it put back together. Great job on the mods so far.

[Motavar]

Nice man nice! Good to see a tricked out RT.

[Phil]

Wow! If I had a place like that to work on my Spyder I might not ever get it put back together.

HA! Well, I finally got everything finished tonight and got it all back together. NO leftover screws and only one push pin left. Only took 6 weeks. AND... it started and ran just great. I ran it around the block to be sure all was functioning and that nothing would fall off

Every house we had owned for 23 years had zero or near zero garage space. We moved into this home about 14 months ago and when we first saw the garage, I was in love! 1500 sqft. We've been blessed. I'm very thankful.

I'll work on posting all of the other mods and final pics ASAP.

[TicketBait]

very nice Phil, gosh 1500 sq ft is the same size as my entire place, that's just your garage Did I hear Garage party at Phils
oh and nice lighting on the spyder too!

[Phil]

I spent HOURS researching this. I now know more about Bluetooth than I ever wanted to know. And I realize that I now know less than I thought I knew. This solution is about the only way I could figure out how to make this work. I AM interested in any other ways to make this happen!! I want to also give a HUGE thanks and deep appreciation here to all of those that have gone before. The pioneers like Lamonster, Scotty, Mark, others. You guys figured out lots on the RT and gave me the confidence that me, a software geek, might be able to do the mod thing. THANKS!!

My requirements were to be able to SIMULTANEOUSLY listen to the bike audio (I'll call it the FM), audio from my TomTom, listen for iPhone things like incoming TXTs and email, AND have intercom to my wife's helmet. I know... I'm in a 12 step program for being picky. I first tried to use the Bluetooth in each helmet as the connection point. Nope. It has to do with there being a Bluetooth priority order that is fixed and cannot be adjusted. My iPhone would always link to the helmets first when I really wanted the bike FM first. That meant seeking a different solution.

The helmet system I purchased several months ago was the SENA SMH10-

Some don't like it due to the size. I LIKE is because of its size. REALLY intuitive and easy to use 'jog wheel'. Anyway... back to the story.

I laid out this solution-


So I ordered all of the pieces, hoping it would work. I finally got the courage one day to open all the boxes and dig in. After several hours, I had this:

Big mess, but it was the experiment that worked. To make this work, I needed Bluetooth units that could be powered from the bike's 12v so I wouldn't have to keep charging, replacing batteries, etc. I also needed a mixer that would power the same way. The ONE item that I could not find (believe me I tried) was a Bluetooth TRANSMITTER working from 12v to take the mixer output and send it to the helmets. PLENTY of receivers, but only 2 transmitters. I already had the Sony guy, so Sony it is... for now. Here's the Transmitter:



I decided to mount the Bluetooth receivers under the seat:

I really thought a lot about this location for the receivers. The units are pretty well sealed so there's no issue being close to the tank. I wanted them somewhat accessible in case of needing to re-pair with another GPS, etc. They are held in place by Velcro, AND... my best friend- black Gaffer tape! Kinda like duct tape, but MUCH prettier and nicer to handle. REALLY strong stuff. It's used by audio guys to keep mic wires in place on floors, etc. I used it a lot for quick, easy ways to tack wires in place on the bike.


After lots of trial, here's the mounting I selected for the audio mixer:

The inputs are on the left, the volume controls (faders) in the middle, output on the top right and power mid-right. I drilled a 3/4" hole in the top of the side trunk to get all of the cables to and from the mixer. The hole leads to the relatively empty space near the battery. THAT's where the real cable mess is. I really tried to make it neat, but....

Costs-
Mixer- about $79
Bluetooth receivers- about $89 each
Bluetooth Sony transmitter- about $50
Fun designing it then seeing it work- priceless.

I still have SOME things that I'm not sure about but willing to live with. Like, if I get a call, I can't answer from the headset. No issues for me. I don't really take l-o-n-g trips on the bike and so this is not an issue. IF I need it, I can quickly pair the iPhone directly to the SENA unit. 95%+ of the time, I'm interested in music or my Sirius/XM app on my iPhone.
LOTS more details, but we'll stop here.

More pics of more mods to come!

[Phil]

AKA- Cleaning up the wiring.

When I first added LEDs to the front of the bike, I made a big rookie mistake. I ran each light wire back to the main bike. That would be about 8 of them. THEN I read more here in SpyderLovers and realized that the frunk can come off easily for service needs. Cha... right I thought. Easy for the big pro guys, not me.

Well, listen up newbies.... it IS easy. You unplug about 4 cables (except in my case it was a LOT more complicated), take out 6 (yes SIX) bolts, take out about 4 phillips screws from the skid pan, and LIFT it off as one unit. Ok... it really helps to have a way to lift the front end to get to the 2 bolts and the skid pan screws. I lifted it off with just me, so I'd put its weight at about 40-50 pounds.

Here's the way it looked right after I removed it and put it on a work table for 'the operation':

Kinda hard to see but there are wires from LEDs everywhere, like bad hair. My goal was to get it down to one, weatherproof plug. While in there, I converted the fog lights HID about a month earlier, the hard way without taking off any parts. Kinda like changing the plugs through the tail pipe . Anyway, with the frunk on the bench, it was really easy to clean up the mounting of the ballasts and wiring:

IF you want to do this, be REALLY careful removing the big black dust cover. I broke the little plastic tab at the bottom TWO times at great cost. I ended up changing how the covers mounted to get around the issue.

Next job was to rerun all of the LED wires to one side of the frunk and connect the single plug:

As you might guess, I also took the opportunity to add more LEDs. Like the upper wind deflectors, I used the small LED strips and attached one to the front edge of each fog light. Again, the idea is to get them touching something transparant and let the LED light 'flow'. It also reflects VERY nicely off of the chrome in the fog lights and adds a glow that you ask- where's that coming from?!

As I progressed, I tested all wiring and lights. Here's how:

The battery is from my leaf blower. I probably used this method 150 times as I made all of the mods. You can kind of see the LEDs making the fog lights glow purple. EXACTLY what I wanted. Here's the bike side plug:


Taking the frunk on and off, is NOW a 20 minute job, not 60.

More pics of more mods to come...

[NancysToy]

Impressive! Great job.

[Roger]

WOW!! now i am embarrassed with my wiring job cause i usually take any extra lenght of wire and wad it up an zip tie it out of the way in case i need extra for later but i don't think i need an extra 3' of it. Like Scotty said very impressed.

[Phil]

Thanks for the comments guys. I am humbled given what all you guys have accomplished. I'm really having fun and doing this for me and my bride. A local guy suggested that I enter it in a show or two. Eh... ya never know.

This mod was to fix what I saw as a BRP design issue. The funky place they put the front 12v convenience outlet wasn't all that convenient. Given the recommendation of several here on SpyderLovers, I disconnected the analogue gages and am really pleased with what shows on the LCD screen. So... what to do with the empty holes. Again, I scoured the Internet and ended up putting various parts together and got this--

The item filling the hole where the gauge was, is a sliding door pull! So happens it's the same diameter as the hole. Then.. but how do I make it stay IN the hole because the forces of putting things in and out of the outlet are not trivial. That answer came from the left over parts from the old gauge. The screws are ones used for electrical outlets when the box is REALLY recessed compared to the outlet. I ground off part of the heads, painted them black, and it all fit.

To balance out the other side:


Here's the family portrate of the dash:


More mods and pics to come...

[Phil]

I'll have another post that shows the LED dimmers I mounted.

But I wanted to show the end results of adding LED strip light to the glove box. It really helps at night:


And the 'formal view':

The glove box lights, the under dash lights and the trunk LED lights are all controlled from the dimmer that says DASH. The dimmer is also a switch if I wish to turn them completely off. While I was at it, I added a little blue accent light in a place I had never seen used and also attached them to the DASH dimmer. But the effect is like an under cabinet light!



This shows the actual LED strip under the dash (mounted under the pull out safety card). It also shows a glimpse of the Puddle Lights that I'll detail in another post.


More pics of more mods to come...

[SpyderWolf]

Very nice, extremely clean, work.

[Lamonster]

You are a wildman

[IWN2RYD]

Good God... They Found Scotty!!! He is alive!............... Sorry... Star Trek joke... To far? lol

Love it... Man oh man that took a lot of thought and planning... Great job man!

[Phil]

To quote Sally Field when she won her Oscar-- "You love me... you really love me!" Thanks guys. Like I said, its humbling.

Ok... this really was a simple mod. It was billed as such, but trust me, once you've drilled a couple of holes, hoping you did them right, it's no big deal. What's the worst? Buy a new piece of tupperware! I really looked at a way to mount it higher on the trunk, but I really couldn't find a way to make it look right due to the curves. Here's the end result:

I love the look of the SOLID light, like a neon tube. It IS descrete LEDS, but they are packed tightly so it looks like one light. Some have written that they had issues with the curve of the light- it was 'peeling up' at the ends. When I opened the package I cound see that might be a problem. I didn't use a heat source, but I did set a toolbox on the very end and let most of the light hang off a work bench for several days then did the same on the opposite end. In the end, I did have one end that wanted to curve out. The answer for me was a very little bit of JB Weld. The kind that is like putty. It dried grey, so I broke out the Sharpie (aka black paint touch up tool) and here's that result. You have to know what to look for to notice it:


Coming up next- Cornering Lights

[Phil]

Old song I learned in Sunday School about 52 years ago

This is one that has been on my list the longest. The older I get, the more help I need to see at night. No real issues, just aging I guess. I wanted a way to light up where I was heading when I turned into a corner. I had this feature on a car I once had and I loved it. I looked into dozens of ways to do this. I walked around the bike 10 times one day, just studying how it might be done. Mounting on the front is the obvious place, so I looked at the not so obvious. I searched the web for the very brightest LED bulbs and fixtures I could find. I bought 1 and 3 watt Pond lights. Waterproof, but large-ish and hard to mount. On a whim, I ordered 'bling' DRL lights for cars. www.SuperBrightLEDs.com is one of my favorite sites. This is where I found the lights called DRL-CW5 Series. Here's where I mounted them:

I made sure the foot rests would fold up when tieing up the wiring. The BIG challenge was figuring out how to turn them on without having one more switch. I remembered a thing called TDR- Time Delay Relays. I found simple DIY circuits to build, but I wanted something more durable. Google found this guy:

I exchanged an email with Mr. Wolsten describing what I wanted to do and he pointed me to the 'P' model. Their website is full of creative, clear DIY type applications. http://www.wolstentech.com/. I mounted it in that 'cavern' behind the headlights. A SLIGHT adjustment in the delay timer, and it worked perfectly first crack. Press the right signal switch, normal turns begin to flash, that closes the TDR relay, lights the Cornering Light, TDR keeps it on between normal turn signal flashes. Cancel the turn signal and within 1 sec, the Cornering Light goes out. Taaaa Daaah! THESE puppies are bright too:

With a little ride time, I may want to aim them up or down a little. But one spin around the block (before the 5 degrees rolled in) tells me they're pretty close. Oh, there is one TDR for left, one for right. I mounted them back to back. You'll see from their web site that the electronics are 'potted' to make them robust. An 'interesting' sidelight... with the Double Play unit on the turn signals, plus the TDRs, it looks like a carnival ride when you press the 4-Way flashers! Once I can figure out about posting a video, I'll SHOW you!!
TDRs- about $30 each.
Lights- about $70 for the pair

More mods and more pics coming...

[Phil]

I say puddle lights and I get the '...huh??' look a lot. They get that name because they illuminate the ground around a vehicle to make sure you don't step in a puddle. Simple . I knew I wanted them on the mirrors, a point high and pretty far out from the body of the bike. So I started by trying to figure out what was inside those mirrors. Not cheap. I bought a Borescope and plunged into the mirror. A fair amount of empty space! So step one- suck it up and drill a big hole:

LUCKILY, I picked a good spotNow, pull the wires from the puddle light through the mirror and out the end hole.

#3---

#4 I wanted a bit more 'wide throw' and not just straight down, so I added one of these-

I then did the wiring and put on a weatherproof plug, oh... and added the wiring and switch on the bike side.

Here's a link to a video of how they look:
http://s1188.photobucket.com/albums/...ddleLights.mp4
Sometime in the future, I may add a TDR so when the bike is turned off, the puddle lights automatically come on for 30 seconds or so.

OK.... on to the final (for now) post....

[Phil]

Here are a few more short videos. Sorry for the links and no preview, haven't quite mastered videos yet.

1. Flashers on showing the front of the bike
http://s1188.photobucket.com/albums/...rontOfBike.mp4

2. Flashers on then off & glovebox
http://s1188.photobucket.com/albums/...DashDimmer.mp4

3. Dash & Fender Dimmers
http://s1188.photobucket.com/albums/...nderDimmer.mp4

4. Flashers on, wide shot
http://s1188.photobucket.com/albums/...OnWideShot.mp4

5. Flashers on back of Spyder
http://s1188.photobucket.com/albums/...BackOfBike.mp4

6. Inside the Trunk
http://s1188.photobucket.com/albums/...nsideTrunk.mp4

Here's are a few Taaaa Daaah shots. I'm going to be working on some professional shots (my daughter is a pro with the right gear)







I'm sure I've missed a few mods, like an extra fuse block in the front, green filter, sway bar, and a few more things. It has been 100% fun and I'm sure its not really done!

Again... thanks so much to all who went before and pioneered DIY mods. You gave me confidence. Thanks so much for the encouraging words along the way. Now.... please warm up so I can go enjoy all this work


to be continued...

[CyncySpyder]

Phil, please tell me your going to be at SpyderFest? I've got to meet you & see all of your creative work in person. I'm astounded at all you've done & am planning on many of the mods myself, but having no electrical training, have been procrastinating for fear of 'n up my ryde. & since I ryde year round, cept in rain/sleet/ice or snow covered streets, I actually don't have many down days to do this. It'd take me months to do all you've done. VERY IMPRESSIVE & I hope to meet you in person at SpyderFest!

[Phil]

Phil, please tell me your going to be at SpyderFest? I've got to meet you & see all of your creative work in person. I'm astounded at all you've done & am planning on many of the mods myself, but having no electrical training, have been procrastinating for fear of 'n up my ryde. & since I ryde year round, cept in rain/sleet/ice or snow covered streets, I actually don't have many down days to do this. It'd take me months to do all you've done. VERY IMPRESSIVE & I hope to meet you in person at SpyderFest!

Thanks so much for the comments.
YES, I'll be at Spyderfest!! Really looking forward to meeting you and others that are my heroes.

BUT... I have to fly in without the Spyder due to my tight schedule. UNLESS there is a group of bikes being shipped up there from Texas and mine could be added to the group for a 'reasonable' fee. But, I'm just coming off one long trip then have a commitment on that Saturday.
pb