[rohan_cherian]

The primary reason for starting this thread is the disappointing quality of the OEM switchgear on some of the bikes available at the moment.

Case and point: The Honda CBR 150 retails for an amount just shy of 1.5 lakhs OTR and skips out on essential switches like a pass light and an engine kill switch. Also, the quality of the switches leaves a lot to be desired.

Also, I'm yet to see a commuter or an executive commuter (Read 150-250CC) bike come with a hazard light switch as standard.

I recently came across a video where a guy interchanged the switchgear on his CBR 150 with that of a Pulsar 220, complete with fully functional switches and that lovely white backlight.

YouTube Link

I'd love to see a DIY on this, maybe something that doesn't void my warranty. I'm sure fellow BHPians might welcome the idea too. Thanks.

Note to mods: Please move this thread if I've posted it in the wrong section.

[VijayAnand1]

Beautiful stuff. I wonder was it a direct plug and play or were there some modifications required.

Cheers!
VJ

[scorpian]

Not tough at all. just buy the new kit,dismantle it to understand which wire controls what and then solder to your existing wiring of the old switch.

Had done this on my karizma,you may or may not need to drill a hole to hold the switchgear to the handlebar.

All the best, incase you dont want to DIY any good auto electrician would be able to hook this up for you.

[rohan_cherian]

Originally Posted by VijayAnand1

Beautiful stuff. I wonder was it a direct plug and play or were there some modifications required.

Indeed. The guy who uploaded the video says that since the switches are from another manufacturer, you need to cut the female cord and join them to the old one 'with testing working buttons'. I'm quoting him here and since I'm not familiar with wiring or even electrical stuff for that matter, I couldn't make much sense of it.

Originally Posted by scorpian

Not tough at all. just buy the new kit,dismantle it to understand which wire controls what and then solder to your existing wiring of the old switch.

But won't you be having any wires to solder to the switches that give you the extra functionality like the backlight and the pass/engine kill switch? And is there an intermediary device between the battery and the switches?

[mithun]

I had seen bikes with changed swithgears, but the job is not too easy nor too tough.

Find a competent mechanic who can sit with you for hours.

Fitting a pass light alone if not a tough job though!

[Viju]

rohan_cherian

What you wish for, is definitely doable. First of all, you need to look at a few bikes and decide which of them has all the switches you need (for e.g. flasher, engine kill, hazard, back-lighting, auto-cancel turn indicators). Just check that the overall diameter of the handle bar is not too different from your existing bike.

Find a good electrician who is trust-worthy and willing to spend the required time to do a neat job. Any electrical job can be done cleanly if one has the patience and simple tools (for cutting and soldering) and connectors.

Once done, do post a detailed DIY thread here for the benefit of all members! All the best!

[rohan_cherian]

Originally Posted by mithun

I had seen bikes with changed swithgears, but the job is not too easy nor too tough.

Originally Posted by Viju

rohan_cherian

Once done, do post a detailed DIY thread here for the benefit of all members! All the best!

The idea was to get Pulsar 220/Duke 200 switches with functional backlit switches like the ones from the video. Consulted a couple of mechanics and they said that the CBR has contact type switches while the Pulsars and Dukes use relay type switches.

I figured that unless done by a competent mechanic, fiddling with the electronics on a FI bike is way too risky. So, I've put the project on hold for now

Will try a couple of mechanics in Thane. And yes, I'll absolutely post a detailed DIY once it's done.