How to Modify Tusk Dual Sport Kit

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s10gto
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How To Add a Sealed Lead Acid Battery to Lighting Circuit

Post by s10gto »

Looking good! :supz: Just got mine finished. Can't wait for good weather.
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Re: How To Add a Sealed Lead Acid Battery to Lighting Circui

Post by bufftester »

You can start with a 5A fuse, you usually want to fuse for the highest possible load + 10-20% so 5A is right in the ballpark. The fuse should be on the positive lead run between the battery and the rest of the circuit. On a side note are green turn signals legal in your state?
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Re: How To Add a Sealed Lead Acid Battery to Lighting Circui

Post by s10gto »

Not sure if this will help ,but my Baja kit looks to have a Rec/Reg like yours. It is 35W headlight and LED Brake and Turn. Fuse is a 15A.

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Re: How To Add a Sealed Lead Acid Battery to Lighting Circui

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bufftester wrote:You can start with a 5A fuse, you usually want to fuse for the highest possible load + 10-20% so 5A is right in the ballpark. The fuse should be on the positive lead run between the battery and the rest of the circuit. On a side note are green turn signals legal in your state?
Hah! I'm not sure if they are. We'll find out! That 5A fuse that came with the Tusk kit is already blown. I think it happened when I tried to connect the switch to the 15W LED headlight, or frigging around with the multimeter on the wrong settings, but I don't think the latter would cause that.

I wasn't getting light output from the headlight while touching the switch wires to the hi/low/ground leads, then all of a sudden everything else in the circuit stopped working too. I'll try a 10A--maybe the blinkers are taking up more amperage than I thought. A 15A might be the solution, but we'll try the 10 first with the headlight connected.
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Re: How To Add a Sealed Lead Acid Battery to Lighting Circui

Post by Mayor Brap Brap »

Okay, I popped in 10A fuses and everything is back up and running. I think the 5A fuse blew because I had a blinker going, brake light, and beeped the horn at the same time. So the 10A works for now, but I have tons of larger size backups just in case.

I've run into a snafu though. The Tusk switch does not pull power from the harness for the headlight. So, I have to figure out a way to tap into it and then run three wires (Negative, Hi, Low) to the H4 headlight. Any suggestions?
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Re: How To Add a Sealed Lead Acid Battery to Lighting Circui

Post by 6 Riders »

Mayor Brap Brap wrote:Okay, I popped in 10A fuses and everything is back up and running. I think the 5A fuse blew because I had a blinker going, brake light, and beeped the horn at the same time. So the 10A works for now, but I have tons of larger size backups just in case.

I've run into a snafu though. The Tusk switch does not pull power from the harness for the headlight. So, I have to figure out a way to tap into it and then run three wires (Negative, Hi, Low) to the H4 headlight. Any suggestions?
Should go from the battery + to the Tusk headlight + IN, then use the two wires from the switch to the headlight as it was meant to be and ground the headlight back to the battery. Or to make it easier......the wire that used to go to the bikes harness should now go to the Bat + and the headlight's ground should go to the Bat - .
newbbewb wrote:^what he said.
masterblaster wrote:Man 6 riders you rock.
*side note...I'm drunk, so try to read what I'm trying to say, instead of what I actually type
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Re: How To Add a Sealed Lead Acid Battery to Lighting Circui

Post by Mayor Brap Brap »

6 Riders wrote:
Mayor Brap Brap wrote:Okay, I popped in 10A fuses and everything is back up and running. I think the 5A fuse blew because I had a blinker going, brake light, and beeped the horn at the same time. So the 10A works for now, but I have tons of larger size backups just in case.

I've run into a snafu though. The Tusk switch does not pull power from the harness for the headlight. So, I have to figure out a way to tap into it and then run three wires (Negative, Hi, Low) to the H4 headlight. Any suggestions?
Should go from the battery + to the Tusk headlight + IN, then use the two wires from the switch to the headlight as it was meant to be and ground the headlight back to the battery. Or to make it easier......the wire that used to go to the bikes harness should now go to the Bat + and the headlight's ground should go to the Bat - .
Bear with me--I wire a positive line from the positive battery lead up to the Tusk headlight switch and connect it to which wire? There's the black -, blue Hi and white low. That's as far as I understood :doh:
And I have to use the stock KDX wiring?
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Re: How To Add a Sealed Lead Acid Battery to Lighting Circui

Post by 6 Riders »

The black wire goes to Bat (+), the headlight ground goes to Bat (-). Here's the video from RMATV, they explain how to wire it in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYXNpyL_E6w#t=37, the only difference is that instead of using the bikes power, you are using the batteries (+) & (-), so you'll have to make a harness from the batteries positive and negative terminals up to the headlight (-) and switch (+) to replace what they show as the bikes power harness.
newbbewb wrote:^what he said.
masterblaster wrote:Man 6 riders you rock.
*side note...I'm drunk, so try to read what I'm trying to say, instead of what I actually type
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Re: How To Add a Sealed Lead Acid Battery to Lighting Circui

Post by Mayor Brap Brap »

6 Riders wrote:The black wire goes to Bat (+), the headlight ground goes to Bat (-). Here's the video from RMATV, they explain how to wire it in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYXNpyL_E6w#t=37, the only difference is that instead of using the bikes power, you are using the batteries (+) & (-), so you'll have to make a harness from the batteries positive and negative terminals up to the headlight (-) and switch (+) to replace what they show as the bikes power harness.
Okay, totally got it now––thank you! I'm wondering if I could tap into a + lead along the way in the harness, same with the - lead. The reason is I'd be out of space for connectivity at the 3-way battery terminal (it already has Reg/Rec in, Tusk harness in, and I was going to add the Vapor to the third female connector, which would fill it up). If not, I might have to make my own 4 or 5-into-one plug coming from the battery leads.
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Re: How To Add a Sealed Lead Acid Battery to Lighting Circui

Post by 6 Riders »

You can tap into it. I was thinking about you splitting off of the main lead to the switch, that should work. The point that you put the ground doesn't matter as long as you are grounding to the battery.
newbbewb wrote:^what he said.
masterblaster wrote:Man 6 riders you rock.
*side note...I'm drunk, so try to read what I'm trying to say, instead of what I actually type
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Re: How To Add a Sealed Lead Acid Battery to Lighting Circui

Post by Mayor Brap Brap »

6 Riders wrote:You can tap into it. I was thinking about you splitting off of the main lead to the switch, that should work. The point that you put the ground doesn't matter as long as you are grounding to the battery.
Okay, now we're talking. The headlight switch has the following: Turn signal main (dark blue), right turn signal (light blue), left turn signal (orange), horn in (light green), horn out (black). Which one would I tap into with the headlight main?

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And for ground, could I just replace the 2-terminal turn signal connector with this 3-way and plug the headlight ground into it?

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Re: How To Add a Sealed Lead Acid Battery to Lighting Circui

Post by 6 Riders »

Tap into the dark blue, turn main. What you want to do with the ground should be fine
newbbewb wrote:^what he said.
masterblaster wrote:Man 6 riders you rock.
*side note...I'm drunk, so try to read what I'm trying to say, instead of what I actually type
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Re: How To Add a Sealed Lead Acid Battery to Lighting Circui

Post by Mayor Brap Brap »

Well that worked, but the headlight flashes like a blinker. :hmm:

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Re: How To Add a Sealed Lead Acid Battery to Lighting Circui

Post by bufftester »

Mayor Brap Brap wrote:
6 Riders wrote:
Mayor Brap Brap wrote:Okay, I popped in 10A fuses and everything is back up and running. I think the 5A fuse blew because I had a blinker going, brake light, and beeped the horn at the same time. So the 10A works for now, but I have tons of larger size backups just in case.

I've run into a snafu though. The Tusk switch does not pull power from the harness for the headlight. So, I have to figure out a way to tap into it and then run three wires (Negative, Hi, Low) to the H4 headlight. Any suggestions?
Should go from the battery + to the Tusk headlight + IN, then use the two wires from the switch to the headlight as it was meant to be and ground the headlight back to the battery. Or to make it easier......the wire that used to go to the bikes harness should now go to the Bat + and the headlight's ground should go to the Bat - .
Bear with me--I wire a positive line from the positive battery lead up to the Tusk headlight switch and connect it to which wire? There's the black -, blue Hi and white low. That's as far as I understood :doh:
And I have to use the stock KDX wiring?
Don't use the Turn signal blue wire, that comes off your flasher (as you've already discovered). For the tusk switch you have to tap the black wire anywhere into your (+) lead AFTER the fuse block. The blue and white wires go to your headlight. You run a separate ground wire from the headlight ot anywhere in the (-) lead back to the battery. There is a good video on RMATV (here that walks you through it.
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Re: How To Add a Sealed Lead Acid Battery to Lighting Circui

Post by Mayor Brap Brap »

bufftester wrote:
Don't use the Turn signal blue wire, that comes off your flasher (as you've already discovered). For the tusk switch you have to tap the black wire anywhere into your (+) lead AFTER the fuse block. The blue and white wires go to your headlight. You run a separate ground wire from the headlight ot anywhere in the (-) lead back to the battery. There is a good video on RMATV (here that walks you through it.
Crap. Now I've got to fix those wires. I think the ground I made is fine, but I'll probably just run the + lead to the back of the harness and tap in somewhere around there.

But there's got to be at least one power wire at the front of the harness I can tap into.
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Re: How To Add a Sealed Lead Acid Battery to Lighting Circui

Post by Mayor Brap Brap »

I figured it out! There are two stable power leads at the front of the Tusk harness––the brake light switch and the horn. I went with the brake light switch because there was more room. I added a 3-way connector in place of its single connector. This allows me to connect the headlight main and Vapor + when I install it.

Image

I replaced the blinker ground dual connector with a 3-way, then made a lead coming off that with a two-way connector. This way both blinkers, headlight negative, and Vapor - can connect.

Image

Headlight works without any trouble, as does everything else. Now I have to wait for the Polisport Halo to come in from Germany (Europeans get the green ones), and some day the Vapor.

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Re: How to Modify Tusk Dual Sport Kit

Post by Mayor Brap Brap »

Well, I got it insured and registered yesterday (actually got a $25 refund for adding a second bike to the policy with full coverage and accessories on and offroad). I'm still in shock. :supz:

Going to attempt to get it inspected next week when the headlight comes in. Two things though--I don't have a brake light switch for the rear yet, and don't have an odometer/Trail Tech Vapor yet. Do I need either or both of those things?
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How to Modify Tusk Dual Sport Kit

Post by s10gto »

Brake light yes not sure on the rest for your state. my state ma. I need all.

I got a mechanical switch from baja kit I can hook you up with. The mount should be under the right panel. L mk.

I am a little concerned about the plastic tank but will see when I go next month.
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How to Modify Tusk Dual Sport Kit

Post by Mayor Brap Brap »

s10gto wrote:Brake light yes not sure on the rest for your state. my state ma. I need all.

I got a mechanical switch from baja kit I can hook you up with. The mount should be under the right panel. L mk.

I am a little concerned about the plastic tank but will see when I go next month.
Thanks man! Did you mean you have an extra mechanical one with spring? If so, I'd PayPal you for it. Did you get yours registered? Curious to see how Mass compares to Maine.
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How to Modify Tusk Dual Sport Kit

Post by s10gto »

Yup I got one with spring and the piece for lever. No need for $$. It's all yours. My 220 is reg. and insured. Mass you need everything. Even a chain guard. There is a way to reg. a dirtbike here but not fun. I got lucky and found this bike in NH Titled just not converted. :grin:

http://www.kdxrider.net/forums/viewtopi ... 86&t=17208

Send me your address to s10gto@verizon.net and will get it out Monday morning.

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