KrazyKooter
John
I had purchased two on/off/on rocker switches with LED illumination from Eastern Beaver. The first switch will be used with my Hella FF50 lights. The first On position will be always on and the second On position will be connected to a relay and be on only when the high-beam headlights are on. The second switch is connected to the Symtec heated grips. The heated grips have a Hi and Lo setting.
The Plan
The plan is to cut out a piece of 1/4 inch plywood the size of the speaker grill that will go behind the grill to make it a bit more sturdy. The switches will be mounted through the speaker grill and through the plywood.
Tools Used
Jigsaw, Dremel tool with cutting wheel, pencil, white charcoal pencil, black magic marker, screw driver, file, a blade for the jigsaw, and a small clamp.
The Process
The first step is to get a template of the speaker grill. I put a sheet of paper on the grill and used a pencil to transfer the speaker grill to the paper. Then, transferred that to a piece of 1/4 plywood and cut it out with a jigsaw.
This is the piece of plywood that has been cut.
I mark the cut-out for the switch on the plywood. Then the piece of plywood is clamped to the workbench. Use the Dremel to cut out the hole for the switch.
The hole has been cut. I used the jigsaw blade to clean up the hole that was cut. Since the cutting wheel on the Dremel is round, it doesn't always leave a clean cut.
Make sure the switch fits.
I cut the second hole for the second switch. With the first piece of plywood that I used, I ended up cracking it while cutting the second hole and had to start over. That will explain why this piece of plywood is shaped a bit differently. I was more careful this time. This is a test fitment of both switches. I did remove the first switch before cutting the second hole.
This is the rear of the switches.
This picture, and the next, are just to show the measurements of the holes. I like to use the metric measurements since they are more precise.
The Eastern Beaver website said these switches will fit in a hole that is 40mm X 20 mm.
I used the black magic marker to "paint" the face of the plywood. I didn't have any black paint, but that would work as well. I did this so that the wood would not show through the speaker grill. I only did this step on the front. After this, I used some Thompson's Water Seal and soaked the plywood in it to make it a bit more water resistant.
Remove the dash from the bike. I didn't take any pics of removing the dash. I may save that for another article. I then used a white charcoal pencil to trace the holes on the inside of the speaker grill.
I got this white charcoal pencil at a hobby store in the art section.
Now just cut the marks with the Dremel tool. I used the file to de-bur the edges of the cut speaker grill.
With everything cut out, I installed the switches. This is a rear-view shot.
Front view of the switches in the speaker grills.
This is the dash back in the bike and the switches are connected. The left switch is for the Hella FF50, and the right switch is for the Symtec heated grips. I did use some screws to secure the plywood to the speaker grill. I didn't have any black wood screws, so I just used the magic marker to black-out the screw heads.
Conclusion
The switches do look great. However, the switch on the right does interfere with the fairing pocket door. I can have the switch in the lower On position, but it will not go in the upper On position (Hi setting for the heated grips). The left switch works great. If I had to do this over again, I would put only one switch on the speaker grill and the other switch on the right speaker grill. But then again, if I were to do that, I might as well put the switches somewhere else. I thought that if I put them in the speaker grill, they could be together. There just isn't enough clearance.
The Plan
The plan is to cut out a piece of 1/4 inch plywood the size of the speaker grill that will go behind the grill to make it a bit more sturdy. The switches will be mounted through the speaker grill and through the plywood.
Tools Used
Jigsaw, Dremel tool with cutting wheel, pencil, white charcoal pencil, black magic marker, screw driver, file, a blade for the jigsaw, and a small clamp.
The Process
The first step is to get a template of the speaker grill. I put a sheet of paper on the grill and used a pencil to transfer the speaker grill to the paper. Then, transferred that to a piece of 1/4 plywood and cut it out with a jigsaw.
This is the piece of plywood that has been cut.
I mark the cut-out for the switch on the plywood. Then the piece of plywood is clamped to the workbench. Use the Dremel to cut out the hole for the switch.
The hole has been cut. I used the jigsaw blade to clean up the hole that was cut. Since the cutting wheel on the Dremel is round, it doesn't always leave a clean cut.
Make sure the switch fits.
I cut the second hole for the second switch. With the first piece of plywood that I used, I ended up cracking it while cutting the second hole and had to start over. That will explain why this piece of plywood is shaped a bit differently. I was more careful this time. This is a test fitment of both switches. I did remove the first switch before cutting the second hole.
This is the rear of the switches.
This picture, and the next, are just to show the measurements of the holes. I like to use the metric measurements since they are more precise.
The Eastern Beaver website said these switches will fit in a hole that is 40mm X 20 mm.
I used the black magic marker to "paint" the face of the plywood. I didn't have any black paint, but that would work as well. I did this so that the wood would not show through the speaker grill. I only did this step on the front. After this, I used some Thompson's Water Seal and soaked the plywood in it to make it a bit more water resistant.
Remove the dash from the bike. I didn't take any pics of removing the dash. I may save that for another article. I then used a white charcoal pencil to trace the holes on the inside of the speaker grill.
I got this white charcoal pencil at a hobby store in the art section.
Now just cut the marks with the Dremel tool. I used the file to de-bur the edges of the cut speaker grill.
With everything cut out, I installed the switches. This is a rear-view shot.
Front view of the switches in the speaker grills.
This is the dash back in the bike and the switches are connected. The left switch is for the Hella FF50, and the right switch is for the Symtec heated grips. I did use some screws to secure the plywood to the speaker grill. I didn't have any black wood screws, so I just used the magic marker to black-out the screw heads.
Conclusion
The switches do look great. However, the switch on the right does interfere with the fairing pocket door. I can have the switch in the lower On position, but it will not go in the upper On position (Hi setting for the heated grips). The left switch works great. If I had to do this over again, I would put only one switch on the speaker grill and the other switch on the right speaker grill. But then again, if I were to do that, I might as well put the switches somewhere else. I thought that if I put them in the speaker grill, they could be together. There just isn't enough clearance.
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