Replacing the indicators and tail light of a 2001-02 GSXR with LED versions

Major issue

The flasher relay supplied by 2a4 is not compatible with the stock 01/02 relay unit.  The stock unit handles the indicators in part, and other electrical components in part.  It has 7 pins, and the new one has 2 . . .   Oh well.

Steps:

1/ Remove the rear fairing.  Careful, there are two ’nail’ clips under the“hips” of the beast, at the back; to remove them, just push the centre pin in with a screwdriver, for example.

2/ Remove those horrible rear indicators, and keep the connectors (unless you’d rather buy connectors from a dealer and sell the stock parts on eBay).  Yes, I know, the indicators leave a pentagonal hole, but hey . . .   I thought of fitting little fins like on the roof of BMWs . . .   But hey . . .

3/ Remove the stock tail light (4 screws), and screw in the new one.

4/ Connect the tail light via the ribbon cable, and the indicators using just the live wire of each (for me, a green one for the right, a black one for the left).
Only one wire is needed, as the other terminal is earthed to the bike through the ribbon cable connected earlier.  To connect the indicators, rework your stock connectors (neatly!), so as to make something solid and clean.
Make sure you insulate the bare wires properly, otherwise short circuit coming soon . . .   :-)

5/ Now try the new rear wiring by switching the ignition on.  Yes, I know, it flashes too fast.  That’s normal, as there’s less load than before; we’ll sort that out, but at least you can refit the rear fairing now.
Do a neat job please.  Use cable ties to make tidy bundles.  Tuck the bundles neatly behind the glovebox.

6/ Unscrew the“armpits” of the front fairing so you can reach the front indicators (I had a hell of a time, as the screws were impossible to undo, and impossible to put back).
Note that I didn’t say“remove”, I said“unscrew”, because there’s no need to take everything off.
Each panel has three screws, and I’ll tell you straight away, it’s no picnic, but it can be done.

7/ Remove the front indicators (frankly horrible, let’s be honest), and once again, cut off the male connectors to reuse them, or sell them on eBay.
While you’re on a roll (not a sausage roll though), connect the small front LED indicators to the stock male connectors.  Plug in and screw your indicators on once and for all.  Refit the“armpits” after testing the whole system.

8/ All very nice, but it flashes too fast.  Why? Because the relay is designed to flash at 85 times a minute when it sees a very low resistance (stock bulbs), not the 34 ohms of the LED light.
You’ll notice that 2a4 provides fairly complete documentation.  They supply the relay wiring, with terminal B going to V+ after ignition, and terminal L to the common of the switchgear.  All that’s left is to work out the wiring of the stock 7-pin socket, and make the right connections.
I’ll spare you the details, but there’s a logical way to get there, with a multimeter and above all your head.

Here’s a solution: remove the stock relay unit, sit on the bike, and look at the 7-pin socket.  If you call 1 the top left pin, and 7 the bottom right pin, then pin 6 is the switchgear common (so it’s the middle right one, ok?), and pin 7 is V+ after ignition.  All you“just” have to do is connect wires to pins 6 and 7, neatly, and run them to terminals L and B of the new relay respectively, then neutralise pin 6 of the stock unit, and plug the stock unit back onto the lot.
It’s up to you how you connect these wires (strip them over 10 mm at the connector end and at the relay end, and get some crimp terminals to connect them neatly to the 2a4 relay).
Personally, I went through the top of the stock socket, as it’s full of holes like Swiss cheese, and I used a minimum of wire so I could bundle it up super discreetly on top.  I cut pin 6 off the stock unit with side cutters, and held the 2a4 relay with an elastic strap to the stock“coat hanger”, but right at the front.
If you’re nifty, you can spread the coat hanger a little, and deliberately miss that side with the stock unit, so as to keep the front of the coat hanger for the new relay’s strap.

And there you go, it’s finished, everything works perfectly . . .
WARNING: you can check that your new system flashes properly with just your bare wires, without plugging the stock unit in, but it is important to plug the stock unit back in at the end, as it handles other components essential to the bike’s operation.

Problems you may come across

The wires you connect to the stock socket (the fixed 7-pin socket) may pop out unpredictably, or make a poor contact.  So when you plug the stock unit back on top, the indicators light up but don’t flash . . .   Or the opposite, they don’t work at all; I know, it’s not easy, but you can absolutely plug the stock unit on top of the socket holding your two extra wires already in holes 6 and 7 . . .   Yes, really, I promise.

Good luck, and ride hard!