Where'd they hide the brake light plug - 17 ES

I'm going to install a Vizi-Tech brake light blinker. I've got two choices, tap the wiring near the light, or plug the unit into the tail unit lighting. The schematic shows it exists, but doesn't give a hint about its location. It's nowhere near the back of the bike. Where'd Yamaha hide it?

I'm not sure about the 2017 but the Vizi-Tech was plug and ride simple on my 2014 ES. There should be a wire harness connection plug that goes to the back of the bike located under the left side panel. I would have to take a look since its been a few years but I seem to remember clearly that the connection is behind the left side panel located under your left thigh. My Vizi -Tech required no further work than to unhook the connection and attach the Vizi-Tech module connectors in line. My Tenere was also this easy.

If there is no change in the bikes, all you have to do is remove the seats and left saddle bag.


remove left side panel by removing four Phillips head push pins and three 4mm allen head screws. Don't miss the push pin behind the center stand lift handle connecting the red tail piece to the silver side panel that faces up. After you have all the connectors removed, drop the front down from behind the gas tank skirt and slide the rear out by pulling it toward the front of the bike.


Remove this piece of black plastic connected by one Phillips head screw and two Phillips head push pins.


Now you can clearly see the tail light wire connection that was used to insert the Viz-Tech 2 in line under the left side panel. Disconnect the connector, insert the Viz-Tech in line making a nice loop to use up the excess wire, Secure the wires with wire ties, button it up, and select the flash profile you prefer.

Thanks! Now that I know where to look, I found it in the service manual - 2-45 & 46. That sorts out which connectors are in play. Maybe from '16 forward, there's a second, unused connector marked ...ready for this?... "Option parts (Air Bag Coupler)". Hmmm... Air bag fires, saving rider from forward impact. Rider removed rearward from motorcycle by expanded air bag. Rider impacts 18-wheeler grill. The mind boggles.

EDIT: Post about color codes deleted. The codes on the Vizi-tech module don't match the FJR harness, but the wires are in the right places.

I have no first-hand knowledge but you may want to confirm with Vizi-Tech that their product is compatible with your bike's LED set-up.

I had a similar problem with my Admore light harness, one side had no where to go. I emailed the company and within minutes they told me where to put it;-) got it plugged in and it works great. Take BigOgre's advice and you'll be smiling.

I've tried the supplier, but no reply to date. To be fair, this is basically a one-man operation. More than once personal matters have taken him off the air. No blame attaches.

However, I currently have a bike without a B panel and saddle. I'd like to reverse that ASAP. Until the module's installed, my bike will stay that way. Hence my question.

My ViziTech flasher is up and running. Ignore the scrambled color codes, and just plug the thing in. [/ scratching head ]

I spent a lot of time figuring out how to get the SupraBrake-3 to produce a serious light show when hitting the brakes. But I finally got there. The results are a sequence that starts with a 24 Hz blink rate (that's fast!) that decays down to solid on. Here's a good feature. There's a parameter called "Grace Period". During that period, the brakes do nothing but solid on. Which means that if you're stuck in traffic, the car behind doesn't see the light show every time you tap the brakes. The default time is 12 seconds. After that, the light show can start up again. Well, not quite. If you're tapping the brakes outside of the grace period but not by much, only a bit of the light show happens. Use the brakes more, and the flashing becomes shorter, with fewer flashes before reaching solid on. If traffic opens up and many minutes (or more) go by, getting on the brakes will give the whole light show. In short, the SB3 is "guy behind" friendly. Which is a good thing to avoid road rage.

After finally finding out where to SB3 connects to the wiring loom (hidden behind the B panel), unplug the only 6 pin connector there. Plug right gender SB3 plug into the right FJR connector (only one way this can go) and strap the (tiny or very small) module down with supplied cable ties. Button up and the installation is done.

Programming... whoo-boy. This is not blindingly obvious. The easy part is hit the brake lever or foot brake, turn on the ignition (don't need to start the motor) and waiit about 30 seconds. During the wait, at about 15 seconds there's a fast double blink. Ignore it. About 30 seconds out, the light will blink once (it's obvious), wait, blink twice, wait - right up to 6 blinks, and start again. These blinks say which attribute (I like parameter) is available to be changed. One blink means setting the grace time parameter.

Right after the blink(s) you want for a parameter, let go of the brakes. You're now able to set a value ("variable" in the manual) for that parameter. Any easy example: Get to parameter one (grace period) and let go of the handle, pull it back in and now wait until the brake light blinks 5 times. Let go of the brakes. Pull them back in and there's a series of quick blinks, That confirms a value has been programmed into the SB3.

Stick with grace period set to 5 blinks - 12 second grace period. Why is explained below.

Here's where life gets interesting. To program another parameter, turn off the ignition, grab the brakes, turn on the ignition, wait 30 seconds. Again. AFAIK there is no way to do two or more parameters in the same "after waiting 30 seconds" session. Go to parameter 2. (two blinks, brakes off and back on after the second blink). Hold the brakes in until 12 - yes, 12 - blinks go by. Release the brakes and the pull them back in. There's the same fast blinks showing the SB3 is programmed.

Key off, grab brakes, key on, wait for 3 blinks. Release brake, grab brake, wait for 10 blinks, brakes off, brakes on, fast blinks happen. Key off. The parameter is called "Modulation" and the value is "Berserk D". All you care about is the SB3 has a 12 second grace period, the warning blinks start with a fast blink rate which slows down until the brake light is full on. To see this, turn on the key (no brakes this time), wait at least 12 seconds (15 or 20 seconds is a good idea), and hit the brakes. Shazam! Light show!

Try different values for parameters 4 and 5. They change how long the show runs. An hour long brake light show is ...um... not a winner. Shorten things to what seems right.

Parameter 6 disables or enables the SB3. Set the value to 1 and the SB3 does whatever it's set to do. Set to value 2, the brake light works as it did before the SB3 was installed. This handy if your state inspection people don't like blinking brake lights. Disable SB3 until you have your new sticker, then go back to a blinking brake light. Woohoo!

If you have an incandescent brake light, high blink frequencies are going to blur together. The bulb doesn't switch on as fast as an LED. The SB3 will work with an incandescent lap, but think about shifting to an LED.

Here comes a weird thing... If you shorten the grace period, the entire blink sequence will shorten. I don't understand why this is so; it just is.

If you've made it this far, you should have some idea of what the SB3 can do. The decaying blink rate (the brake light is on longer and longer until the brake light is on 100%) is IMHO more noticeable than just a few blinks at the same rate. That's just my opinion, but there it is.

The SB3 isn't cheap - $115 with plugs for a specific bike. Somewhat less for pigtails for tapping into wires. Is the SB3 worth it? Mostly yes. The programming process and learning how to get the most out of the SB3 has a steep learning curve. If that's not your style, then the SB3 isn't for you. But if you want an aggressive, "in yo' face, mo' fo'!!", brake light modulator, welcome home. It's spendy but I think it's a case of "$5 helmet for a $5 head" only "$5 modulator for a $5 bike". YMMV