They do not have headlight relays (unless the 2020 models do as something new, but doubtful). The problems seem to be at the actual start button contacts after a number of years of use because the headlight current goes through it in order to turn the headlights off while the starter is engaged.

So, yes, relays are a good idea. I put old fashioned mechanical relays on mine, but the new normal is to use solid state relays that have no moving parts.

Cheers,
Glenn

 

The relay(s) are the way to go. Takes the load off the starter switch as slovcan indicated and your stock headlights will be brighter.

 

See Eastern Beaver (headlight relay kit) for a plug and play solution.

No affiliation but a satisfied customer.

 

See Eastern Beaver (headlight relay kit) for a plug and play solution.

No affiliation but a satisfied customer.




View attachment 276847

100% … I fitted the eastern beaver relay setup, plug and play, no more starter switch issues and headlights much brighter also

 

Relays take the load off the switch.

 

In "most stroms" the headlights turn off every time you hit the start button, that is a big load on a small switch with the problem being made worse with the twin headlights, the fix was to fit relays, this reduced the load on the start switch and the ignition switch.

I don't know of any start switch or ignition switch problems since they changed to a single headlight.

Check your headlight, there is a big chance it had a LED globe and this would reduce the risk even further.

 

Yeah, with LED headlight bulbs the electrical load is reduced by a very large amount on start up. You can run 2 led headlights on less wattage than 1 standard headlight draws. I went to led headlight bulbs on my 05 wee and have been told that I should have no problems with the start button or ign switch.

a guy I knew back in my an650 days paid over $400 when his ign switch went bad.

 

Another satisfied EB customer here.

In my case it was not the contacts in the handlebars that got burned. But it was both connectors where the handlebar looms connect to the main wiring loom. Which is a bitch to get to since you need to remove the tank, airbox and some other minor parts before you can even see the things.

The other advantage of relays is that it considerably shortens the wiring path. If you trace the headlight current from the battery to the headlight and back, it seems to be doing the grand tour of the bike. In fact, certain bits of bike are traversed no less than three times, and once more on the way back. Plus all the connectors and switches... A lot of voltage is lost along the way. With relays you reduce the path to the bare minimum, which leads to a higher voltage being delivered to the light bulbs. Which leads to brighter lights.