This is a quick walk-through for wiring a Kuryakyn run/turn/brake (RTB) controller (Kuryakyn #4710) to a VTX. Honda generally uses the same color codes for most of their bikes, so it’s very likely accurate or at least very close to most other Honda motorcycles as well.

Required Tools/Materials

• Kuryakyn #4710 RTB unit
• Wire cutters
• Connector crimp tool
• Soldering iron & solder
• Heat shrink tubing or electrical tape
• (Optional) 3 bullet and 3 sleeve style OEM connectors

Process

Remove the right side cover from the bike, find the wire harness with all the rear signal wires (see pic to right) and then locate and unplug the following colored wires:

• Light blue – right turn signal
• Orange – left turn signal
• Black w/ brown stripe – running lights
• Green w/ yellow stripe – brake lights
• Green – ground

All these wires are plugged into matching colored wires (orange to orange, etc.) so it’s ok to just unplug them – you don’t have to pay attention to the connections.

Now you need to decide if you’re going to use the supplied connectors that came with the Kuryakyn unit or if you want to go to an auto parts store and buy bullet/sleeve connectors that match the stock connectors. A better question is – do you want to cut and replace the connectors on the bike or do you want to cut and replace the connectors on the RTB unit? My personal opinion is that I’d rather cut and replace the RTB unit connectors, but this is your decision to make.

“Bullet” style connector

“Sleeve” style connector

From the factory, the bike has “bullet” and “sleeve” style connectors, so I will use these terminals as a reference to be certain we’re talking about and handling the proper wires.

When I refer to wires going to the rear of the bike I am referring to the wires that have “bullet” style connectors. These are the wires that go into the fender and to the taillights.

When I refer to wires that come from the front of the bike I am referring to the wires that have “sleeve” style connectors. These are the wires that do NOT go towards the rear fender.

With your decision made on which style connectors you want to use the only thing left is to do is explain the connections. This unit uses the same wire colors for both input and output so it’s very important that you pay close attention to the little labels on the wires so that you don’t confuse the input and output wires. I’ll reiterate once more that “rear of bike” refers to the wires coming from (or going to) the rear fender while “front of bike” means the other set of wires. This table shows the color coded connections:

Wiring Connections for Kuryakyn Run/Turn/Brake unit
Rear of bike	RTB			Front of bike
		Input brake (red)	>	Green w/ yellow stripe
		Input left turn (purple)	>	Orange
		Input right turn (brown)	>	Light blue
Green w/ yellow stripe	<	Output brake (red)
Orange	<	Output left turn (purple)
Light blue	<	Output right turn (brown)
		Power (blue)	>	Black w/ brown stripe
		Ground (black)	>	Green

The input and output wires are simple to match up. Just pick any wire from the RTB unit and then attach it to whatever wire is listed for the bike, front or rear. When you get to the power and ground wires for the RTB, things are a little more involved than just plugging in connectors. Kuryakyn recommends using their vampire connectors to get power to the unit, but you may want to read my article on the problems with tap connectors before you decide. If you still want to use the T-tap connectors then go for it. If you think soldering is the way to go, then do yourself a favor and add your own inline splice with a soldering iron and a “pigtail”. Check out this picture for an idea of what I’m talking about – strip back a section of the insulation on the black w/ brown stripe wire and add a “pigtail” wire by soldering a short bit of wire to it. After it’s soldered make sure and heat shrink or tape the joint so it’s safe and protected from the elements. It should be easy to just plug the RTB’s blue power wire directly into the bike’s black w/ brown stripe wire now.

This now leaves us with only the RTB’s 2 black ground wires. I don’t really understand why Kuryakyn decided that this device needed 2 grounds, but whatever… You can attach these 2 black ground wires to any of the green ground wires in this same bundle of wires anyway you see fit as long as they get grounded – connectors, solder, pigtails, etc, just don’t use vampire clips.

Kuryakyn’s directions mention the possibility of “interference” with the RTB unit caused by wiring directly to these grounds. As a result they recommend a chassis ground. I can tell you that I’ve never had an issue with an RTB by wiring directly to the green ground wires. I mean the green grounds are attached directly to chassis grounds themselves! But, if you are concerned you might be that one person with a problem or if you actually ARE having a problem you can always attach these grounds to the secondary battery ground that is just under the seat only a few inches from where you’re working under the side cover (see pic to right).

Options
The RTB unit has a flashing brake light option. There is a little plastic tab sticking out of the unit labeled “Flashing.” If you leave this tab installed then every time you hit the brakes, the signals will flash 5 or 6 times before staying on solid. If you don’t like this feature then remove the “Flashing” tab to disable it.

This kit also comes complete with a simple plug & play load equalizer, so if you installed LED signals or are in need of a load equalizer rather than a replacement flasher you’ve got it made. The equalizer just plugs right into a small white connector on the RTB unit, no wiring necessary.