Auxiliary Lights Options


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Marthy

World Most Bad A$$ 6R
Elite Member
I've been looking around and searching for few days for a few good options as far as auxiliary lights. If you have some give us a quick review of what you got and where it is install.

In my case I tried a set of Advance Auto Parts fog lights for $25.00. I mounted them on the lower triple three with a custom bracket. I aim them to give me a wider range of vision. I liked them a lot.

They didn't last, that's what you get for $25.00! But that was a cheap test to make sure I need it or like it. The 2 x 55W Halogen fog light were drawing a bit too much juice too. It was ok (I think) if I use them on low beam but after 30-45 minutes at freeway speed I could see the high beam start flickering. Stop and go... that kill the battery! I had to bump start the bike.
 

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BoneJj

Well-Known Member
Marthy said:
I've been looking around and searching for few days for a few good options as far as auxiliary lights. If you have some give us a quick review of what you got and where it is install.

In my case I tried a set of Advance Auto Parts fog lights for $25.00. I mounted them on the lower triple three with a custom bracket. I aim them to give me a wider range of vision. I liked them a lot.

They didn't last, that's what you get for $25.00! But that was a cheap test to make sure I need it or like it. The 2 x 55W Halogen fog light were drawing a bit too much juice too. It was ok (I think) if I use them on low beam but after 30-45 minutes at freeway speed I could see the high beam start flickering. Stop and go... that kill the battery! I had to bump start the bike.
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Those had to be murder on your charging system. Be very careful about adding new electrical devices to a bike as the charging system can get fried and then you have to pen the engine to fix it.

The only good system out there that wont affect your charging system is the clearwater lights.
Products List

They are expensive but you will have load of light and can set them up a number of ways. Also they are adjustable so you can add in more light on the back roads and take it down on the main roads.
 
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BoneJj

Well-Known Member
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dart1963

Super Moderator
Elite Member
BoneJj said:
actually I just found a cheaper system that will help with just noticeability of a rider.

BikeVis Store | BikeVis PodMod Modulator

They are obviously not a US company but they do offer international shipping. I might actually order a set of those after a I get my check I'm waiting on.
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he's not looking to "be seen", he looking for better lighting so he can see the road. We had that discussion when he drove thru the area... the aux lights help fill the dark spots where the stock beam sorta falls off. I found a couple of 10W LED on ebay for around $20, but it's hard to tell how the beam pattern is without actually ordering them... since it's on my list, but at the bottom, I haven't gotten to ordering them yet.


here is the link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/120771260188?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
 
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BoneJj

Well-Known Member
dart1963 said:
he's not looking to "be seen", he looking for better lighting so he can see the road. We had that discussion when he drove thru the area... the aux lights help fill the dark spots where the stock beam sorta falls off.
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in that case he's more than likely going to want to spend the bucks on the clearwater system. They are expensive but do put out a good amount of light to see a lot more of the road.

But I do like those little bikevis leds, I think we all should have something like that on our bikes to make it easier for the other idiots to see us coming.

The problem with a lot of those ebay LEDs is that they don't have good heatsinks and tend to cook themselves pretty quick and if they have a temp sensor they will reduce power and then shut off until they cool down.
 
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BoneJj

Well-Known Member
actually, looking around on bikevis, they also have a set of auxiliary lights available at a much lower cost and they look like they have some good heatsinking on them.

BikeVis Store | BikeVis Cree LED Auxiliary Lights

Certainly worth a look, I haven't found any videos on them just yet though, but there is a video on their site that may have a couple of them in there, I didn't read the description all that well.
 
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BoneJj

Well-Known Member
Also I forgot to mention rigid industries, they have some very high powered LED systems for bikes as well but they tend to run even higher in the price range than most others but they are certainly worth looking at as well, they are LED systems.

There are a lot of options out there but the price tag on them never seems to be very kind on the pocket.
 
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bleedinblue

Senior Member
Elite Member
I would of tried a similar set to start with Marthy, in fact I think I have a $20 pair in the shed lol.Thanks for the heads up.

My grip heaters are #1, waiting until they are on and faithfully working before I add any additional electrical devices (doing that over the weekend).But im right behind you, im half blind in daylight lol.

Lumen is a scary word to me, its just hard to tell how a products lumen's will spread out until its applied.Im a electrician, when I work on something like a elevator shaft the safety inspector will usually measure the lumen's that are at the doorways to the shaft (on the emergency circuit).There are laws about it, gotta be able to see through smoke and doublecheck that your really stepping into a elevator I guess lol.

Its the biggest headache in the world.I install what the architects/engineers tell me to, and they can never estimate lumens properly.The manufacturers dont measure the same way or something.I usually add a few can lights before inspection and still fail the lumen test alot.1000 lumens measured at the fixture ends up only being a few hundred at ground level half of the time.


"The difference between the units lumen and lux is that the lux takes into account the area over which the luminous flux is spread. A flux of 1000 lumens, concentrated into an area of one square metre, lights up that square metre with an illuminance of 1000 lux. The same 1000 lumens, spread out over ten square metres, produces a dimmer illuminance of only 100 lux. Mathematically, 1 lx = 1 lm/m2.

A source radiating a power of one watt of light in the color for which the eye is most efficient (a wavelength of 555*nm, in the green region of the optical spectrum) has luminous flux of 683 lumens. So a lumen represents at least 1/683 watts of visible light power, depending on the spectral distribution."
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumen_(unit)

With that being said, all you can do is keep trying until you find a light combo that properly fills the road the way you want it to.Fzwhite has his Xmas deal going on right now, wich would give you extreme clarity for sure.Regardless of how far the lumen's are measured from the source, they are known to be bright by forum members.

After that you would only need more light towards the shoulder of the road.Dualsport lights might be perfect for that since they are made to light up a wide area.Something like these

Trail Tech Equinox LED Single Light Kit w/Post Mount | Dirt Bike | Rocky Mountain ATV/MC
4 LED lights in a compact 2x2 package that can be used for anything from a reverse light on a truck, a handlebar light on a motorcycle, to a flood light on a trailer.
1000 lumens of light, this small light has the same output as a 50W MR16.
Pulls only 10W - you won't find a more efficient, HID or Halogen light.
This light pulls half of what your stock turn signals use.

Fzwhites retrofit, with something like those should be well worth $400 max.I havent researched the power consumption of the projector though, im assuming it draws around the same as the oem assembly.
 
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MichaelInVenice

Lot of Class, Mostly Low
Elite Member
There are lots of different LED systems, from lots of manufacturers and retailers. PIAA and Hella are at the top of the list in terms of price. The Denali system sold by TwistedThrottle is also quite up there in price. Cheaper ones (usually described as "floodlights" because they're not certified for on-road use) are available from all over the place. There is a lot of discussion of these on ADVrider and on some of the adventure bike forums. If you're interested in aux lighting, I'd say a search on ADVrider is probably your best place to start. It's the kind of thing those guys really know well.

This guy did an interesting job on his V-strom. 1800s high up, 550s low down: LED driving Lights - Stromtrooper Forum : Suzuki V-Strom Motorcycle Forums Think you may need to register to see the images and lighting patterns though.

He used these. Claims 15K miles with no trouble: Lighting / Electrical - Real Time Industries

I have a set of the Bikevis bullets, which are sold in the US by WhiteHorseGear.com and have found two things:

1) They're not all that reliable. Had to have one replaced and apparently that's a common problem. Supposedly they've gotten a better Chinese supplier of cheap LEDs that has solve the problems.

2) They are definitely not "auxiliary lighting" but do make you more recognizable.

I have seen some cheaper LED "fog" or "auxiliary" lights at the local auto parts stores. Can't vouch for quality though.
 
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Marthy

World Most Bad A$$ 6R
Elite Member
Thanks a lot of all the great info. More than I need...lol I'll check all those options and should pick one up soon.
 
M

Marthy

World Most Bad A$$ 6R
Elite Member
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flyingminno

New Member
Marthy, did you get the driving or the wide spread? I've been looking around for a light that casts the beam far rather than wide, so your input would be appreciated.
 
M

Marthy

World Most Bad A$$ 6R
Elite Member
flyingminno said:
Marthy, did you get the driving or the wide spread? I've been looking around for a light that casts the beam far rather than wide, so your input would be appreciated.
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I got the Flood ones. The beam is 245M long by 30M wide (60M with 2 lights)

For my application what I need is to fill the blind spot when I run the high beam headlight. Short distance and wide. When I ride in the middle of nowhere in darkness I want to see what's going on on the side too. Be amaze how many deer I've seen with those one on the side of the freeway. The high beam is sufficient for the pace I'm riding.

For more info:

Spot version, the beam is 400M long and 20M wide. So I feel you give up a lot with those ones just to see 150M more.

I'll give everyone a fair review with pics.
 
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flyingminno

New Member
Wow, that's definitely something to keep in consideration. I would definitely love to see pics when you have the chance!
 
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Chevyfazer

New Member
My old man has a set of rigid lights and I have never in my life scene anything as bright as them!!! They are expensive but for what you get, worth every penny!
 
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BoneJj

Well-Known Member
How did you mount your lights? I've been looking at them and can't seem to find a good method for mounting the lights.
 

M

Marthy

World Most Bad A$$ 6R
Elite Member
BoneJj said:
How did you mount your lights? I've been looking at them and can't seem to find a good method for mounting the lights.
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I made a bracket and hook it up on the horn bolt. Worked good, just not sure if Ill install those the same way. Theyre a bit bigger...

Sent from my LG-P925 using Tapatalk 2
 
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