TOPIC:

I've been thinking for some time of mounting some running/road lights under my headlights. I'm in the need of changing my handle bar switch gear since the factory ones are now hitting my tank. I ordered what looks like some decent units from Amazon along with a throttle assembly that should reduce the the twist to WOT. The right side switch set has light switches that the original doesn't have so i figured good enough excuse as any to put some lights on.

Anyone else doing it and and what are you using and how/where are you mounting them?

If the new throttle requires less twist to open the carbs all the way be careful when you first ride. I put a "quick throttle" on my BSA and the first bump in the road I hit caused me to snap the throttle wide open - suddenly I was off to the races! I got used to the throttle after a while so it wasn't a long term problem. Ed

650ed wrote: If the new throttle requires less twist to open the carbs all the way be careful when you first ride. I put a "quick throttle" on my BSA and the first bump in the road I hit caused me to snap the throttle wide open - suddenly I was off to the races! I got used to the throttle after a while so it wasn't a long term problem. Ed

Yep, I'm aware of that issue. There was even a warning on the listing.

I just checked my order and it's projected delivery is as far out as 4 weeks I must have misread when I ordered but, oh well, looks like a good unit. At least i can get the left side squared away first which is the bigger problem. Gives me some time to hunt down some lights, I'm not sure I'm seeing anything I like for my budget and purpose....

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationNo eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationI've got a set of running lights mounted to the fairing of my 650C2.
They were a cheap $12 set from Princess Auto.

They do drain the battery if left on a long time.
I added a voltmeter to monitor the battery voltage, and shut the driving lights off when voltage gets low.
I'd then let the voltage climb, and turn the lights back on when needed.
Through intersections I will turn them on in advance to be seen better.

I have since bought an HID headlight.
Now I don't use the running lights much at all, as the HID lights up night time riding really well, and uses less power than the H4 Halogen headlight I was using.

The HID light:


And a harness with relay:

Nice, I've been looking at LED that top out at 13.5w so battery and alternator load will be minimal. There are absolutely no additional accessories wired right now so I'm not worried.

I'd like to know what others have used and any issues they've had as well. I'd like to put 1 or 2 light below the head light but I'm worried about the the suspension bottoming out and getting smacked by the fender unless they are smaller units. I'm also trying to explore other locations by seeing where others have mounted theirs successfully.

Anyone else?

I have everything in. I've done a little bit of eyeball mocking up and my lights either don't fit where I'd like them or I don't like where they'd fit unless I haven't thought of something. I have set possible set ups but I'd have to do some rearranging.

I have duel element turn signals I put LED's in and Led lights all around.
Steve

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Steve

I went out to the garage, put ratchet straps on the handle bars and pulled the forks down to the stops. I then played around with the lights I have. They came in some funky cage style mounting apparatus and if I take one half of it off and use some U-bolts they will probably mount well where i put the white dots under the headlight. They should be perfectly safe even at full fork compression. This is where I was originally thinking of putting them but I wasn't sure they'd fit.





The other choice is mounting them where the side reflectors are, just above the horns behind the oil cooler but I'd rather they be on the forks.

Any other ideas or examples to consider?

If you can mount them further away from the headlight oncoming traffic will see you better.
I read a study where they said people had a hard time judging the speed of an oncoming motorcycle with a single headlight.
Having two additional driving lights spaced further out made the oncoming motorcycle more visible, and a lot easier to judge it's speed and distance.


To be seen even better at night, I added some reflective tape to the front and sides of the bike.
The tape is black, but reflects white when light shines on it.
You can see it on my bike far right:

I put the reflective tape on the windshield, mirrors, fork lowers, and the last pieces of the roll on the frame near the side covers:

I save the link last time you showed them. Damn good idea. The shark teeth gets me every time.
Steve

rstnick wrote: If you can mount them further away from the headlight oncoming traffic will see you better.
I read a study where they said people had a hard time judging the speed of an oncoming motorcycle with a single headlight.
Having two additional driving lights spaced further out made the oncoming motorcycle more visible, and a lot easier to judge it's speed and distance...

Interesting, makes sense.

This is the most "streetfighter-ish" location I can think of. The aesthetics of anywhere else sucks.The only way to put them further apart is to move them outboard of the fork tubes and relocate the blinkers to another location but I don't know where. The best alternative is where the reflectors are but they would be behind the forks and might obstruct part of the light diminishing benefit to me in darkness.