Driving Lights

[greer]

I think I'd like to have a set, but I feel a bit overwhelmed when I look at all the options for types of lights, hardware, mounting points and so forth; also I nearly croaked when I checked some of the prices. I thought maybe it'd be best to see if any of you had upgraded and had a used set for sale. I'll post on the Buy, Sell, Trade forum. I'd also be interested to hear any of your suggestions. Thanks, Sarah

[BMWkidd]

Hi! Sarah,

This is how I set up the driving lights.

Go to Automotive Accessories Connection - click and get a pair of PIAA 004XT for $127.30.


Mount them underside of the Oil Cooler Covers.

This photo shows how I used the well-nuts to mount the lights. Conventional bolt/nut may hit the coolers.

They are very bright and I seldom use them.


But they are a godsend when you go down to Mexican Hat on the Mokee Dugway in a moonless night.

Cheers!
Paul

[greer]

Hi Paul, thanks very much for the detailed pictures of your lights and of the scenery! We've got some dark roads in KY with tight curves and lots of deer, possums, racoons...Where do most folks put their switch? Can I use 55W lights, heated grips, and my Gerbing jacket liner all at the same time? What if I also add a Stebel horn? Sorry to be such a pain. Thanks Paul, and anybody else who'll chime in. Sarah

[Acacia]

Driving lights- what kind of light output?

Most lights are just that - lights. Bulbs of various kinds and fasionable colors produce the light ,but it is the reflectors and lenses that do the work of putting that light output where you want it.

There is little to no discussion to the shape and throw of the actual beam they produce. Distance, width? Those that have properly designed reflectors and lenses for distance are usually at least 6" in diameter and are likely to turn your 50R into Micky Mouse. Bosch, Hella, Piaa are all good makes.

Then on the other hand, lights as a fasion statement? Like loud pipes so that you can supposedly be seen and heard?

I have elected to go for an upgrade to the headlight - 55/100w bulb. Simple, effective and no modifications.

[greer]

I have that fancy blue-looking $45 PIAA bulb, but I still feel like I over-ride my headlight in tight curves. Sarah

[Optimus Prime]

I just mounted a set of PIAA P-1000XT on some custom Oilhead brackets the local BMW wrench makes and sells through adeventures workshop. I've got pictures on my home PC of the setup, but I just bought a house and everything is still a mess.

Anyways, the lights are a Godsend. Very, very bright. Easy to wire with the included harness. plus the mounting position give a very solid "triangle" of light. I would say these lights are as bright as any high beams I've driven, cager or bike.. Check out this thread for a good installation write-up done by Gord

http://www.r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.p ... light=piaa

I got mine at autoanything.com for $189 shipped.

[touchton]

Sarah,

I installed a set of Motolights (75w) to my R a few weeks ago. Made a big difference in nightime driving. Mine are mounted to the brake caliper bolts. They're a bit on the pricy side, though.

I mounted the switch on the black plastic cover that's just under the gas tank on the right side. Didn't use the stock switch that comes with the Motolights as it was too big. My intent is to use the Motolights all the time. The switch is only there for the rare instance where I want to turn them off. I also have a switch mounted there to control the garage door opener.

As to your horn concerns, I've changed mine as well. I have dual FIAAM horns mounted under the beak. Real neat and clean installation. And, they sound like an old Buick!

Thad

[Acacia]

Sarah,

I am not a lighting engineer. I have however over many years used extra lighting on vehicles.

Color of the bulb is often a fashion statement - also at a price. If the color is the result the temperature of the fillament, then there is a difference. The naturally whiter and bluer the hotter. Merely tinting the cover glass is -just that - like laundry advertising - 'ours is whiter than yours!' Wattage is an important factor too - obviously 100w is a lot more energy being converted to light than 55w.

Most reputable manufacturers of lights will tell you what the light pattern is of their respective unit. Fog, driving, pencil are some terms. Some pencil beams are listed as a throw of up to 600 feet and more - driving -usually in the 400 ft range. The really good long range ones ones are listed for off-hwy. and are not DOT approved - and can get into the $800 range.

More light is just that and that is easy to get. Having the light where you have decided you want it is more difficult. Tight curves - sounds like you need the 'driving' spread. Research there.

Acacia

[dallara]

Hey, Acacia...

I run a PIAA 80/80 in my R-1150-R headlamp most of the time, but sometimes use an MTec 100/90 or even an Osram 130/100. I usually end up back at the PIAA 80/80... Why? Because with the damnable design of the OEM Bosch headlamp in our Roadsters extra light output doesn't seem to help. The beam cut-off and spread of the Bosch lens, IMHO, is just terrible.

So I added some extra lights... Maybe this will help you, Sarah.

First, here's the custom brackets we made because I didn't like the RCU's brackets (the black one in the picture, and the same type Gord used...)



The lights shown are PIAA 1100X's driving lights (long, pencil beam), and I dumped their cheesy palstic mounting bracket for some Micatech ones also in the picture (just between the PIAA and the bracket on the right).

This how they look mounted up:



Then I mounted up a set of Hella Micro DE fog lamps (wide, low beam) up under the oil cooler covers:



This how the set-up looks from the front:



I use a BMW R-1200-C foglight switch assembly on the right handlebar to turn 'em on and off:



This switch allows me to turn each set of lights on and off for when I don't want them running. I also wired it up where the PIAA 1100X "driving lights" only come on with the high beam of the headlight, and the Hella Micro DE "fog" lights only come on with the low beam... In other words, never are all four accessory lights burning at one time.

Installation was pretty painless. I simply cut the switches off the PIAA and Hella light harnesses, unsoldered the wires coming out of the BMW switches, figured out what PIAA and Hella wires neded to go were on the BMW switches, and soldered them up. I even rigged it so the LED's in the BMW switches light up when each switch's appropriate set of lights are on.

Hope this helps!

Cheers!

Dallara

[camfarm]

Sarah,

1st consideration is what for? Conspicuity? Cornering and hi speed night riding on narrow, 2 lane? General illumination for down the road on highways? You get the idea. Decide that first.

2nd Above posts discuss light output and such very well. So determine what your requirement is for that - overdriving low beam, corner illumination, hi beam supplement, etc.

3rd - know the law in KY for how many and how aimed your MC lights can be. In Virginia it is 6 lights maximum; only 4 on at a time. Low beam must cutoff (not blind or glare) within 500 ft of oncoming traffic.

4th Brand and attachment point. After answering the above, you will have narrowed down to the right choices. Generally, the arguments against PIAA are cost and operation expenses - bulbs are pricey and not particularly long lived. Motolights are sexy and reports state that they provide good cornering lighting when mounted to the lower fork or brake caliper mounts but also can be poorly aimed from that low and result in more oncoming drivers flashing you. Expensive to buy and mount, less expensive than PIAA to operate. Advance Auto driving light specials - the no name kind are great for conspicuity but not much else.

5th Wiring matters. Either read up on that alot yourself or plan for a pro installation and extra cost.

My old solution was cheap conspicuity lights under the oil coolers. My new solutions is SignalMinder with the parking lights on running light option for conspicuity. When I ride at night it is highway (wide, well maintained and with lots of reflectors everywhere) and very little backroads. So cornering light is not missed.

Just a few stray thoughts. Good luck in your efforts.

MHC

[greer]

Thanks for the info everybody; thanks especially Paul and Dallara for the pictures. Do most folks choose 55W driving lights? A fellow has offered to sell me a new set of PIAA 001 H3 35W lights for $65. So far I haven't found any info on those and I wondered if 35W would be bright enough. Thanks again, Sarah

[dallara]

Sarah said:

Do most folks choose 55W driving lights? A fellow has offered to sell me a new set of PIAA 001 H3 35W lights for $65. So far I haven't found any info on those and I wondered if 35W would be bright enough. Thanks again, Sarah

Depends on what you want the lights for...

If all you want them for is conspicuity - i.e. being seen by other drivers more readily - then 35 watts should be fine.

On the other hand, if you really want to be able to throw more light out there at night to see where you're going better, then you want to hang all the wattage you can get away with on there.

Now, about PIAA 001 lights specifically... Note that these are PIAA lowest line model, and are literally of all-plastic construction. They probably use only 35 watt bulbs due to this all-plastic construction, so they won't melt due to heat. Their lenses and reflectors are very, very simply, and as such their beam is not very well defined. For conspicuity use, however, they would be fine.

They would not be my pick for additional vision enhancement at night, though.

Not only that, but your friend is hitting you pretty hard asking $65.00 for his PIAA 001's... No offense, but you can buy brand new sets for as little as $20.00 a pair, plus shipping...

Like here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PIAA-001 ... enameZWDVW

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PIAA-001 ... enameZWDVW

Of course, you have to bid on those...

You can do the "Buy It Now" deal for $29.99 plus $9.99 shipping ($39.98 total to your door...) from the same guy. See here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PIAA-001 ... enameZWD1V

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PIAA-001 ... enameZWD1V

Just FYI on the pricing...

Hella FF50's are pretty cost effective, yet do a great job of providing a good beam spread and light output for night riding, and are easy to mount and wire up.

I can highly recommend one online dealer for them - Susquehanna Motorsports - as I have bought a bunch of stuff from them over the years and they have great customer service. You can pick up a set of Hella FF50's from them for around $80.00. I bought my Hella Micro DE's from them, BTW.

See them at http://www.rallylights.com/ and specifically see the Hella FF50's at:

http://www.rallylights.com/hella/ff050.asp

However, you can find brand new sets of Hella FF50's all day long on e-Bay for as little as $25.00, so you should shop around for them. Hella FF50's come in two lense patterns - "Driving" for a long distance, pencil-type beam, and "Fog" for a more spread out, diffused beam - so please note which one you want and make sure that is what you are getting whereever you might buy some.

Hella stuff is super-well made, and will last you for years to come. The FF50's are my pick for cost/benefit ratio and mounting ease.

Hope this helps!

Dallara

[rdsmith3]

Yes, I had recommended the Hella FF50's also in the same topic that is in the Buy/Sell forum.

They are well constructed and come complete with switch, relays, etc.

[greer]

Thank you very much Allan. I'm brand new to the whole idea of driving lights and don't know beans. I care most about seeing around the tight curves and seeing the deer coming up along the sides of the road. Knowing that, should I pick driving or fog type on the Hellas? Sorry to keep coming at you with questions, thanks for your patience. Sarah

[greer]

Thank you too Bob, I knew I'd seen the FF50's mentioned somewhere else. Sarah

[Gord]

Dallara - I LOVE your multi light set up. I sense a wintertime project to keep me and my bike in close contact while the snow flies.

Optimus - you flatter me

[rdsmith3]

you want driving lights

[xaque]

I'm going to be installing some running and fog lights....

I'm been looking at the two-in-one jobs...

Something in the spirit of this:


http://www.piaa.com/Lamps/Lamp-pages/p-4000.html

Anybody with this type of setup?

I figure it would be cleaner and nicer to install these on my crash bars instead of trying to find two mounting locations on each side. (the crash bar mount locations is *exactly* the level I want the lights....)

I'm also planning on wiring them like this:



NOTE* That is "switched power" so I wont be able to leave the lights on without the bike running and thus drain the battery.

Hell, if the weather is too miserable to ride, I might as well put on some music a re-wire the whole thing!



-Xaque-

[Hiker]

Some thanks from me, too.
These questions and replies are great for everyone.

I don't PLAN to do night riding, but I'm sure I'll get caught at dusk eventually. Nice to know the options available if you don't want to spend a fortune.

Especially thanks for the pictures.

Hiker

[CycleRob]

I surfed the driving light choices and also gasped at the PIAA prices. I put off the purchase decision until I was in Harbor Freight's Allentown store and saw a $20, half price sale on pot metal Aluminum driving lights with 55W bulbs. I then bought a new Autoswitch on the Net for over $28. I installed the lights under the coolers with the mounting bolts facing downward so the first nut is tightened just snug to the plastic. Then the bracket goes on and the 2nd nut goes real tight against the 1st nut. This gives a tight, never loosen fit to the plastic without crushing it. Check out my pic:

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/gallery/446661/3/12316087

After using the lites at night, the 1.6 second reaction pause the Autoswitch normally has after the cancel button is pressed was too slow for pop-up over the hill oncoming cars. I was blinding them. Then a simple solution hit me while sleeping. Two blocking diodes, 1 from the relay coil to the Autoswitch relay power wire and the 2nd one from the (salvaged) relay coil to the bikes high beam power wire. The diodes isolate the two from each other so the Autoswitch can turn the driving lights on without putting on the bike's high beam. The high beam switch will also turn on the driving lights simultaneously with the high beam without feeding potentially damaging 14V power to the autoswitch's control circuitry. Naturally, the (salvaged) diodes have to be installed with the right polarity in the circuit and removing the junction box's cover to wire in the Autoswitch and 2 diodes is a real PITA. One big plus about the Autoswitch - - - if you shut the bike off with the DL's on (by the Autoswitch), they do not come on the next time you start the bike. Cool.

I got the lights mainly for lighting up backroad corners at night. I also use them for safer daytime riding, with the bike's low beam, to be seen. I found that oncoming cars/trucks/SUV's treat me like an emergency vehicle. They won't pull out or turn left in front of me, even when there's plenty of time to do so. Using the high beam with the driving lights seemed to be too offensive.

OK, let's review. I got a pair of normal headlight dispersal pattern, functional quality driving lights. They are powerful enough to almost blind oncoming cars in the daytime. They are controlled two different, user friendly ways. They always go off with the key . . . and I did it all for under $50 and a few hours leisure installation time. There wasn't any lifetime bulb replacement warranty or relay in the kit, but the price was right and they'll go with the bike when I trade it. The wiring, 12V relay and diodes came from my salvage boxes, so your cost may be more.

BTW, I was joking about the sleeping idea.