| Author | Message | ||
     Zuhl |
I was riding a few months ago at night and ran into a pothole as I was rounding a corner because I could not see it. After that I decided no more night rides for me until I get more experience and more light. I am still working on the experience part, but I think I solved the lighting issue. I know that this solution is kind of low-budget but here goes. I went to walmart and picked up a pair of $20 compact 55W driving lights. I drilled through the stems that offset the front flashers to bolt the lights to. I also had to put the light mounting bracket in a vice and bend it to match the contour of the stalk. I figured if I screw this up or get tired of it, that is only a $5 part from Chicago HD. Anyway, it seems to have come out pretty good. I did this while installing my Stebel Nautilus. I figured while I am running wires and have the intake cover and the front fairing off, I may as well get everything wired up. I am very pleased with the amount of extra light I now have. While these may not be badass PIAA lights, they also only cost 10% of their price, so for this experiment I am pleased. I may upgrade in the future, but for now they should do fine. I posted some pics of the install and the difference in lighting. I did not alter any of the pics and took them with the same camera settings for accurate comparison. Overall I am happier with the lights than the horn. I was expecting it to rupture my pancreas or something when I hit the button. Not so. It is noticeably louder than stock, and probably worth the $35 I paid for it, but it is not nearly as loud as I had figured based on all the reviews.           | ||
| Paul56 |
Very nice! I like simple, elegant solutions. Did you run the lights through a relay? | ||
| Johnboy777 |
great idea! | ||
| Zuhl |
Thanks for the comments. No relay yet, but I plan to. What line would I use as the switching line for the relay. I dont want to use the low or high beam because I want these to be on when either light is running. Maybe I need to do the mod so both beams run when on high. | ||
| Markog |
looks good, i mounted mine on the stalks as well. i used an auto switch relay, you tap the high beam button twice and the lights come on, tap it again and the lights go out. works slick marko | ||
| Zuhl |
That sounds cool! Are you talking about the intermittent hi beam switch or the actual rocker. Not sure if the intermittent one would work for me. I am constantly flashing people to make them aware of my presence as I approach intersections. | ||
| Markog |
both switches will activate the lights, once the relay senses two high beam pulses it makes and turns on the lights. google autoswitch. marko | ||
| Paul56 |
I used the parking light feed (unused in the States) to get an ignition-on signal, then interrupted that with a handlebar mounted switch so I can turn them on or off as desired. IIRC its an orange wire with an unused socket for a 194 bulb near the headlight cluster wires. Relay power is fused directly to battery. | ||
| Zuhl |
That will help a lot. That way I cant forget to turn them off and no one can just come turn them on and run my battery down when I am not around. Thanks! | ||
| Werewulf |
one trick i learned on my beemer, when i had the piaa lights... i noticed the short life of the piaa bulbs... a piaa guru, told me they burn out quick if you start your bike with the lights on... i got in the habit of turning them off before i started the bike and never had another bulb failure.. he told me that i needed a racheting relay that would turn off the lights when the bike was off and had to be manually turned on again after the bike was started... i havent a clue where to find such a relay... maybe one of you electrical pros can clue me in.. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Nice looking...BUT, if the bike falls over for whatever the reason it will break the turnsignal off. Many of us have shortened the front turnsignal stalks by removing that piece you have bolted through. Removing that piece gets those signal out of harms way. | ||
| Diablobrian |
not a ratcheting relay, a latching relay. Diagrams of simple latching circuits are easy to find. A time delay relay that keeps the circuit from powering up until, say, 30 or so seconds after the motor has started wouldn't be a bad addition either, especially if you also used the time delay to keep HIDs from cycling more than they have to so it kills two birds with one stone, even if you haven't upgraded to HIDs...yet. It's all up to you on your bike though. | ||
| Jameslaugesen |
I am constantly flashing people to make them aware of my presence as I approach intersections. Careful with that if you're ever riding down here in Aus. A high-beam flash approaching an intersection generally says "It's ok, you can pull out now, I'll give you space" to people already at the intersection. I guess that exists in some other countries too. Nice mounting though, I've also got mine on the indicator stalks. Perfect spot IMO, keep it simple stupid  | ||
| Timn |
Dustin Nice job!! I am going to do they same to mine. Looks very clean. My bike was involved in a tipover at speed, and scractched the turn signal lens but did not break it off. It was on pavement though. On dirt I could see how those stems could snap. Thanks for the post Mike | ||
| Zuhl |
For those worried about tipovers, this is one of the least expensive things to replace. When I lowsided a few months back after an unexpected wheely got the best of me, I broke the stalk on one side. The extension was fine, but the light itself snapped. However, I dont think that part was even $10 to replace. Call Chicago Harley Davidson. They offer 20% off on list price. I was amazed how cheap Buell parts are. |
