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Additional lights for night riding

graciegreeting

graciegreeting
We ride a 2004 R1150RT and the headlamp is very good, but know there are other ancillary lighting systems out there. Not concerned so much about US being seen; but want to illuminate the roadway as much and as far out as possible so we can try and avoid "surprises" from the many deer, moose, etc. that nearly crossed our paths as we rode late one night into Jackman, ME Looking for recommendations from other riders who use "extra" lights for night riding. Thanks.
 
We ride a 2004 R1150RT and the headlamp is very good, but know there are other ancillary lighting systems out there. Not concerned so much about US being seen; but want to illuminate the roadway as much and as far out as possible so we can try and avoid "surprises" from the many deer, moose, etc. that nearly crossed our paths as we rode late one night into Jackman, ME Looking for recommendations from other riders who use "extra" lights for night riding. Thanks.

Try looling at this site. Check out the section "pictures" Lots of ideas there. good luck.:thumb

http://www.empdesigns.com/
 
i've used Motolights (good), but i really prefer PIAA 1100Xs (better).

of course, if you really want to see what's going on when the rest of the world gets dark, just go HIDs, and fuhgettaboudit!
 
There are quite a few advertisers in the Owners News. I'm partial to Hella lights.. aside from being the OE provider for lots of BMW products, they've been designing and making lights about as long as BMW has been making motorcycles. They seem to know what they're doing.

One of the best values I've found is Hella FF50 in a driving light pattern. Lots of different ways to mount them on an RT - from brackets locating them under the rear-view mirror pods, to fork mount brackets (www.lumalink.com). I found the least expensive source for FF50's to be watching Ebay auctions - they show up frequently and I've paid roughly $70/pair for them. They come with an excellent wiring harness (complete with relay) that needs to be shortened up a bit for motorcycle use.

Side by side with some $$$ auxiliary lights (including HID lights) - the light output and pattern of the FF50 is generally far better. Nice light. Good price. Uses a standard H1 bulb.
 
Side by side with some $$$ auxiliary lights (including HID lights) - the light output and pattern of the FF50 is generally far better. Nice light. Good price. Uses a standard H1 bulb.

You can't beat the bang for the buck when it comes to the FF50s. And their conservative design doesn't give you that "in your face" look either. I have a set on two of my motorcycles; one set ran me $30 and the other, $56.

I believe they are a H7 bulb.
 
Aux lighting

Sounds as if you have defined your mission; break out the wallet...
I have an '07 RT with caliper mounted Motolights for conspicuity and road surface scanning. They wouldn't do much for the deer or moose et al.
I have an HID hi-beam that is good for way down the road, but doesn't do much for seeing the sides of the roads unless I am in NV or UT where I can gently weave side to side when no traffic is around.
The lights for seeing the critters are either the Hella HID xenon FF200s ~$750; check out susquhena.com or similar for them [google if you need to]. I am pleased with these and mounted them on the RT-P brackets that can be purchased from your BMW dealer. With a bit of Dremel work these will fit into the mirror housings and be very solid mounts.
If I knew these RT-P brackets could have been so easy to come by, I would have purchased the Soltec Fuegos from BajaDesigns.com - even priceier but unbeatable. If you go this route purchase one 'driving' light and one 'spot' to afford wide and distance vision.
Enjoy the difference!:brow
 
I ride an '07 RT with PIAA 1100x light under the plastic on either side of the oil cooler, PIAA H7 55/110 for hi beam, Silver Star 55w for left side low beam, Nokya H7 55/70w yellow in the right side low beam. tailBlazer for the brake lights and OEM LED aux. brake light in the rear. Extra LED brake lights in the future. Hope this helps. This works pretty well in rural VT where critters rank high among the road hazards.

Anyone know of an LED side marker?
Thanks.
 
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Try looling at this site. Check out the section "pictures" Lots of ideas there. good luck.:thumb

http://www.empdesigns.com/

Sorry to say, EMP no longer has brackets to sell.

I do, however, have a set on my RT with FF550's mounted on them.

Right side aimed in the ditch. The left side just on my side of the centerline.

Never been flashed by oncoming driver so they may be too low?

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Have lights on Autoswitch so I can turn them on and off from the turn signal cancel button.
 
i've used Motolights (good), but i really prefer PIAA 1100Xs (better).

of course, if you really want to see what's going on when the rest of the world gets dark, just go HIDs, and fuhgettaboudit!


Finally got the HID on my bike. I CAN SEE! Nice clear white light and I tell you, it shoots out the beam far in the distance. My low beam goes to the HID and high beam goes to a halogen hi beam. I ride with the hi beam during the day to save some life in the HID.

Highly recommend it.
 
Finally got the HID on my bike. I CAN SEE! Nice clear white light and I tell you, it shoots out the beam far in the distance. My low beam goes to the HID and high beam goes to a halogen hi beam. I ride with the hi beam during the day to save some life in the HID.

Highly recommend it.

on my original HID bulbs. 4 1/2 years, 55,000 miles.
 
Piaa 1100X

Here are my PIAA 1100X's

They are not long range, but they light up the road in front of me.
2008-WunderlichProtectionBars002.jpg


2008-WunderlichProtectionBars005.jpg
 
bell is usaully a Cruiser (read: Harley) companion. worn to keep bad ju-ju away. beemers generally prefer a bi-annual spline lube; pretty much does the same thing.
 
Any recommendations for brackets for mounting the PIAA Cross Country HID Lamps to my 2002 K1200RS? PIAA does not make a mounting kit specifically for this BMW bike.
http://www.shopatron.com/product/product_id=PIA73082/353.0

Visit www.lumalink.com - and order brackets with the TrailTech HID lights - which are EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE PIAA lights - but 1/3rd less expensive.

(Nothing against PIAA making some profit - but when you take the PIAA light apart and it says TrailTech inside, that's sorta a clue you might do better ordering right from the manufacturer.. or someone who sells the "original"..)
 
Any recommendations for brackets for mounting the PIAA Cross Country HID Lamps to my 2002 K1200RS? PIAA does not make a mounting kit specifically for this BMW bike.
http://www.shopatron.com/product/product_id=PIA73082/353.0

maybe one of these? http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/LightKits/?bike=K1200RS
if you haven't made the jump to primary HID lighting, I would look into that first. Less $, and likely much better output. You want to make sure your lens system is designed to focus a HID bulb correctly. The one on the R11S is, not sure about other models.
 
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