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Driving lights

LORAZEPAM

leave my monkey alone
I plan on installing fairing mounted driving lights to my bike. I was wondering if anyone has used the high beam to trigger a relay for long range driving lights.
I would power them off the battery and power the relay off the high beam power. I saw the setup Fish has, and was curious as to how he has that set up.
 
GS driving lights

The driving lights you plan to put on, how strong are they? If you hook them up to your high beam switch and they are so strong that every time you meet another vehicle you have to dim, you will have to reduce your ground speed to match the low beam on the GS.

I have PIAA 510's on a separate switch, and I have to shut them off when meeting traffic. JON
 
I really didn't want to add another switch, so I was going to wire the relay to allow the driving lights to come on just with the Highbeam. I have motolights also, so having the driving lights go off when a car approaches, is not an issue. I figure 275 watts of light whith the high beam on should singe the hair on bambi's ass if it gets too close at night.
 
So Jeff, on one side of the switch you had direct power to the lights, and on the other, power to a high beam operated relay? I guess that would make a lot more sense, and make them much more versatile.
 
lorazepam said:
So Jeff, on one side of the switch you had direct power to the lights, and on the other, power to a high beam operated relay? I guess that would make a lot more sense, and make them much more versatile.

Adding a switch can be very clean and unobtrusive. Get one of the switch mounting plates used on the LEO bikes for, IIRC, some of the communication switches (push to talk, etc). This places the switches just below and past the left turn signal switch. I'm using this setup on my GS and it is *very* easy to reach and is a nice clean and simple install.
 
Thanks Knary, I will check into one. I saw some small push button switches today, and I may have to see if they would work on what you describe.
 
lorazepam said:
Thanks Knary, I will check into one. I saw some small push button switches today, and I may have to see if they would work on what you describe.

I posted some stuff about this a while back. The mount is a simple piece of bent metal with the appropriate holes in it and is a ridiculous $15+/-. BUT it was simple to install and works. I got the switch from a friend.

IMG_1912.JPG
 
lorazepam said:
Thanks Knary, I will check into one. I saw some small push button switches today, and I may have to see if they would work on what you describe.

There are some very small, self contained and waterproof switches at Pep Boys for under $10 that work well for this application.

Jim:brow
 
Driving lights Installed

Since I couldn't go to the rally in PA, :cry I decided to install driving lights on the RRS. I mounted them with a relay and a SPDT switch. I have the option to have the lights on all the time, or with the High beams only, and finally completely off. I have 55watt Sylvania silverstar bulbs in a driving light. The lights get their power directly from a keyed power supply, so I don't have to worry about them staying on when I shut off the bike. I am looking for a sturdier switch, that has maybe a lower profile.
 

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The switch on the right is for the Motolights, they work great filling in close, and giving a good view of the sides. The driving lights are to augment the high beam, that is the black switch on the left. I will be adding a green led, that will let me know when the switch is placed in the constant on position. The lights themselves are Pilot. I paid 29.00 including the harness. I paid another 38 for the Silverstar H3 bulbs.
 

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The housings are plastic, and appear to be very durable, time will tell. They are very lightweight, and focus the beam very well.

I would have preferred to make a set of mounts that used the fairing braces, but I have lost my machine shop privilages, and I just mounted them to the fairing.

I backed up the bolts with a couple of pieces of stainless cut to the size of the base. There were adhesive pads included with the lights, I took the backing off of the light side, but left the backing on against the fairing. This was done in hopes of damping any vibrations.
 

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I am going to place a sleeve on the wires from the light to the grommet. I had considered painting them, but I don't mind the black for now.
 

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Here is a picture of the sheepskin covers I recently installed. It looks like my seat has sprouted hair. Fish needs one of these.
 

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I am pleased with both improvements overall. The lights seem sturdy enough, and very lightweight. I put blue loctite on the adjusting screws, and I used stainless screws and nyloc nuts to mount them. They do not shake when on rough pavement, and they fill the far end of my range of vision like the motolights do up close.
 

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I will add pictures of the wiring under the fairing when I install the led, and show how I routed the wires.

It is an easy project. The hardest part is drilling holes in a new bike.
 
Nobody gonna

miss seeing you at night. Any deer get in the way and you can turn the whole light show on and enjoy cooked venison in just minutes. Better than the George Foreman Grill ladies and gentlemen.....Your lights look really good, my man.
I was going to make an off-color remark about a "hairy seat", but then I remembered this forum is family friendly.....
 
It is actually a fitted cover made of sheepskin. It doesn't move at all and fits loke a glove.
 

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Very nice job! Similar to the way I mounted mine! The drilling into a perfectly good fairing was definitely the hardest part!

Jim:brow
 
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